Throughout the months of the Arab Spring, the twitter feed of NPR senior strategist Andy Carvin was a one stop shop for keeping up with events in the region--even though Carvin was a world away in Washington D.C. Now Carvin has written a new book about his experience, Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Journalism Revolution, and sat down with Brooke for a live event to discuss his reporting with social media.

Mazen Dha Nahar el Youm

Analysts at the CIA's Open Source Center spend their days combing through the world's tweets, blogs and facebook pages in an attempt to determine the mood of people across the globe.  They say this type of "sentiment analysis" helps them predict events like the Egyptian revolution.  Brooke speaks with Associated Press intelligence reporter Kimberly Dozier.

Two high speed trains collided on a bridge in China recently, causing six carriages to fall off the tracks and onto a farm below. Immediately, passengers began using a Twitter-esque site to describe what happened. The Chinese government has gone to lengths to try to cover up the severity of the accident.  Some even believe they tried to literally bury one of the carriages with dirt.  Danwei.org founder Jeremy Goldkorn talks with Bob from Beijing.  Goldkorn says, so far, social media has beaten back government propaganda.