Biz Stone and the folks at Twitter have got to be loving this challenge between Ashton Kutcher and CNN going on right now to see who can be the first ones to reach 1 million followers.  I have gotten my breaking news for a long time now from @breakingnewson and the many @cnn twitter accounts, and yes they do seem to preceed the live television break-ins by a few minutes in most cases.

Like it or not but Twitter seems to be where people are going these days to get their news anymore.  A lot of National and State news agencies are using Twitter now, following the lead of CNN social media pioneers like Rick Sanchez. 

Even Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report had Biz Stone on his show one night to talk about the rapid rise of popularity that Twitter has seen since it’s launch.  This thing between Ashton Kutcher and CNN is only adding fuel to the fire for Twitter…

(CNN) — The online popularity contest between celebrity Ashton Kutcher and CNN narrowed Thursday, with Kutcher’s Twitter following growing considerably overnight.

Kutcher, who challenged CNN to be the first to 1 million followers on the micro-blogging site, had more than 949,000 Twitter followers as of 11 a.m. ET Thursday. CNN’s breaking-news feed had about 15,000 more Twitter fans, with some 964,000.

Kutcher’s account now has a larger following than Britney Spears, who on Wednesday was the second-most-popular person on Twitter, behind CNN.

No single Twitter account ever has reached 1 million followers, according to two Web sites that track popularity on Twitter, a site where users post 140-character messages that are distributed to groups of followers.

Some online writers told CNN the contest is symbolic of the state of Twitter, which gained media attention because of its applications for news organizations but is starting to be dominated by strong personalities with cult followings.

The actor challenged CNN to the race with a Web video posted on Tuesday. If he wins, Kutcher says he will "ding-dong ditch" CNN founder Ted Turner’s house.

"I found it astonishing that one person can actually have as big of a voice online as what an entire media company can on Twitter," Kutcher says in a video, which was shot from inside a car and was posted on Qik.com.

Don’t Miss

• CNN Breaking News on Twitter
• Ashton Kutcher on Twitter
• YouTube: Larry King accepts the challenge
• Video: King responds to Kutcher on "Larry King Live"
• Video: CNN’s Rick Sanchez on the popularity contest

"So I just thought that was just kind of an amazing comment on the state of our media, and I said that, if I beat CNN to 1 million viewers, then I would ding-dong ditch Ted Turner — because I don’t think it’s gonna happen." Watch video of Kutcher’s challenge »

CNN maintains 45 official Twitter accounts, with a total of more than 1.3 million followers. Kutcher is racing the network’s breaking-news feed specifically.

CNN’s breaking-news feed on Twitter was launched three years ago by James Cox, a British web developer, as a way to get CNN news alerts on his mobile phone, said CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin.

In a development unrelated to Kutcher’s challenge, CNN acquired the rights to the Twitter account from Cox this week, said Martin, who would not disclose terms of the deal.

"We’ve been working closely with [Cox] for the past two years," Martin said. "It’s a good example of how a large media company can partner with its audience in innovative ways."

An information technology consultant in Croatia who is interested in the outcome of the contest has been tracking the rate of new followers for CNN and Kutcher. Marin Purgar says Kutcher will beat CNN to the 1 million follower mark before 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.

CNN will hit the 1 million mark by 1 p.m. ET on Friday, based on Purgar’s projection, which assumes the rate of new followers for the past 20 minutes will continue, he said by phone Wednesday. Purgar said he will continue to post updates to the data on his Twitter account.

Kutcher has been posting like mad to his account since challenging CNN to the battle. The celebrity — known for the TV shows "Punk’d" and "That ’70s Show," as well as for being married to actress Demi Moore — has offered to give his millionth follower a copy of the video game "Guitar Hero."

He also says on Twitter he will donate 10,000 mosquito bed nets to charity for World Malaria Day in late April if he beats CNN, and 1,000 if he loses. CNN has agreed to do the same, Martin said.

Late Wednesday night, Kutcher said he feels like he needs to start preparing a speech for the moment he reaches 1 million followers. He joked that he would pull inspiration from Dr. Evil speeches in the "Austin Powers" movies.

CNN hosts Larry King and Rick Sanchez responded Tuesday to the Twitter race on CNN television. Watch Larry King’s response

In a video message that aired on CNN’s "Larry King Live," the talk show host grinned as he accepted Kutcher’s challenge.

King also teased Kutcher about his threat to ring Ted Turner’s doorbell and then run away, noting that Turner formerly ran CNN and is not directly associated with the network today.

Kutcher responded to the video on his Twitter account with this post: "ok larry king is now one of my new favorite people and this means war lets go tweeps."

King has invited Kutcher to appear on his show, "Larry King Live." Kutcher, saying "this is a saga for the Internet," asked King to come on his "twit show" to settle things.

The battle has gained much attention on Twitter, with fans pulling for both sides.

Some online writers on Wednesday said the goofy race may be a real symbol of what’s to come for Twitter.

MG Siegler, a writer for TechCrunch, a technology news site, said Twitter has gained popularity largely through breaking news feeds.

If Kutcher wins the race with CNN, Siegler said, it may indicate a symbolic shift toward personalities dominating the site. iReport.com: Twitter, Facebook growing pains?

"When Twitter started out, it seemed like its most practical usage would be doing stuff like breaking news," Siegler said by phone. "There was all the earthquake news, all the fire news … that made it pretty interesting to a lot of people. But now, obviously, Twitter’s gone to the whole next level with all the news coverage and all the celebrities who are starting to use it."

Kutcher may seek popularity, but he seems genuinely interested in interacting with his followers, which is a key to success on the site, Siegler said.

The battle highlights another Twitter trend: celebrities using their accounts to pump up charities and causes, not just their own fame. Kutcher may help charities fight malaria if he beats CNN, and actor Hugh Jackman posted this note on his Twitter account Tuesday, indicating he will donate $100,000 to a fan’s favorite charity:

"I will donate 100K to one individual’s favorite non profit organization. Of course, you must convince me why by using 140 characters or less."

So far, Jackman has received Twitter responses from people interested in combating poverty, water shortages and anti-gay discrimination, among other causes.

Twitter race between Ashton Kutcher and CNN narrows – CNN.com