Don't Tweet Everything You Think!

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I normally deal write technical articles but something has been bothering me so I wanted to get it down. With Twitter being so easy to update via the site, desktop clients and mobile applications, it has become for some a place to put a continuous stream of thought. However with this stream of thought going so readily out, it seems that some forget to filter what they write (at least I assume this is the case). Comments that are rude about clients or your employer are surely things that you wouldn't want down in writing to come back and haunt you in the future. I can only see these comments coming back to hurt the individual when the client finds out and can't work with them any more, or employer finds them and is less than pleased. Even future job prospects could be hurt if a future employer looks you up on Twitter to see what you are interested in. It seems to me that what you tweet, how you tweet and when you tweet in some ways gives a good indication of the type of person you are, what you enjoy, what you are interested in and how you approach life. Yes we all have bad days and yes we all get annoyed by things from time to time, and Twitter can be a good place to sometimes have a well placed rant at a companies public Twitter account. It shouldn't be a place to Tweet comments that may affect your day to day work relationships, if only for the reason that you want to keep your job. Twitter is like standing on a street corner with a megaphone shouting your thoughts at the world, you don't know who is listening and you don't who will be offended. I know that some will argue that their Twitter account is their personal account and therefore they can say what they like, but the fact is that people work with people on a one to one basis. I know that the views you express are not that of your employer but I still have to work with you as an individual. If you have insulted me via Twitter or complained about something I have done at work then it is going to make it very difficult to work with you. There is also a double impact by ranting about problems on Twitter, firstly you upset the individuals you ranted about, secondly you told them and the entire world which makes it a public problem. You wouldn't go to a party with your friends and stand in the middle of the room shouting to everyone that you hate the host and the party is awful - well most socially adjusted people wouldn't. If you're having a bad day, if the client is winding you up or a colleague is just being plain useless, grab a coffee and rant at the person next to you in the office, but don't tell the world. 95% of the world won't care and you won't do yourself any favours with the other 5%. Or make your account private.