Readers following Delmer Smith trial

I just got this email from Herald crime reporter Elizabeth Johnson, who is in the Manatee County Courthouse covering the opening testimony in the murder trial of Delmer Smith III:

Crazy. People are making accounts to follow me. I'm the only person many of them follow.

That followed a comment early today on Elizabeth's breaking news coverage on Bradenton.com from a reader, irritated that there wasn't live streaming of the trial:

Marjie, Although there isn't streaming of the trial, which I too would like, you can follow it live on Twitter from a BH reporter ( @EJohnsonBHcrime ) who is in the courtroom. If you don't have a Twitter account, you may consider setting one up. I just found this. She is tweeting often about what is taking place, being said, and who is on the stand. Hopefully this helps.

Elizabeth and photographer Tiffany Tompkins-Condie will be sending us coverage all week from the trial. We'll update throughout the day with trial developments and galleries. On Twitter, follow #DelmerSmith. And on Bradenton.com, we're compiling all the coverage in a special section, Murder trial of Delmer Smith III

TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE/Bradenton Herald
Delmer Smith, charged with the murder of Terra Ceia's Kathleen Briles, sits at the defense table between attorneys Daniel Hernandez and Bjorn Brunvand on the first day of his trial in Manatee County's Judicial Center.

I'm only a tweet away -- finally

Never say never. I'm tweeting. Baby steps, admittedly, and with a bit of trepidation. My love of words just doesn't fit in 140 characters. But we've asked everyone in the newsroom to launch a Twitter account, so here goes: Follow me at @JEKrauter

Check out Oscar galleries, Tweets tonight

If you plan to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards tonight, a copy of today's A&E section is required reading -- and a great scorecard during the gala. Features Editor Jana Morreale crafted the cover with a piece by Laremy Legel of Film.com that presents "Should wins" and "Will wins" for the key categories.

Tonight, Bradenton.com will post gallery after gallery, live from the red carpet.

And on Twitter, editor Morreale will Tweet live about film and fashions at http://twitter.com/accentbradenton.

And the winner is...

Speaking of tweets...

Odds are that tweeting will eventually morph into some other social media fad. But Twitter has continued to grow since it was introduced in 2006, and those 140-character texts are often the first tease to breaking news.

The Bradenton Herald is using several Twitter feeds, including Sports' new Twitter feed, @bradenton designed to bring followers the latest breaking sports headlines and links to other coverage.

Taking feeds from sports writers and sports fans alike, News Editor Jason Bartolone (jbartolone@bradenton.com) and other editors are posting interesting local sports tidbits –- from prep sports, Marauders, IMG, local golf, and more. Jason's key focus for tweets: live events, especially Friday Night Football.

You also can follow news headlines @bradentonherald and entertainment headlines @accentbradenton .

All tweets and our Facebook at www.facebook.com/BradentonHeraldNews eventually lead you to Bradenton.com. And that, dear readers, takes you full circle, 24-7, from our beloved print edition every day.

-- Joan

'Canes cheer card, Twitter and podcast

We're all things 'Canes.

As the Manatee Hurricanes head to Turtle Creek, Pa., to play Woodland Hills at Wolvarena on Saturday, the Herald is cheering them on.

Get this cheer card in Friday’s Bradenton Herald, or stop by the office at 102 Manatee Ave. W. (The ad in today's paper jumped the gun -- sorry about that.) Put your cheer card in the window -- or, better yet, take it to the game with you.

Herald sports reporter John Lembo is heading to Turtle Creek to bring you live coverage. He'll be tweeting -- sign up at @bradentonsports and we'll be posting score updates on Bradenton.com.

Jason Dill and Jason Bartolone preview Manatee High’s trip to Pennsylvania for another football showcase in their podcast this week.