Your Tweets Are Not Your Own

November 8, 2011 by rosettathurman · 23 Comments

This post is part of my ongoing Social Media 101 series to encourage leaders to learn more about social media and use it effectively in their life and work.

I love Twitter. It’s one of the social media tools I use most frequently to grow my professional network and build my personal brand. But there’s one thing I’ve noticed lately: some people are putting some weird disclaimers in their Twitter profiles. I mean, we only have 160 characters to tell people how awesome we are in our bios, and there are people out there who are using up at least 17 of them saying things like “tweets are my own” or “opinions are my own.”

Well, who else’s tweets would they be? Your face is the one on your Twitter profile, so . . .

Here’s what I mean, in a few examples (no offense to these folks, but I really think their thoughts stand stronger on their own without the disclaimer):

Contrary to popular belief, you’re not really protecting yourself by putting that little disclaimer out there. (Neither is your employer, for that matter, if their policy governs employee’s use of social media too broadly. See the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel report detailing the outcome of investigations into 14 cases involving the use of social media and employers’ social and general media policies. See also: 8 Reasons Social Media Policies Backfire.)

I mean, if you diss your boss on Twitter, you’re still gonna have to face the consequences, yes? If you tweet something that your employer or colleagues find super-offensive or contrary to the mission of your organization, you’ll still have to face the music of them reacting negatively to your opinions. Right? You can’t exactly yell “immunity!” if someone calls you out on a hate-filled Twitter rant.

Here’s another nuance I find curious.

When people state where they WORK in their Twitter profile, but simultaneously assert that their opinions are their own. Um, not exactly. Now that your followers know where you work, it’s pretty hard for them to completely separate your thoughts from the culture of the organization. So if you want to know the truth, your tweets are not 100% your own when you tell the world where you work. And unfortunately, you can’t have it both ways – piggybacking off your organization’s brand and then being able to say whatever you want.

Your tweets are not your own.

Sorry to burst the bubble. But really, let’s stop wasting precious Twitter characters on the disclaimers, shall we? Just be smart about what you say, the same way you would in face-to-face conversations. It seems complex, this business of being human on the internet. But it’s really not.

Just take a look at a few examples of non-disclaimer Twitter profiles:

See? Twitter works just fine without all the (non)legalspeak. Need more advice? Take heed of these simple, yet wise words from @almameeker:

@rosettathurman i try to go by this rule of thumb: if i wouldn't say it in a crowded room of people i respect, i don't say it here.

October 31, 2011 11:48 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@almameeker

Alma Meeker

Do you have a disclaimer in your Twitter profile? Why or why not?

Filed Under: Social Media · Tagged With: Social Media, Social Media 101, social media for nonprofit professionals

http://www.patrickscientific.com Patrick Scientific

Really good post. Some people want the ability to be irresponsible when that never is the case. You are always responsible for what you say.
http://www.patrickscientific.com Patrick Scientific

Really good post. Some people want the ability to be irresponsible when
that never is the case. You are always responsible for what you say.The only thing people need to remember is that Twitter as regards to individuals should only be taken so seriously.

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

I think many people use the excuse of being online (i.e. it’s just Twitter) as a reason not to be civil and emotionally responsible. I actually do think we should take what people say seriously. We are, after all, human beings who are sharing things with each other online – this is still real life, even if we’re behind a screen.

http://www.patrickscientific.com Patrick Scientific

How can you take someone seriously who is behind a screen? (Just a thought!) That’s why I can only take twitter so seriously. It is not like radio or TV where you can at least hear or see the individual who is making the comments. With radio you can call up and even possibly see them if need be. With Twitter who knows if the people are even real…@PoohTTang can make a comment and I can only take it so seriously. I believe once a understanding of the attitude of the individual behind a twitter account is known then you can that person as seriously as they take themselves. I can take your tweets seriously because you have a habit of being serious online. I agree to you fact that being civil anywhere including online should always be first.

Quoting Disqus :

http://twitter.com/MatthewSm1th Matthew Smith

Fascinating post. In my bio I identify my employer and say “Tweets reflect the idiosyncratic me.” That was my attempt to protect my job status AND inject a little humor. But you’re right — we can’t have it both ways. Thanks for inspiring me to rethink my bio!

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

Yeah, I can’t imagine that these disclaimers are really gonna protect anyone’s job status.

LaCharla Figgs

Great post. Here’s my take: Social media began by–big surprise–being SOCIAL. But as the business, government, and philanthropic sectors have entered this world, some undesirable baggage has followed. (Like the dreaded Fear-of -Litigation, his sidekick, Pink-Slip-Paranoia, and her cousin, Grant-Ax-Anxiety.) So some Tweeters adopt “fine print” mentality in self-defense.

