doug — off the record

just a place to share some thoughts


Tweeting in the Cold

It seems like the cold weather has affected more than worrying about frostbite when you go outside.

It’s a disturbing trend; people are taking to social media to say the most hurtful things.  I never thought about it until Danika Tipping mentioned that she had done a search for her employer, TVDSB on Twitter and was shocked by the results.  It’s not the Twitter messages originating from the source but it’s people making comments toward the source, presumably to get attention or to change policy.

Is it happening elsewhere?

Yep.  I checked out the two local school boards.

Interestingly, it seems some people (or their parents) don’t know what district that they’re attending.

And, as noted by Tim King, even threats here.  In fact, Tim took to writing a blog post sharing his thoughts.  Read about it here.  “They Know Not What They Do.

Such messages serve no purpose except to make the poster look foolish and perhaps even legally liable.

You have to just ask “What is next?”  Education and a reminder that once it’s on the internet, it’s there for good.

You can’t take on these people online – you’ll only end up in a spitting match and can’t win.  However, the public relations folks behind these accounts can take a higher profile explaining the rationale for decisions and being proactive.  Sure, this is a new technology but communication is communication.

On the brighter side, it’s good to see that humour hasn’t gone missing completely.  My “Tweet of the Storm” has to go to the Peel Regional Police.



2 responses to “Tweeting in the Cold”

  1. I saw a lot of those tweets the last two days – ridiculous and serves no purpose.

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  2. […] Twitter messages going around this week dealing with the cancellation of school.  I called it Tweeting in the Cold, wrote it and scheduled it.  Then, it turns out that Tim had written a similar post with […]

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