Do Not Try This At Home.
The temptation to use Twitter during inappropriate settings and to scribe questionable content continues to defy our everyday concept of common sense.
Case in point #1: A juror in an Arkansas civil trial sends eight “tweets” about a $12.6 million judgment against a building materials company. While the judge is refusing to overturn the verdict, IMHO (hey, I passed graduate business law) it’s clear grounds complete with $12.6 million reasons for a future appeal.
Case in point #2: What’s in the NBA’s DNA that makes it so irresistible for players AND owners to vent their frustrations with tweets before, during and after a game? Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva decided to tap one out during halftime in the locker room last month: “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt (sic). We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.” Well, he did, and the Bucks won, but he got a thrashing from his coach (not for ignoring the coach’s motivational speech, but for Twittering in the first place).
Apparently this lesson was lost on Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban, when a scant two weeks after the Villanueva hoo-hah, he decides to tweet about the officiating during his team’s loss to Denver. Never one to shy away from pouring gasoline on an inferno, Cuban promptly thumbs a snarky tweet about his $25,000 fine from the NBA: “Can’t say no one makes money from Twitter now. The NBA. does.”
There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll continue to enjoy countless other inappropriate tweets, emails and texts in the days to come, much to our collective amusement and disdain. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that it’s probably just as dangerous to tweet and text when you’re driving as it is to QWERTY up when you’re engaged in other activities that require both your rapt attention and sound judgment.
