Sunday, May 26, 2013

INTERNET SPECIAL.... A VIP’s Guidebook to Twitter


 A VIP’s Guidebook to Twitter

    By the time his team took on Mumbai Indians on May 7, Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Manoj Tiwary may have hit just one six and seven fours in six innings in the current season of the Indian Premier League and netted all of 107 runs. But he did make heads turn just an hour before the match, which he had been left out of. He tweeted “2day is d worst day in my cricketin career .. Never ever gonna digest dis day all my life” A couple of hours later, he tweeted that his account had been hacked. Well, by that time every one who had seen the tweet saw that coming.
    We will never know if his account was indeed hacked, but we do know that Tiwary is not the last celebrity — okay, half-celebrity — to have his foot in his mouth, even if courtesy of hackers. ET Magazine asked three social media consultants — Rajesh Lalwani, chief executive, Blogworks; Daksh Sharma, director at Iffort and; Rajiv Dingra, CEO, WATConsult — to suggest ways to tweet without landing in a soup. While these tips hold good even for aam aadmi, they are crucial for celebrities given their following and the spotlight that refuses to leave them.

1 No Private Chats, Please!
Don’t use Twitter for private conversations through direct messages (DM). There is a good chance that due to a tech malfunction or a human error you will end up sharing your private conversation with your followers. If your life is indeed as interesting as a few million of them think it is, you have given them, and the media, some juice.
2 Don’t Tweet Drunk Few things reflect as badly as tweeting drunk. Former senator of Massachusetts, US, Scott Brown earlier this year tweeted “bqhatevwr” when he meant to say “whatever’, prompting social media pundits to say he must have been inebriated. He said it was a “pocket tweet” meaning that his phone accidentally sent out that tweet when in his pocket. Well, what can one say other than that do not even give your followers a chance to conjecture whether you have had one drink too many!
3 Don’t Leave the Phone with Your Nephew
Think hard before leaving your phone for your nephew to find. Ask cricketer Suresh Raina what he had to face when he did just that, or so he claimed. After Pakistan’s exit from the ICC World T20 tournament in Colombo in October, he tweeted, “Ek do din late gaye ghar!!!! Woh bhi besharam ki tarah Gaye... Bye bye Pakistan!!!!” He then called smartphones “dangerous” and attributed the tweet to his nephew. Twitterati still wonder if it was actually his nephew behind it.
4 Don’t Follow Everyone who Follows You
Sometimes, a celebrity may be overcome with love and kindness towards his/her followers on Twitter. That does not mean you start following anyone who follows you. It does not reflect well on your status. A Bollywood actress is said to be a subscriber to this philosophy of “You follow me, I follow you” and has invited many a snicker.
5 Are You Sure You Want a Twitter fight?
Unless you believe any publicity is welcome, having a spat with someone on Twitter is not a good idea. When actress Ayesha Takia tweeted about how a Kingfisher staff member misbehaved with her sister, Siddharth Mallya told her to “pipe down” and they had a heated exchange till Vijay Mallya tweeted an apology.
6 If you are Promoting a Product, Disclose it
Many celebrities are tweeting about their personal lives, sharing their thoughts and experience. In between these tweets, they are also promoting a range of associated products and launch of movies. While on TV, it is easy to tell a brand is being endorsed by a celeb, how do you know it on Twitter? Simple hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored in your tweets will provide more transparency. The Federal Trade Commission in the US has now made it mandatory to disclose if a tweet is sponsored.
7 Be Sensitive to Public Sentiments
It is easy to get carried away on Twitter and say things you would say to a friend without worrying about being judged. But celebrities, please note you are not just with your friends and people could come at you hammer and tongs on Twitter. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the most-followed Indian politician on Twitter, knows this better than anyone else. His calling airlines’ economy class “cattle class” had netizens fuming and even got his party’s disapproval. Similarly, American rapper 50 Cent came under fire last year for poking fun at autism and had to issue an apology.
8 Watch out for Defamation
IPL’s former chief Lalit Modi was not one known for his discretion but what he casually tweeted about former Kiwi all-rounder Chris Cairns’s alleged involvement in match-fixing did take many by surprise, none more than Cairns himself who took Modi to a London court for libel. The court told Modi to pay Cairns £90,000 in damages and Modi’s appeal against it was turned down.
G Seetharaman ETM130519

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