I agree with you that we must all communicate responsibly and that disclaimers won’t save anybody. But I think it’s most unfortunate that the perceived need for “legalese” has come to the world of social media.

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

Yes, legalese seems to have invaded many social media policies, which is probably what makes so many leaders fearful of even getting on social networks. Given the cases studies highlighted by the NLRB, the legal disclaimers – even when required – seem pretty pointless.

http://www.unsectored.net Jeff Raderstrong

Phew! Glad I recently put up a more flattering picture on Twitter!

I think you make a good point, and I wish we could live in a world where people understood that individuals can work for an organization–even message for an organization–but have their own, non-disclaimered opinions and share them publicly. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world.

Many professionals do not understand what is said on line is said from an individual perspective, and individual perspectives are confusing and contradictory–hence the “never should be taken seriously” line in my bio. Even if I was not required by my employer to have a disclaimer on all my social media profiles–which I am–I would still have that line about not being taken seriously. I think social media is all about exploration and misrepresentation of what you believe in. Without saying stuff wrong, you can never get it right.

And, I don’t want to get in trouble along the way during that exploration. Obviously I’m not going to say something I wouldn’t say in a crowded room of people I respect on any of my Twitter accounts (I have three), but I do know that I can say something on @jraders:twitter that I can’t say on @unsectored:twitter or @vppartners:twitter , because of the different goals and strategies of those organizations. And I like that. I’m a complex person with complicated interests and goals, and I want to have my social media persona represent that. (Which is also why I have my other twitter accounts linked to in each separate profile.) I want to keep those thoughts separate from each stream so not to confuse my followers/readers, but also so I don’t confuse myself. Putting up those barriers has been quite helpful for me, actually, in honing in on the different parts of my personal/professional life.

So–I get what you are saying, but even if I was not required by my employee contract to do so, I would still probably have a similar disclaimer in my bio. If you’ll notice, those last three bios you highlight are all pretty senior people–they have the authority to say whatever they want on behalf of the organization. They also probably are fully committing their social media presence to one organization. I am not, and I wouldn’t want to.

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

Thanks for adding your thoughts here (and for being a good sport!). My main point was that no matter what the disclaimers say, they are pretty useless for everyone (most organizations have not yet figured out that by putting certain rules in their SM policies, they may actually be making themselves liable for what their employees say online). You can STILL get in trouble for something you might slip up and say online on any of your accounts – so why have it in the first place? Why even tell people where you work if you don’t want your thoughts to be associated with the organization? That’s the main question I’m asking here.

Not sure there’s a “right” answer, but I think it’s important to keep asking ourselves what are we doing online and why are we doing it.(I also just realized that I did put more senior people in with the non-disclaimer group – but really most professionals on Twitter do not have a disclaimer. When I was looking for examples, some of the Unsectored folks just happened to be the first who showed up on my radar!)

http://www.unsectored.net Jeff Raderstrong

Well, I’d just flip that around right back on you: If it doesn’t matter either way, why not have it? Regardless of everything I said in my first comment, either way, I need to have it to be employed where I work, and I see no reason to fight on this issue.

If you want to take on org policies on social media–go for it. I think that’s a discussion worth having. To that end, I think a disclaimer does help organization be associated with an employee’s content, but not liable for it. I’m not trying to hide my affiliations, I’m just not trying to be liable for them. I think this is a perfect solution to that problem. These concerns are real–it’s a part of running a diverse organization in the technological age.

So, I think it is important to keep asking ourselves what we are doing online, but I know what I’m doing, online and offline. What I have now makes sense to me, and I’m going to keep it the way it is. Like you said, either way, it doesn’t really matter.

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

Yep – part of this post is about SM polices - the liability issue is obviously widely misunderstood, which leads to the disclaimers. Sounds like there may be more reasons behind yours though, since you say you would use it even if your employer didn’t make you. For others, perhaps that’s not the case.

Anonymous

Definitely a great and timely post. Pew just came out with a survey that shows 80% of teens between 12-17 that are online use social media. This is a HUGE discussion in our NC Generation Z forum and how to relate & prepare young people for this new world where your opinions ARE your own and you need to watch out for them. I think you could do entire blogs about this (as there probably are) as it relates to policies, legality, etc.

With piggybacking off your NP’s brand, and then turning around and trying to say that your opinions are not their’s is something that never crossed my mind. I personally try to stay away from ever mentioning my employer on Twitter (sadly it is on Facebook), but even then a quick Google search could pull it up. Great post!

