PR Squared: The Regrettable Tweet

IStock_000002452009XSmall I recently wrote about “Finding a Work/Life/Tweet Balance” in which I sussed out issues related to tweeting at work.

But Twitter has another peril: “living out loud” can have toxic side effects to those you may be tweeting about!

When I see other folks tweet caustically or blog about people who bug them (even if reasonably and anonymously), I can’t help but consider what would happen if their posts or tweets were being tracked during (or after) the encounter.

Would the discovery of these tweets lead to more fighting, more pettiness? Or, to more genuine conversations?

I know I’ve let loose with a “regrettable tweet” here and there. So far it’s led to more genuine conversations (and more than one apology).

I often wonder, “What if Abraham Lincoln had been on Twitter? He was often frustrated with his generals and advisors and he was always quick with a quip: in Twitter that could be a lethally funny combination. Would he be so open online? Would we think more, or less, of him if we were privy to his Presidential twitterstream?”

I suspect we’d think less of him: there’s such a thing as “too much info.”

Some things are better left untweeted.

Comments

Todd,

I think the best reminder of that is from Steve Rubel, who twittered something that was construed as being negative to PC Magazine:

http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/04/open_letter_les.html

I'm not making light of it or making fun of it, but his experience is an unfortunate cautionary tale for all of us.

Daniel

Posted by: Daniel Riveong | April 14, 2008 02:28 PM

I just tracked in from Twitter and you are right about watching what you twitter/blog/bitch about... I had a bride who had an anonymous blog/online diary going and she mentioned my name in it and how unpleasant I was to work with... (Lucky for me she's in the minority)...
Anyway I have my company name derivatives and personal name listed in Google searches and every time my name gets mentioned it pops up the next day as to where and who said what.
All the replies to me on twitter show up also...

www.vistaphotography.net

Posted by: Jeff | April 14, 2008 03:05 PM

Last night, I had a long chain of tweets about how the rules of engagement are changing, and why I don't auto-follow. I mentioned that I didn't follow Robert Scoble (among other A-listers) and Robert shot me a snarky little reply.

I don't regret the tweet, just that it's being taken out of context (to Robert's amusement.)

Posted by: Ike | April 14, 2008 04:13 PM

This post is an absolute piece of garbage! Wait, that was for the regrettable comment post...

Happy 5th birthday to you and the team.

Posted by: David Evans | April 14, 2008 04:20 PM

It's really tempting sometimes to use Twitter as a replacement for inner monologue. I often forget that from time to time, people actually read what I write on Twitter, and am shocked when they reference it. Anger + cellphone could end very badly if you have a momentary lapse in judgement.

Posted by: Ryan Anderson | April 14, 2008 11:36 PM

I suppose this further stresses our vulnarable e-dentity and the increasingly thin boarder between private life and work life. Sometimes I can't help thinking that we are creating our own 1984 society in which we are surveiling ourselves.
Thanks
Max

Posted by: mt | April 15, 2008 04:58 AM

Citing your citation of me, I actually have NO regrets about anonymously describing someone's abuse of my attention -- in the form of social media and email spam. I'm not into outing people personally, by name, but I am into raising awareness of general behaviors that manifest as pollution. I believe that addressing problems creates room and incentive for more "genuine conversation."

And expressing feelings about such issues did, in my case, lead to more genuine conversation. Even an anonymous description of the said bad behaviors in my post prompted dozens of industry colleagues to reach out to me privately and guess the name of the guilty. I never knew how far said person's abuse had spread -- to the point of mass annoyance. I found out I wasn't alone.

Separately, I did tell said person directly and privately that things had gotten way out of hand. Problem is that this sort of abuse is not uncommon. But, again, we can raise awareness of it and extend zero tolerance.

- Max

Posted by: Max Kalehoff | April 21, 2008 08:50 PM

Here is a related issue I am currently struggling with: is it acceptable for me to follow employees on Twitter or is that invading their privacy?

Todd, I'd be interested in your thoughts on that issue.

http://strategicguy.blogspot.com/2008/04/privacy-conundrum.html

Posted by: Marc Hausman | April 22, 2008 10:01 AM