Don't Twitter
by Graham Davies

There is a clue in the name, which suggests the valueless squeaking of insignificant creatures.

Twittering is a presentational liability, because it encourages you to engage your thumbs on a keyboard before you have properly engaged your brain. This is especially true if you twitter the content of someone else's speech while they are still speaking. It is extremely difficult to listen to something, form an opinion, think of the words that encapsulate that opinion and then type them out....at the same time as listening to what the speaker is saying next.

A skilled news professional can just about do it...as long as what he is conveying is essentially reportage with very little personal opinion.

But if anyone else tries, their immediate and unconsidered opinion-spouting will get in the way of careful listening. There is a real danger of inaccuracy.

You should be very careful about sending an email that is read by one person. You should be enormously careful about sending a communication that could be read by thousands of people. Inaccuracy and inadequate analysis could lead to annoyance, ill-will and defamation proceedings.

In communication, spontaneity and speed can be good things. Careful analysis and calculation are better.

So, don't Twitter immediately unless you don't mind looking a twit. And I've cleaned that up a bit.