The hazards of Twittering

Should lawyers Twitter? For those who haven’t been keeping up with what’s going on in the “social media,” Twitter is what some call a micro-blog service that lets you post 140-character messages any time you feel like it. The Wall Street Journal’s technology blog Digits reported that Google’s Eric Schmidt referred to Twitter Tuesday as “a poor man’s email system.”

I’ve never thought anybody cared to know what I do all through the day, so I’ve never bothered to Twitter. Nevertheless, some marketing experts are now pushing everyone to Twitter, including lawyers.

The potential hazards of Twittering were demonstrated this week when the maker of the colorful candy Skittles redesigned its website to focus on what people were saying about Skittles on Twitter.  The blogoshpere started buzzing about the website’s redesign to focus on its use of Twitter.  By Tuesday, the conversation about Skittles on Twitter had turned sour (sorry about the pun).  According to a MediaPost article, pranksters quickly began writing negative and unrelated comments. These comments almost took over the Skittles site.

Brand Keys President Robert Passikoff reportedly said that the fiasco demonstrates the power of consumers. Passikoff also said the campaign also brought to light consumer sentiment about the brand based on freedom of speech on the Internet. “The good news is there is freedom of speech, and the bad news is there is freedom of speech,” he said.

The Skittles debacle serves as a cautionary tale for law firms who are considering integrating Twitter into their marketing campaigns.

Tagged as: Twitter