Social Networking Sites Gone Viral

Whether you're procrastinating on homework or just looking for something to amuse yourself with, Facebook and Twitter are usually always up on your computer screen, at least that's my case. But now these social networking sites are being used for a lot more than just creeping on new photos from the weekend, or seeing what your favorite celebrity is gossiping about. They are actually covering breaking news. With the recent death of Osama Bin Laden, almost everyone's status had something to do with the death or props to the U.S.A. My personal favorite had to be "Congratulations Osama Bin Laden on being the Hide-and-Seek champion for 10 years" or something along those lines. For me, these statuses is how I found out about his death in the first place. It's sad to think that as a Journalism major, my Facebook page is up more on my computer screen than CNN.com, but after talking to a few people, I wasn't the only one who found out from Facebook. So I guess my question is, are social networking sites acting as a beneficial tool for finding out breaking news? Or has it gone completely viral leaving people with only the status instead of the full story?

-Sam Gentry