The power of social media allows us to share information quickly and share news with one another. Twitter is a large part of that sharing process. At the same time, allowing us to post information instantaneously often removes a critical period of evaluation that used to exist before publishing something. That’s a lesson two people have learned the hard way.
1) State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley: In this case, Crowley somehow thought this tweet made sense. It reads, “We’ve been watching hopeful #tsunami sweep across #MiddleEast. Now seeing a tsunami of a different kind sweep across Japan.” So, he compared the volatile situation in Middle East to the 8.9 earthquake that could have killed thousands of people in Japan. Just stupid. But apparently saying stupid things is nothing new to Crowley.
2) Unnamed ex-employee of Marketing Firm: An employee with access to the Chrysler official Twitter feed accidentally posted something to that account instead of his personal one.
Now, this is particularly bad since the company just spent millions on a Super Bowl campaign that touted its people, driving and cars. The marketing employee was promptly fired, but the marketing firm, New Media Strategies, will not have its contract renewed by the car giant at the end of this year. It shows that one erroneous tweet can cost you an important account. All it takes is a second.
Not Intent on Arriving 