Use Twitter, Get Sued for Libel

It’s my Twitter Page. I can say anything I like in 140 characters.

And then get sued for it.

Did you hear the one about the girl who hated her landlord, claimed on Twitter that her apartment was full of mold, and got sued by the landlord?

Heads up, folks. Off-the cuff remarks can get you in a lot more trouble now that anyone can see them.

The landlord’s response will probably hurt them a lot more than the remarks would have had they simply been ignored, by the way. And I’m not siding with the girl; I don’t know what the real story was at her “moldy home”. But for you, dear reader, the point is more important: don’t think the things you say or do online are private. AT ALL.

I remember a few years ago when my oldest son started college. I attended a seminar where the head of the athletic department made a point about kids and Myspace. Let’s leave it at this: “if you have drunken pictures of you up there, you aren’t playing sports here”. But now add Twitter, Facebook, and wherever else you tell the world about yourself.

I’m not saying you should be afraid of these services or stay off them. I’m telling you that change needs to be managed . . . like change.