Last week Tuesday The Rocky Mountain News created a stir in the blogosphere after one of their journalists used text messaging to report the funeral of the toddler that was killed when an SUV flew through the window of a Colorado Baskin Robbins.

The story exploded nationally when it was reported that the man responsible for the accident was an illegal immigrant who’d not only never had a license, but had a lengthy rap sheet, including 20 previous arrests.

Following the funeral of the boy, the attention shifted to the media. Berny Morson, a journo for The Rocky Mountain News, used the micro-blogging platform Twitter to take notes at the young boy’s funeral using his cell phone.

Live-tweeting—that is, reporting live using Twitter—is very common. From the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to the season premier of the CW show Gossip Girl, everyone’s doing it.

John Dickerson, who covers the presidential campaign for Slate, told The Washington Post, “If I have a thought that occurs to me, I’ll fire it off. Sometimes it ends up being the lead of a piece, or the notion a piece gets framed around.”

It’s probably not the first time someone has live-tweeted a funeral (heaven knows everything from being fired to giving birth has been live-tweeted since Twitter went live in 2006), but to my knowledge, this is the first time that a newspaper has run the unedited stream of live-tweets from a funeral as a sidebar on a major story.

Cara Degette at The Colorado Independent called it, “utterly, and unforgivingly, inconceivable.”

I asked Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at NYU who’s very active on Twitter, what he thought.

“My opinion is that you need to separate the method—Twittering from a funeral—from the execution; were these the right Tweets?” Rosen responded via an e-mail. “I don’t see anything wrong with the method. The content can be criticized.”

When asked how he would criticize the tweets, the former department chair said he didn’t know the community served by The Rocky Mountain News well enough to offer useful comments.

“Can someone explain the news value of this tweet stream for Rocky Mountain News readers?” Michelle Ferrier asked on the Poynter Institute E-Media Tidbits blog. “I think the glitz of technology has taken over common sense.”

“I think there is a mania to use new technology no matter what and they aren’t thinking,” said John Windrow, night city editor at The Honolulu Advertiser. “It gives newsmen a bad name.”

Samuel Freedman, a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and author of Letters to a Young Journalist, offered some more insight.

“I think that reporters are often in the uncomfortable position of reporting from settings where people are in great grief,” Freedman told ABCNews.com. “These situations call for the greatest understanding and discretion on the part of the reporter. To be putting real-time notes out there as opposed to waiting until the ceremony is over; there’s an element of pillaging a private moment of grief that I’m uncomfortable with. A memorial service for a murdered—for a slain child—is not a fit subject for play-by-play updates.”

David J. Zucker, the rabbi who officiated at the service, told ABC News that he didn’t think there was anything offensive in Morson’s live-tweeting.

“The way I see it is that it’s somebody sharing to a wider community interested and felt connected to this sad event.”

In the midst of the hullabaloo, John Temple, editor at The Rocky Mountain News went on the record to clarify matters:

As is our custom, we asked the parents of Marten Kudlis whether we could cover his funeral. To be clear: We never enter funeral services to report on them without the family’s permission. Period.

… Most of us couldn’t attend the service. But that doesn’t mean we don’t empathize with the family and don’t want to join in their mourning in some way. Marten was one family’s son before he died. But because of the way he died, his loss was felt by thousands.

One way for a news organization to help a community connect is to send information live from the service, just as we do from events ranging from political conventions to road closings to concerts and parties. We don’t have to wait to publish in the next day’s paper anymore. TV and radio don’t wait, and people seem to value that.

I can imagine some might think live updates during a solemn event might be disruptive. But typically reporters can sit at the very back of a hall, out of the way of mourners.

Ultimately, to me, it’s all about execution. Poorly done, such journalism might very well feel inappropriate. Done well, I don’t think so.

Some criticism of the short blasts our reporter sent may be justified. They can seem cold, even crass. But I am responsible for that failing. It is my job to make sure our staff is trained properly.

Think of such live reporting as someone whispering into a phone directly to a global audience. There is no room for editors. What the reporter writes is what you read almost instantly. That requires special skill. It takes practice.

But to claim there is something inherently wrong with the idea is to make too sweeping a judgment. Everything from services for major public figures like presidents and popes to ceremonies for victims of tragedies like the one at Columbine High School have long been covered by TV and radio.

… We must learn to use the new tools at our disposal. Yes, there are going to be times we make mistakes, just as we do in our newspaper.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try something. It means we need to learn to do it well. That is our mission.

