A link to the following article was twittered to me during lunch today. The story focuses on Twitter, but let me extend the warning to all internet communication including email, blogs, forums, etc.
The words we use in electronic communication can live long after they've been said. And Search engines can find them.
The Dark Side of Twitter: What Businesses Need to Know by Michael A. Stelzner
Right now, Twitter is the talk of the Web among marketers. Use of the elegantly simple social-media site has rocketed unlike anything in recent memory—and it's businesses that are leaping onto the Twitter bandwagon.
The New York Times calls Twitter "one of the fastest growing phenomena on the Internet." A recent study (pdf) determined that at least five million people are using the service and new members are signing up at a clip of 10,000 per day. And unlike other "here today, gone tomorrow" services, Twitter seems to have staying power.
As companies tighten their ad spending, inexpensive social media is clearly the next marketing frontier. As with any new craze, there are enormous opportunities—and large pitfalls that must be avoided.
For this article, I spoke to some marketing professionals who've been exploring the Twitter terrain for a while. My quest was to identify the Twitter landmines so you can fast-track your adventure into this vast new frontier.
But, first, a short story to convey the power of Twitter.
The Shot Seen Around the World
Remember the downed plane floating on the Hudson river? How could anyone forget the picture of people crowded on the wing as the plane gently floated in the frigid January waters.
Janis Krums was nearby as US Air flight 1549 fell from the sky that day. Just moments after the crash, while onboard an approaching ferry, Janis snapped a picture with his iPhone and posted the following on Twitter:
There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
The few hundred people following Janis began spreading the word to their Twitter followers. Janis couldn't have imagined what was about to happen.
Within 30 minutes he was live on MSNBC and CNN. Good Morning America invited him into its studio. Then the BBC, 20/20, ABC and Inside Edition followed. The morning after the crash, his picture was on the front page of major newspapers across the planet and his email inbox had more than 4,000 emails.
A few days after the shot, he posted this comment on his blog, "To say that the last couple of days have been crazy/intense or what ever adjective you want to use is an understatement. It was sheer madness for a while."
Clearly Twitter can be a rapid catalyst for good news.
And now for the dark side of Twitter...
Be Careful What You Say: The FedEx Story
"Everything you tweet is searchable on the web. This can be good and bad. Good if you're strategically using key words for which you want to be found; and bad if you aren't mindful that if you're not nice, it can come back to bite you!" said blogging expert Denise Wakeman. And that bite came back hard recently for PR agency Ketchum.
An employee working for the firm landed in Memphis to deliver a presentation to more than 150 people at FedEx. On arrival, he wrote the following on Twitter, "True confession, but I'm in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, 'I would die if I had to live here!'"
For the rest of this article, click here!
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2 comments:
Good points. With how transparent Twitter is, you've got to watch what you say for sure. Today, I'm shocked by how quickly the twitter-spam is going. Thanks for article.
Cheers,
Brook
Thanks Brook for your comment. (Now will these comments appear in a Google Search!?!?)
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