How many of us have done something stupid that we wish we had not done and that we deeply regret? I sure have, and I know a lot of other people who have made some bad mistakes many times over throughout their lives.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (@RepWeiner) did a stupid thing then lied about it, then confessed to the world what he did and how it happened. Twitter should thank Mr. Weiner because his mistake will forever become a teaching moment on how not to use their service.
Many famous and not so famous people have also done some stupid things in the misuse of their Twitter accounts but not till now has someone gone on public display in front of an international audience to tell their story of how it was done. Rep Weiner didn’t just say he Tweeted his now famous picture to the wrong person, which many have done. Mr. Weiner admitted that he mistakenly used the “@” symbol instead of the “D” for direct message.
For those of us who do know the difference between an “@” and a DM message on Twitter, this is a moot point but for the millions upon billions who didn’t know what they were you can be rest assured they definitely know now. Unless you were fortunate enough to work for Twitter or happened to be one of the early adopters of using the Twitter service know one really knew how to correctly send a Tweet. Yes, many books on the subject came out to explain the difference but before Rep Weiner not many would admit they themselves didn’t have a clue. I would even go as far as to wager that before this unfortunate incident many didn’t even know there was a way to send a private direct message to someone on Twitter.
Yes, Rep. Weiner did a stupid thing in using such a public form of communication like Twitter to send something so private. And Yes, this mistake could very well cost him his political career and yes his wife may never forgive him for putting her through such an embarrassing ordeal. I for one hope he stays in public office and I do hope both his wife and family can weather this storm and come out of it with a an even stronger resolve.
What I also hope will happen is that Rep. Weiner will embrace this teaching moment and become a spokesperson as to how not to use public social media services like Twitter to send pictures of your privates…;-)
Take a look at the video below and judge for yourself.
With all of the drama going on with the recent death of Osama Bin Laden, many have voiced their opinion by posting comments on Twitter. One such person just so happen to be a professional football player who plays for he Pittsburgh Steelers. Running back Rashard Mendehall used Twitter to make comments on what he thought of people celebrating after the news of the killing of Osama Bin Laden. He later apologized for those same comments and tried to help people understand where he was coming from when he made those comments. Take a gander at the two videos below which are reports from ESPN on Mendehall’s comments.
Twitter has become a tool used for many pro athletes to voice their opinions, both good and bad. The question is should athletes, who represent their respective teams be allowed to send out messaged to social media sites? I tend to agree with the group that says Twitter and other social media sites like Facebook are a form of free speech. If you use these forms of communication you are subject to the same accolades and consequences you would get if you used traditional media.
That means you would also be subject to be reprimanded if you say something that is out of turn or character of your employer. One should be very very careful when posting anything using social media. Hitting that send or publish button could take you to a point of no return. Just ask many of the people who have been fired from their jobs for posting something that didn’t agree with the wishes of their employers.
I have shoes older than Twitter, yet I seldom wear those shoes. I use Twitter every day since I got my first Twitter account almost 4 years ago. I didn’t understand it at first but my good friend @brentleary kept telling me that sending Tweets will be the next BIG thing. I resisted the urge to Tweet for almost a year then I got my first taste of how powerful Twitter really is in the world of communication.
This whole Twitter thing really hit me when the Twitter account of our current President of the United States, Barack Obama @BarackObama started to follow me. Back then he was only the Senator of Illinois running for President but it meant a lot to me that he decided to follow me. It was not until later on that I found out that he followed everyone who followed him at the time.
The point is I was so impressed that he thought to follow me, I started following others who in turn followed me. This time it was someone who actually knew me personally and wanted to follow the links I was sharing. We have been following each other ever since then and of course now I am hooked on Twitter.
So Happy Birthday Twitter!!! And thank you Brent for pushing me to Tweet for the first time.
One person, two awesome ideas, millions of happy users. How is it that lighting can strike not once but twice with one person. Jack Dorsey, @jack co-founder of Twitter and founder of Square has been in the right place at the right time with amazingly successful services.
Twitter has made the distribution of information to the masses both quick and easy. Square up has simplified how small businesses accept credit cards.
Jack’s ultimate goal in life is to make complex things simple. He sat down with Charlie Rose on the Charlie Rose Show @CharlieRoseShow and explained how challenging it is to make things go from the very difficult to something that becomes very manageable and effortless.
Take a look and give us some feedback on how you use both Twitter and Square. Click here to check out the full interview.
Are you listening to what is being said about your company or your brand? Well both Gatorade and Dell have taken listening to Social Media to the next level with the help of Radian6. The Social Media landscape is ever changing and more and more companies are finding out that listening to their customers and potential customers pays dividends.
Gatorade’s Social Media Command center was one of the first to concentrate on listening and monitoring for its brand from Pepsico. Dell’s command center launch just brings more attention to what they have already been doing when it comes to monitoring Social Media to help their customers with buying decisions.
Take a look at the 2 videos below and let me know if you think having a Social Media Command center will become a growing trend or a flashy fad.
How many of us have done something stupid that we wish we had not done and that we deeply regret? I sure have, and I know a lot of other people who have made some bad mistakes many times over throughout their lives.
