​In an effort to get serious about user-generated content and live video coverage, NBC News has acquired Stringwire, a service still in beta that allows users to shoot real-time footage and share online with friends.

Stringwire lets users take video on their smartphones and share on social media in real time. NBC News would get involved in this system by contacting people tweeting about a certain event (like a protest or interesting local development where a camera crew may not be sent), and encouraging them to shoot video that will then be sent back to NBC News headquarters.

For breaking news, often the network that has the first video footage, photos or confirmed sightings gets the ratings. The more material they have, the more they have to choose from and the better quality they can project out to viewers.

Read more about it at Digital Trends.

Brief Take: This could be particularly useful for breaking stories where the goal is to be the first news outlet with live footage. A partnership with tech services like Stringwire could give a news channel a leg up on the competition by providing them with access to the first, and sometimes the best, video footage for important events.

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