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Twitter Etiquette

Ashton Kutcher Quits Twitter Over Penn State Scandal
Poll

Have You Ever Tweeted Something You Regretted Later?

Twitter can be a dangerous tool, allowing you to tweet before you think.
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Twitter can be a dangerous tool, allowing you to tweet before you think. Or in Ashton Kutcher's case, tweet before you know all the facts. According to his Twitter account, Ashton Kutcher is taking a break from Twitter and handing over his feed to his Katalyst Media team in response to the firestorm that erupted last night after he tweeted his outrage against the firing of Penn State coach Joe Paterno. Ashton says he only saw the headline as he passed a TV and tweeted before digging for more info, but after learning more about the story later — that Paterno is being accused of covering up an alleged sex abuse scandal — he deleted his tweets and apologized to his following.

Ashton Kutcher

While not all of us have over eight million followers to answer to, when you tweet without thinking (or Googling), 140 characters can easily be taken out of context or be incorrect altogether. Have you ever tweeted something you regretted later? How did you handle it?

Is It OK to Not Friend or Follow People on Facebook or Twitter?
Advice

Tech Dating 101: Is It OK to Not Friend or Follow?

Saying there are a million ways to connect with people online isn't much of an overstatement.
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Saying there are a million ways to connect with people online isn't much of an overstatement. The trouble is, all that online communication and connection alters in-person interactions. People now use Facebook to get to know one another and, for better or for worse, judge one another on their online activity, friends, and reputation. When is it OK to say "no" to being online friends with a real-life pal or potential love to protect your face-to-face relationship? You'll find out in this installment of our Tech Dating 101 series.

A co-worker recently shared that a close friend and former flame of hers, whom she has known for more than 10 years, requested to follow her on Twitter after he started following one of their friends in common. She went to click the "accept" button but realized she had protected her updates for a reason, and though she knows this man well, respects him, and doesn't have secrets from him, she isn't ready for him to know what she thinks about Vampire Diaries or her lunch. She asked me if I thought it was OK to ignore his request, even though she will inevitably have to face him. To see my advice, read more

Lisa Rinna Reveals a Little Too Much On Twitter
Poll

Have You Ever Twittered TMI and Regretted It Later?

I've already screamed from the rooftops how public of a place the Twittersphere is, and I've even warned you not to go overboard with personal info and intimate details about your life on the microblogging social networking site.
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I've already screamed from the rooftops how public of a place the Twittersphere is, and I've even warned you not to go overboard with personal info and intimate details
about your life on the microblogging social networking site. But there are always those instances when you throw all caution to the wind (or are under the influence of alcohol) and start tweeting your life away. Thankfully you can go back later and trashcan anything you may not want showing under your profile, but once you post it, it's automatically sent to your followers — so the virtual damage is already done. Do you have any Twitter TMI regrets?


Twitter Cisco Fatty Incident Reminds Us That Twitter is Dangerously Public
digital life

Public Service Announcement: Twitter Is Very, Very Public

In light of the phenomenon of the Twitter Cisco Fatty incident (if you're not familiar, the gist is that a young woman Twittered her job offer from Cisco, calling it a fatty paycheck), I feel that we need to make something abundantly clear.
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In light of the phenomenon of the Twitter Cisco Fatty incident (if you're not familiar, the gist is that a young woman Twittered her job offer from Cisco, calling it a fatty paycheck), I feel that we need to make something abundantly clear. Twitter is very public. Sometimes, dangerously public.

Twitter is not Facebook, which while not very private itself, is more oriented toward your friends. But Twitter is a public forum. Even if you're not following or followed by strangers, you're still public. Post one buzzword, and it'll be found in a search. Not only are you at risk for relevant people finding your entry and losing something, as the Cisco fatty poster did (a job, in her case), you can also be up for public mockery, as she was.

To see what else I have to say, just read more

Follow Twitter Etiquette and Find Out What Not to Twitter
Advice

Twitter Etiquette: Don't Twitter TMI

Although the whole principle of Twitter is to quickly describe to the world what you're up to, you don't want to go overboard with the "personal" info.
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Although the whole principle of Twitter is to quickly describe to the world what you're up to, you don't want to go overboard with the "personal" info. For example, nobody wants to hear the intimate details of last night's date, the fact that you're in the bathroom right this minute, and hey, maybe you should keep the whole "in labor" thing to yourself.

You've already shared what you consider unacceptable Twitter behavior (bathroom breaks and anything you wouldn't want your mom to know are a given), so let's just make Twitter TMI a steadfast no-no and add it to our etiquette rule book. Obviously your followers are interested in your life and your thoughts about the world around you (otherwise they wouldn't be following you), but there are some details that should remain strictly between friends . . . or perhaps between you and the bathroom wall. Have you been a victim of Twitter TMI?

Twitter Etiquette, Keep Messages at 140 Characters or Less
celebrity gadgets

Do You Follow Twitter Etiquette: 140 Characters or Less?

I've been following a bunch of celebs on Twitter to keep me in the know about what's going on in their lives, hoping for a little insight.
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I've been following a bunch of celebs on Twitter to keep me in the know about what's going on in their lives, hoping for a little insight. But there was one celeb I started following that wasn't adhering to the 140 character premise of Twitter. Meaning they would max out one message, and then immediately begin another Tweet, and another until they finished what they wanted to say, which sometimes ended up being five tweets in a row.

Really, the whole idea of Twitter is to give the world a quick snapshot of what you're doing, what's going on, or what's floating around in your head. Personally, I think that if your message is longer than 140 characters, you should consider saving it for your blog.

Do you follow Twitter etiquette and keep your tweets to 140 characters or less, or are you guilty of stringing along multiple tweets to finish your message?