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

Thanks for adding more food for thought! I agree that it’s so important to be talking about how Gen Z will navigate these issues. That little disclaimer will not protect anyone, let alone young people who normally have a lower threshold for privacy online anyway.

http://twitter.com/eclawson Elizabeth Clawson

Interesting…I never thought of those disclaimers as immunity cards (though their users may consider them such). Instead I find them valuable as a way to suss out whether someone tweets as her- or himself or under her/his own name but on behalf of her employer. Usually if someone does the latter, she says so in her bio (i.e., “Tweeting for the XYZ Foundation”), so why not clarify in the other direction? I guess it IS a little silly to say “tweets are my own” if you don’t list a professional affiliation in your bio, though.

http://www.rosettathurman.com/ Rosetta Thurman

I’m still confused as to why one would state where they work in their Twitter bio if they don’t want their tweets to be linked to their employer at all. I mean, there’s no rule that says you have to tell people where you work on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/eclawson Elizabeth Clawson

Very true! Which I why I don’t say where I work, proud of it though I am. I do say it in my LinkedIn profile, though, which is connected to my Twitter profile, so I figure if someone really wants to know where I work, they can find out.

http://twitter.com/ToscanoAdvisors JVT and DTM

Great post. I agree completely. I think some, myself included might have felt some security in the disclaimers, but as you point out at the end of the day it matters not. I agree with the general rule of thumb, if you’re worried about who will read it or if it could be taken out of context, don’t post it.
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Patrick Furlong

Hey Rosetta, I love this blog for all the ways it has me really going back and forth on this. So I think if you put the “tweets are my own” or whatever under the guise you’re somehow protecting your job with legal wording then yes, you are incorrect. But I think there are times where it can be useful.

I manage social media for my university department. One thing we’ve done is much like Southwest Airlines, we’ve put tweets by @pjfurlong:twitter in that bio so people get that it’s a real person, etc… So in my personal profile, I put something along the lines of run the twitter feed for this department, but the comments are my own.

I don’t do it because I’m worried I’ll get fired or anything like that but rather, because the academic department I work for really looks at policy issues and I maintain a neutral political stance on that feed. But on my own, I have been known to once in a while put a progressive tweet out there.

So my approach is this: at times, it is useful. I suppose I could create a fake personal account that is just for work, but that seems, I don’t know, too fake. And so I put the comment there but in general, follow the golden rule of social media: Everything you post is a postcard- anyone can see what you write so post thoughtfully.

I’m going to keep weighing this but thank you. I appreciated the post!
Patrick

Great conversation and thanks for bringing up this point Rosetta. In principle I agree with your post. You are always representing your organization and should therefore be careful and respectful with what you tweet and post.

I added my disclaimer as protection from the people that don’t want to separate individual thoughts from organizational statements. About 6 months ago I tweeted in reply to a sports journalist a personal feeling about a local university fan base. Someone who doesn’t follow me apparently saw this and tweeted @ me “is this the official stance of the Red Cross”. To me that is unfair entirely. She then followed up with a phone call to our office to complain.

Like another poster said, it seems obvious people could separate the individual from the org, but my experience says otherwise.
http://twitter.com/bridgetaward Bridget A. Ward

Google before you Tweet and think before you speak.
http://www.bikestylespokane.com BarbChamberlain

It’s not just employment that creates the feeling that something may need to be said for those who don’t get it.

I manage social media accounts for my employer and am an official spokeswoman. While I may tweet ABOUT my employer on occasion from my personal account, I tweet FOR my employer from the branded account.

That doesn’t mean people understand the distinction; they see my name (which is my Twitter account name) associated with my employer all the time in the local paper. Furthermore, I’m a public employee so I assume everything I say at any time can be mistaken for an official statement.

In addition to my job I serve on boards of a number of community organizations, which for the last year included a policy-making board in the transportation arena. I have a lot of personal opinions about transportation policy (how else does one end up on such a board?).

I try to tweet judiciously, but may have opinions I want to voice that are not those of a particular board on which I serve and I need to be clear I’m not representing that board. On occasion I’ve done a two-part tweet so I could include “my opinion/not board’s” as part of the message. That gets cumbersome and the necessity is pretty subjective.

So yeah, I kinda think I’m explaining/clarifying a little bit by saying, “Hey, this is MY account” with the “Opinions mine” line in my bio.

In addition, I am reminded of the recent case in which an employer tried to charge a departed employee for the “value” of his 20K+ Twitter followers, many of them accumulated during the term of his employment.

If they follow you for your personal opinion–as noted in the bio–then they should clearly not be considered a business asset of your employer. Maybe another rationale for making that kind of statement?

All of the above is just my opinion