Tech Ticker's Aaron Task Speaks On Twitter

Twitter, the popular social networking site, is more than just a way to talk about what you had for lunch. It is also a great newsfeed.

That is the point of view of Aaron Task, Wall Street Correspondent for Yahoo Finance (NASDAQ: YHOO) and host of Tech Ticker, who says that he checks it every morning for news updates.

"There is a lot of quality information you can get," said Task, in an interview with Benzinga's Alex Schiff. "It is all about who you follow."

Following over 300 people, Task cited just a handful of the news-focused Twitter feeds that he keeps up with: The Wall Street Journal, Howard Lindzon, Upside Trader, MSNBC news, among others. He added that often he can get a heads up when big news stories break out, sometimes before the news wire services, or even Yahoo Finance itself, have something up.

However, Task felt that Twitter faces a challenge in getting people under 25 to use their service. He added that they seem to primarily use Facebook and text messaging to communicate, and that Twitter would have to evolve to get into that market. In addition, he said that it could use a better search engine, to make it easier for businesses to find out what consumers are saying about their products.

Still, he felt that it was perfectly reasonable for businesses to use Twitter to advertise to consumers - provided they are up front about it. Stealth marketing under a phony account, Task said, is troubling, though in either event, cutting loose an unwanted feed is simple.

"You can unfollow someone very easily," explained Task.

Using the example of Target being able to use their feed to send coupons to their followers and shoppers to boost business, Task believes that there is great value to both the consumer and the company.

"There's certainly a role for personal business [like lunch]," said Task. "But it's a tremendous resource that makes my job easier."

Get real-time news and stock alerts by following Benzinga on Twitter!