Think Before You Tweets

"Use your head before using your thumbs.”

That was the message from David Sheets, sports news editor of St. Louis Dispatch at the session “Think Before You Tweet: Editing Yourself” in Society of Professional Journalist conference is Kansas City, MO, April 9.

I’ve been willing to blog about this material since last week but just got sidetracked by one thing or another. Apparently, the class assignment about Twitter brings me back to the topic.

According to Sheets, technology helps us to be socializing. “All of us are social animal,” he said.

The use of social media is a phenomenon right now. A person do Twitter for himself/herself also very often become the social media specialist for his/her company and organization account. Consequently, be careful; know who you are online and where you are online.  

Here’s the example. In February 2011, American Red Cross made accidental tweet in their account @RedCross:

"Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head's Midas Touch beer... when we drink we do it right #gettingslizzerd

Seemed like that was meant to come from a personal account.

An hour later, Red Cross acknowledged their mistake and made a statement:

"We've deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we've confiscated the keys."

Sheets said, with social networking, the world is our oyster. “Small things can leave a big impression.”

How important Twitter for the community is also detected by the government. Last year NPR published that “The Library of Congress is Archiving Your Tweets.”

So, to avoid looking silly in Twitter, Sheets suggested this steps:

• Soften down your temper. Don’t tweet when you’re angry. Because when a person gets angry, his/her ability to reason is impaired. So consider your mood before tweeting.

• Know the relevant background information about your subject before tweeting about it. Get your facts straight and be able to answer “Who cares?” and “So what?” (and of course, the five basic W’s and H).

Sheets said, with blogging and social media, journalists can seep their opinion into their reporting. But remember; still do research before post it.

• Use your intuition. It’s a sense of sense; if you think what you’re doing is wrong, go with the feeling. Do not risk posting anything that may be misinterpreted.

It’s related to how many media right now are quoting celebrity tweets as a quote. Verifying and confirming is the best way to avoid libel/insult/threat.

• Nuance, means pay attention to grammar and spelling. Minimize potential errors by reading posts out loud or having someone else read them. “Delete immediately if you find mistake,” said Sheets.

• Last one, is the self-Kontrol, means control the burning urge to hit “Send” button until you’re certain you’ve accomplished all the tasks mentioned above.

Sheets also gave some tweet-tips for journalist. He said journalist should be original, avoid merely repeating what others say. Also, check your distribution setting; be certain your tweets are going to the proper audience.