For those of you who are either still recovering from the Fourth of July binge or too enthralled by the developments in the passing of Michael Jackson, there was another big story that dropped on our nation. Former Republican Party Vice-President nominee Sarah Palin announced her resignation from the Office of Governor for the state of Alaska. She did so at a low attendance press conference last Friday, July 3.

What is interesting about the situation is that Palin is resigning with 18 months left in her first term. During the press conference she didn’t cite any one particular reason. She blathered on about basketball, lame ducks, and something of a higher calling, but there was no concrete empirical reason as to “why”. After the press conference she did what every other good politician does after dropping a bomb or two… she went fishing. So with so many questions still out there, when Sarah Palin did not return their phone calls, who did CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC turn to?

They turned to Sarah Palin’s social media outlets.

They turned to her Facebook Page Notes and her Twitter Account to receive more information. They then proceeded for the last 4 days to have political analysts decipher what it all means.

So what exactly has this shown us about Social Media? It shows us that if you establish a social media presence and become a trusted source of information, in a time of informational crisis Old Media will turn to Social Media for answers.

Now THAT is a huge endorsement, intentional or not, for social media.

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• Palin Takes to Web for Hints of Political Future (abcnews.go.com)
• Sarah Palin Takes News Nets By Surprise: “This Does Not Feel Like the Act of a Woman Who Wants to Have a National Career” (mediabistro.com)
• Murkowksi Blasts Palin: You Abandoned Our State (huffingtonpost.com)
• ‘Gone Fishin’: What’s Next for Sarah Palin? (abcnews.go.com)
• A close reading of Sarah Palin’s Facebook message to the nation. (slate.com)