Twitter Goofs

July 2, 3:50 PMTwitter ExaminerMark Leevan

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 Twitter goofs have led to some major embarassments.

Making a Twitter goof can be as easy as hitting the "reply all" instead of just replying to the intended recipient.

Twitter can be fun and useful. But like most fun and useful things it can also cause embarassment.

"While Twitter is a new tool that brings with it some new possible ways to make mistakes, people make mistakes in all of the different communications we already have," said Sarah Milstein, author of "The Twitter Book" and social media consultant (she was the 21st user of Twitter). "What makes Twitter different is that the messages are public so that anyone can see them."

Tweets are public and can easily tracked, but the short messages can also leave the Twitter users control like being easily re-tweeted and go viral very quickly.

"Be thoughtful about your posting, be interesting, because Twitter is a medium where people choose to get your message," Milstein said. "If you're thoughtful about your individual messages, it also helps to take a step back when you're doing something potentially inflammatory or that you may regret later."

Here are some more memorable goofs by Twitter users:

• Author Alice Hoffman caught some flack for getting huffy with a critic
• Israel Hyman told his approximately 2,000 Twitter followers that they were "preparing to head out of town," and his apartment was burglarized. His wife thinks the two are unrelated.
• Al Roker snapped photos of potential jurors on his iPhone and posted them to his Twitter page.
• Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got in hot water with the NBA for tweeting grievances against referees.
• Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., updated the public on his travels through Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Jeffrey Frederick, Virginia's republican party chairman tweeted a tease. "Big news coming out of Senate: Apparently one dem is either switching or leaving the dem caucus.
• March Jon Mayer and Jennifer Aniston split, allegedly because Mayer spent way to much time on Twitter.
• A job hunter tweeted: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating my work." Oops. The Twitter user went private, so the end of the story wasn't revealed.
• New York Times consumer tech columnist David Pogue tweeted his personal phone number on Twitter when he first started using the micro-blog.
• UPDATE: Shane Carwin, UFC heavyweight confirmed, via Twitter, that he would be fighting Cain Velasquez. Trouble is that the bout agreements had not been signed,

As with email and other electronic, instant, communication, don't be in a rush to let the world know too much via Twitter. Don't be a Twitter Goof.