Shortly after composing this piece, I shot Twitter co-founder Evan Williams a DM asking his take. He replied with the following comment:

The concept does seem odd–coming to you “live” from… a funeral. And coming to you live via Twitter probably seems uncomfortable for at least a couple more reasons:

1) As opposed to newspapers, Twitter is in general not perceived as being very serious. Therefore, perhaps reporting a funeral via Twitter make it seem like it’s not being taken seriously.

2) While a reporter covering the funeral is probably taking notes anyway, sending text messages sounds disrespectful and like he/she is not really paying attention. (In reality he/she is probably paying more attention, in order to report.)

I didn’t read the tweets from the event, so I don’t know if any were inappropriate. But as far as whether the idea itself is flawed, I’d have to agree with John Temple: If the family was okay having the event reported on in general, it being covered while it was still happening shouldn’t be that much different. In these types of matters, though, people’s initial reaction may be more important than the logical argument. I do not blame the reporter (or newspaper) for not predicting people would react that way.

My prediction would be that in the future this type of thing does not seem odd, though. Live video coverage will probably also be common (not that we haven’t seen live video of funerals already).

What do you think—did The Rocky Mountain News go too far?

What’s Twitter? Read my piece about the microblogging platform here.

Less is more, they say, and Twitter takes it to heart. Twitter, the It social networking tool right now, is a micro-blog you can update 140 characters at a time, as many times as your fingers can pump out those 140-characters-or-less tidbits.

“The content that drives Twitter is a relentless stream of real-time personal status postings called tweets,” writes Scott Spanbauer in IT Business Canada. “‘Going out for more batteries,’ or ‘Feeling snacky, I think I’ll have a salad’ are the stuff of Twitter greatness–as long as tracking your friends’ ephemeral actions and mutterings is your cup of tea.”

With Twitter, you can post and receive items via the Twitter page, an application, IM, and text messages. Your tweets are archived on a personal page, they automatically show up on the pages of your friends and they can be routed to other sites like MySpace, Facebook and your blog, thereby allowing you, not only to chronicle what you’re doing, but to show the whole world what you’re up to.

If posting a blog made me feel like starting a conversation with the world, tweeting makes me feel like I’m in the middle of a huge party where everyone is having multiple conversations with everyone else at once. It’s a constant discussion of what people are doing, thinking, reading and planning that you can keep having no matter where you happen to go.

Twitter’s like the midget lovechild of a blog and a chat room. It’s simple enough that any non-techie can use it (including your mom!), it’s versatile, it’s mobile, it’s free and, apparently, in the irrational exuberance surrounding this far faster form of exhibitionism, it is also an ideal location to score n00dz from people you hardly know.*

Twitter has a page devoted to why you should care. It’s modest: “Why? Because even basic updates are meaningful to family members, friends, or colleagues—especially when they’re timely. Eating soup? Research shows that moms want to know. Running late to a meeting? Your co–workers might find that useful. Partying? Your friends may want to join you.”

But I think it’s more than that. When a storm was tearing through the Midwest and my friends lost internet, they were able to let everyone know, with a single text, that they were doing OK. Likewise, updates from organizations like Los Angeles Fire Department, the Red Cross Safe and Well, BreakingNewsOn and What’s Shaking? can be extremely useful in case of an emergency. For those on the go, Commuter Feed uses its Twitter account to collect reports about traffic and then arranges them according to area for easy perusal.

It can be incredibly fun, too. The level of entertainment you achieve on Twitter is in your hands. Some have suggested it’s only fun if all your friends are on there, like Facebook, but I don’t agree. Twitter is that missing link between friend-whoring that goes on at MySpace and the inherent elitism of Facebook. You can follow only people you know, yes, but why not reach out to people who can make you ROTFL with their daily adventures or the innovators in your industry?

There are plenty of sites to amuse you and help you find interesting people: Twittervision, Twitterverse, Twittearth, Twittertale, Twitterbuzz, Tweetmeme, Twittertroll, Twitterholic, Tweeterboard, Hoosgot, Twitstat, Tweetscan, Twitterlinkr, TweetStats, TwitDir, TwitterSearch and Terraminds.

Our species is, more and more, a nomadic, workaholic bunch, prone to moving around too much and working long hours. Twitter is redefining what it means to be “connected.” Its simplicity is what makes it so much more effective than its wordier, bulkier older siblings (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn).

