If your Twitter profile is set to private, you can ignore this post.
It doesn't apply to you.
If your Twitter profile is public, please take heed. It's actually something you should seriously consider.
Every time I see a tweet, or someone's Twitter bio, that says something like, "It's only Twitter. It's no big deal," it makes me itch!
NO! It's NOT just Twitter!
It's called the public timeline for a reason, good people.
What you tweet is being seen in so many places on the web right now and indexed for posterity that it's not even funny.
Remember? The Library of Congress has been "gifted" the entire Twitter archive by the creators of Twitter.
Every tweet gets a unique identification number and that number, associated with your words, becomes a link on many search engines, especially Google, and on many of the third-party Twitter tools that are in existence and being created on a daily basis.
You don't believe me?
No problem.
Try this:
1) Go to Google or Yahoo! or MSN Search or any other search engine.
2) Type your Twitter handle (with the @ symbol for one search and without it for another search) into the search field.
Now look at all the different sites and applications that have cataloged your tweets and how your tweets are being used.
The web and social media aren't losing popularity.
It's gaining it with more and more social media tools are being created every day. What that means is that your information is being indexed and cataloged 24/7, and that information is going to be available for many years to come, even when you're dead and gone.
You need also not to lose sight of the fact that your tweets and Twitter handle are being used by others to promote their own agendas. These may be sites you've never visited or even heard of.
How can they do this?
They're taking advantage of the public timeline. Remember that.
Think about that when you think, "It's just Twitter. It's no big deal."
The content you're producing with your tweets today, do you want that same content associated with you in years to come?
Think about it.
Really.
Think about it.
Comments
It seems information on the web travels faster than the speed of light. You are absolutely right about your virtual footprint being left behind long after you have departed. Great article!
Thank you, thorax11. With the Library of Congress set to catalog our tweets, this is now more true than ever.
This is a very good post to enlighten tweeps of what happens to a 'public' tweet! Thanks & keep up the good work...
Thanks, Sparty1216, for your comment. I'll certainly make every effort to keep the information flowing.
I could never understand Twitter's justification for forwarding ALL Tweets to the Library of Congress. Twitter users that were there before the announcement earlier this year should of had the option of forwarding them to the Library, or keeping them out of the Library of Congress's hands.
Thanks for your input, Douglas. The Library of Congress announcement was a shocker for many. The public timeline is going to be even more public and long-lasting, for sure.
TRUE THAT!
Excellent advice, Faydra. I keep my profile public, but I never post anything I would later regret. I help keep this in check by letting family follow me - I would never post something I wouldn't say in front of them. Ok, I wouldn't want my mom to read some of my tweets...
Thanks for the comment, houstonbch, and thanks for reading my post. I'm glad you're cognizant of what you tweet. I hope others follow your example.
I think by "What that means is that you're information is being indexed" you wanted to write "your", but you didn't, because you can't write correctly. Y U NO write correctly english?
Good post Fay. I think a good alternative for people who choose to keep their twitter profile public is to maintain a professional twitter account. Even doing that, however, doesn't relieve someone from the responsibility to tweet things that are not overtly obscene or vulgar, no matter what account it's coming from.
Also, going off topic, I love the idiot who chose to comment on your post, but had to do so anonymously!
Haha. About the person who commented anonymously, bless his/her heart.
Thanks for your comment, Noel.
One of my mottos is "if you don't want to see it again don't put it in print, and if you may see it again make sure what you put in print is the best representation of you that you can offer."
I try to write well. I'm not perfect, but I try to get as close to perfect as humanly possible. I want to look good in person and in print.
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