Death Comes Unscheduled: Learning News in a New World

It's not just Second Life that makes me blink and sit back stunned at what just happened. It's that increasingly my real news comes from you

Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins died overnight at age 24 after having his femoral artery injured in a shooting during a deliberate attack at his home Sunday

What makes this newsworthy for a blog about creativity and social media is that I learned the news via my blog feeds before any local or national news sources.

The news networks were in their overnight loop of constant rehashing of whatever yesterday's pre-selected pieces were, while you in the new media sphere were carrying the story.

You literally bring the news to me in the middle of the night, wherever I am.

Bloggers reminded me that Taylor made the Pro Bowl in 2006 and despite missing two games with a knee injury this season, he was tied for the lead in interceptions in the NFC with five. Video of all this was easy to find, to share,

Sometimes I don't like the news that you bring me via twitter - where I learn about a divorce, a setback, an illness. And sometimes I don't like it that a blogger relays news about the tragic and senseless death of a young man.

But I'd rather hear it from someone I know and trust.

Which makes me wonder about the future of old media, while I take a minute to remember Sean Taylor.