The thing about breaking news is that it can happen at virtually any moment. But getting to a venue for breaking news can take some time, something that Twitter (News - Alert) may be looking to cut down on with a new experiment known as “@Eventparrot,” an account that focuses on bringing out “direct messages that help you keep up with what's happening in the world.” Though it's not quite clear if this is an actual Twitter venture or just someone else using Twitter, the thrust of the account is all about the breaking news.

So far, @Eventparrot has pulled in about 1,500 followers, and one recent tweet was retweeted from CNN, describing how rebel forces in Libya had kidnapped the prime minister, which is a pretty big global happening no matter how the term is considered. It's being described as similar in nature to the @magicrecs account that gave Twitter a new round of push recommendations in the “interesting tweets” class. @Magicrecs was later brought, at last report, into Twitter's overall product line, though it was actively described as being “a Twitter experiment.” While @Eventparrot doesn't have a similar tagline, and Twitter doesn't comment on experiments it runs, there are those that believe that the Parrot is simply another Twitter experiment, particularly in that the account reportedly uses an algorithm to deliver information that the account believes will be useful to the user.

Still, @Eventparrot may not ultimately go anywhere, as it's said to be just an experiment, but the concept is sufficiently noteworthy to be worth further consideration. It may be the kind of thing that helps users get a better look at the news that is relevant to each user, rather than looking through a block of news or trying to search for the news that is most valuable, then turning to a larger site for a more in-depth perspective on said news, better explanation of the news' relevance, or a correlation between this particular piece of news and previous events that have taken place.

Twitter has been working hard to improve its value, both in terms of users, and potential shareholders and advertisers. Often the two segments intersect—the more active users Twitter has on hand, the better the overall picture for advertisers and, in turn, investors—but providing benefit for all concerned can be a tall order. But if Twitter, via its various experiments, can show how important it is to turn to Twitter on a regular basis, the end result is likely to be a solid one for Twitter, getting not only more users overall into the fold but also making it clear how the use of Twitter can be a valuable part of everyday life.

Getting users is one thing; keeping users is another. Twitter is likely out to show the kind of value it can generate for new and old users alike, and that in turn makes Twitter valuable, not only to its users, but also to investors and advertisers. Whether @Eventparrot is part of Twitter, or is just using Twitter, or will never be seen on Twitter again in the not too distant future all remains to be seen, but there's no denying that Twitter has a lot on its plate in a bid to show off its truest value.