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Twitter can be a lot of things for a lot of different people. However, according to online ad network Chitika, more of them want news than anything else. Chitika released results from a study of its users, looking at what Twitter users want.

Chitika categorized the sites that get the most links from Twitter. Here’s how it shakes out by genre according to the ad network:

"Given Twitter’s unique ability to bring information instantly to large numbers of people, it’s not surprising that news leads the way," says Chitika. "From being the first to publish pictures of a Turkish Airlines plane crash to the social network’s breaking of US Airways Flight 1549’s dramatic crash into the Hudson River earlier this year, Twitter’s instantaneous and collaborative nature has made it out to be the bleeding edge of all news."

"Compare Twitter’s results, though, with older, more established social network Facebook, and the value and perception of Twitter’s speed become more obvious," the network adds. "While news sites do receive a good deal of Facebook’s referrals, they lag behind tech and lifestyle sites – tech sites dominate Facebook’s traffic with over 33% of the network’s referrals going there."

Here’s how Chitika’s numbers for Facebook traffic look:

On a semi-related note, a new real-time news discovery site called Thoora just launched. Thoora was a finalist of the TechCrunch50, and describes itself as a way to help people discover news attracting the most attention within social and traditional media by exploring the entire blogosphere, Twitter, and thousands of traditional media sources. Twitterers who are after the news may find such a service useful.

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