You Are What You Tweet

twitterbird

I recently unfollowed a couple of people from Twitter. The first I unfollowed because of spam. I stopped following the second person because most of her posts are laden with profanity and followed up with “Don’t like swearing? Too bad. Don’t follow me then.” Well ok. I don’t follow people for the sake of haiving a large pool of followers, anyway.

I’m not a prude.  Though cursing doesn’t hold the same pleasure for as it did during my teens, I’ve been know to throw out a bad word now and then, particularly if pain is involved. However, I’m of the belief that creative people can get their points across without resorting to profanity or vulgarity.

You are what you Tweet. Whether you use Twitter for business or pleasure, folks have to think about what they put out there. Employers are cruising Google and the social networks to see what employees and potential employees are up to. Maybe some people don’t think about this stuff – or even care. I do. I care how my community sees me and the example I put forth.

The folks I meet on Twitter are friends, colleagues and even perhaps important business contacts. Why turn them off? I’m not saying not to be you, but it’s always a good idea to take some time out and think about what we’re tossing out there.

When you use Twitter, does it matter to you what your followers think?

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  • http://www.thriftymommy.com Karen

    Great post. It definitely matters how you speak and act. I don’t want to listen to someone that’s constantly vulgar. There are some blogs that I don’t visit because the bloggers always seems to be at war with the world. Nothing is ever right with them.

    I’m appalled at the things I see on Facebook and Myspace. Don’t people know that their friends, family, and employers can see that stuff? Why leave public mark like that?

    I try to be real on my sites, but it is helpful to remember that our face and name are out there.

  • http://freelancewritinggigs.com/networkblogging/ Jennifer

    Online, I’ll only say stuff like damn. If I REALLY feel the need to swear more, I do that whole $#@% deal, just because it seems more polite. I’m not a cussing prude either, I just don’t think it’s polite to say stuff that could offend someone else – and some people really hate swearing.

  • http://www.jerseybites.com Deborah Smith

    I agree completely. My two boys who are constantly looking over my shoulder also keep me in check.

  • http://adamtree.wordpress.com/ James A Woods

    I recently heard someone complain about the difficulty in keeping their online self and their day-to-day self seperate. It seems there’s an easy fix for that. Be consistent across the board.

    I don’t worry about potential employers or clients looking at my online activities. Although I make mistakes from time to time, I don’t do anything I might be ashamed of later.