There’s no better way to cut the fat than with a 140 character limit. In fact, I think any journalism student should be forced to spend his or her first year communicating entirely on Twitter.

According to Business Week’s Stephen Baker:

Do I Twitter because I’m lazy? A few times this weekend, I’ve sat down with a laptop and thought ever so briefly about blogging. But then I wonder if the blog post is relevant, interesting enough, perhaps a tad too self-focused…. Twitter, on the other hand, is a breeze. It can be irrelevant, nakedly self-promotional…. Long story short: Blogging feels more like writing a story, and Twittering feels as free as blogging used to.

Whether you’re getting fired or watching your wife give birth, Twitter can bring hundreds of people to the center of the action, often leaving conventional online news media in the dust, as it did when YouTube went down and London was shaken up by a quake. Even NASA missions may be tweeting soon!

In an article for The Guardian, political blogger Patrick Ruffini remarked on the instantaneous nature of Twitter, “Traditional news operated on a 24-hour cycle. Blogs shortened this to minutes and hours. Twitter shortens it further to seconds.” Its immediacy makes it worth its weight in gold. So much so that traditional news organizations have come onboard: NYT, Reuters, CNN Breaking News, BBC News and USA Today all have Twitter accounts.

Twitter can also be used to keep track of your iPhone’s location–or that of an iPhone’s owner, to improve communication and foster relationships in academia, confess your sins, and even to help you remember when to water your plants. Of course, for those of us who’re not that tech-inclined, there’s always Sandy, the electronic personal assistant, who just so happens to have a Twitter account herself where you can easily reach her.

“Some folks use Twitter like a bullhorn, and others use it like a walkie-talkie.” writes Chris Brogran, and it’s true. You can broadcast what you’re having for lunch to the world or, if you use an @ before another user’s name in a tweet, you can direct the message to them.

Of course, everything has its critics. As Andrew Lavallee wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year, “some users are starting to feel ‘too’ connected, as they grapple with check-in messages at odd hours, higher cellphone bills and the need to tell acquaintances to stop announcing what they’re having for dinner.”

The same article quotes Microsoft blogger and hypertweeter Robert Scroble: “Twitter hate is the new black. Some haters have already come around, but to tell the truth, they do have a good point. Do you really need to know that I’m eating a tuna sandwich for lunch? Probably not, although I’ve had more than one person come over and join me for lunch because I told where I was hanging out.”

Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder brushes off the critics: “Everyone says Twitter’s completely useless, I don’t want all this information. We check in later, and they’re complete addicts.”

Despite the optimism, some will never get it. Twitter’s not for everyone. When I enthusiastically told my husband I was following this really neat guy named Ryan Kuder as he was laid off from Yahoo in real time through his tweets, hubby gave an appropriately Corporate American response: 0h n0ez, more ways for employees to waste time and ZOMG, can you SAY serious information weakness?!?1!

To me, a certifiable twit in dire need of a Twittervention (is Twitter down? IS TWITTER DOWN?!), the worst part of Twitter is trying to explain its awesomeness to unimpressed non-users. Like Michelle Slatalla, who wrote a piece in the New York Times about trying to convert her three daughters and husband to Twitter, the resounding answer seems to be that I seriously need to get out more and actually, you know, talk to people.

DO NOT WANT!

I don’t care what they say, Twitter is not the social networking equivalent of crocs!

Want more info? Check out Jennifer Laycock’s step by step metamorphosis from skeptic to avid user (note that the article appears in five parts, all linked at the bottom of piece). You can play catch up with Warren Whitlock and Deborah Micek’s The Twitter Handbook or check out Sue Waters’ useful rush guide to setting up your Twitter account.

If you’re already on Twitter, check out the Twitter Fan Wiki as well as Mashable’s awesome toolbox with over 60 Twitter tools. More resources at Pink is Punk.

Oh, and PS, you’re more than welcome to add me, snooze me, or check my stats at Twitterholic, TweetStats, TwitterCounter, and Twitter.Grader!

Don’t wanna join but wanna know what’s going on? Keep an eye on what I’m talking about and what people are responding via Quotably, what people are liking on Favrd or Favotter, or scope out my tweet cloud! Already addicted? See who just unfollowed you and what the offending tweet was with Qwitter or compare trends on Twist!

* The Breasts of Twitter blog has been removed from Blogger, September 2008.