Twitter is breaking the news on a daily basis and it seems it has taken on a new role for individuals and companies : The digital publicist.

For celebrities, twitter has become a digital news outlet because with so many followers, including agencies and bloggers, who needs an official press release?

With tweets taking less than 10 seconds to create, and countless articles being published thanks to those celebrity tweets, are publicists feeling left in the dark?

News releases are not something new, but the technology to deliver them has changed, and while twitter is still a social tool, it has the reach to be so much more.

So will twitter become a personal digital publicist to replace PR? Not likely. Having an account on twitter, facebook or other platforms doesn’t guarantee people are going to listen to what you have to say. In fact, getting a reputation for what you say comes from your ability to do something ‘unique’. If you have 100 fans on facebook and you write a press release, will bloggers and magazines do a write up? Highly unlikely.

PR and online marketing is integral to the success of companies and individuals. Twitter is a great outreach to fans, but releasing news needs the skill of a capable publicist.