How Not to Use Twitter

Thinking beyond just the socializing graces many have referred to here, where does one have to draw the line? Ok, don’t say anything bad about the company’s hometown, don’t say his suit was ugly or his deodorant wasn’t doing the job. What about political or social views? What if I am hard left or hard right? Pro-choice, pro-life? How about my sexual activity preferences? I have no idea what my potential associate thinks; what his/her views are on the “taboo” topics. I might appeal to one guy in the room, and not the other gal. Its a crap shoot.

Maybe I need to keep my mouth shut on anything that is not business related. Maybe have a “personal account” and a “professional account” (you can follow yourself… and run around in circles, I guess! lol)

I recently ran into this problem when I decided to allow my young teenagers to get their Facebook accounts. Naturally, Mom was invited to be a friend. But then comments left on my wall, or the ones I left on others’ walls were showing up on my teens’ walls. The posts were mostly about political issues, or the “Pepsi-Coke” debate between Linux & Windows. My kids responded to my choice of PCLOS over Ubuntu with “HUH??? what are are you talking about mom???” And when friends posted some party pics of overindulging adults, those also showed up. Many of their friends had become my friends. And the 14- & 15-year olds were not interested in my views on the economy or open source software choices. Solution: two FB accounts. One PG13 rated, and one Mom rated. Its a bit cumbersome sometimes, but as it turns out, it was a wise choice. So I keep one FB account open on IE and one open on FF. And hopefully, never the twain shall meet.

I have set up Google Alerts for my name and my company name. The strangest stuff shows up! I’m “archived” all over the place. So even deleting my Twitter posts, or blog posts, or forum spewing will not erase my past. All those skeletons in the closet are now virtual as well – and its getting crowded in there!

So, I’m thinking I’m going to do the same for Twitter, as I did for FB – two accounts, one personal and one professional. Some opinions may be better left un-shared. (Twitter is “less safe” because you don’t need permission to follow.) Because, I may go out in my racey new little black dress and diamond-heeled stilettos and tip back a few margaritas with the goils, but more than likely I won’t invite my potential new client or the CEO of a company I work with to join us. (Wow, it just occurred to me… I may need THREE FB accounts! ;p )

Important to note that Mr. Andrews’ tweet didn’t mention FedEx or Memphis – it was, in fact, an expression of irritation after being subjected to a racial incident. The picture is actually quite different than what people are discussing.

Important to note that Mr. Andrews’ tweet didn’t mention FedEx or Memphis – it was, in fact, an expression of irritation after being subjected to a racial incident. The picture is actually quite different than what people are discussing.

Common Sense is always the missing factor. Think before you Tweet! :-)