The hour long debate that I watched on national television day before yesterday is still fresh in my mind. A twitter savvy politician was crucified for a quip he made on twitter and almost cost him his ministerial berth. The whole saga got me thinking about the consequences of maintaining an active social media presence.
Let me give you a little background on the episode and what transpired on the debate I am referring too. The Indian government has launched an austerity drive to curb wasteful spending by ministers. Shashi Tharoor, a minister with the Indian government, maintains an active twitter profile. In one of his conversions on twitter, he was asked whether he would travel “cattle class” – a reference the ongoing austerity drive and his desire to travel economy class to save public money. In response to the question Shashi Tharoor tweeted that he would travel “cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!”
The remark sparked an instant row in the political circle and was dubbed by many as “unacceptable”. The controversy was splashed across all major news channels and was pursued with equal fervor in the social media. While the not so social media savvy politicos vied for his blood, the social media community rallied with him. The minister latter clarified that the phrase “cattle class” was used in the question, which he happened to repeat. He also went to explain that the word “holy cow” was not in reference to any individual. “I now realize I should not assume people will appreciate humor. You should not give those who would willfully distort your words an opportunity to do so.” And this is where the crux of my post lies.
People use social media for a variety of reasons; for some of us it is serious business while for others it is all about having light hearted conversations. Regardless of whether you are on social media for fun or business, you need to watch what you say. Everything you say on social media is bound to travel far and wide, especially if you command significant influence in the sphere. And this calls in for extra caution on everyone’s part because there is a high likelihood that “anything you say could be misquoted/misinterpreted and used against you.” (We are notorious at interpreting things in different fashions and do not always share the same sense of humor) So once you have said it, you cannot completely disassociate yourself and will have to face the consequences. This to me is the UGLY side of social media.
It all boils down to the fact that you need to “Watch what you tweet” and generally beware of things you say on social media.
