For those who use the social media micro-blogging site Twitter to comment about their jobs or industries, don't be deceived by the ease at which you can transmit your inner most thoughts to the world.Those tiny tweets of 140 characters or less can have severe consequences when combined with poor impulse control and bad judgment.
In the latest example of Twitter gone wrong, R&B singer, Chris Brown, fresh off his graduation from court-mandated domestic violence classes, engaged in a highly publicized twitter scuffle with a former member of the group B2K, Raz B. During the hours long Twitter rant, Brown managed to sling homophobic slurs and mock child molestation all in 140 characters or less.
Initially only black gossip blogs went crazy about the Twitter scuffle, however, Chris Brown soon found his tweets to be the subject of posts on the powerful entertainment industry site, TMZ. It was not a good PR day for someone fighting to re-enter the public's good graces following his brutal attack on pop star Rhianna. Shortly after TMZ posted his Twitter rant, Mr. Brown's publicist wrote an apology for him.
During the episode, Mr. Brown complained that he was being treated unfairly:
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D'Angelo
Michael D'Angelo Archer been called a founding father of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s. This son of a preacher man and Virginia native had his first mainstream success in 1995 with the single "Brown Sugar." Five years later, in 2000, he won a Grammy for Best Male R&B act and his second album 'Voodoo' won for Best R&B Album of the year.
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Aretha Franklin
The undisputed Queen of Soul was crowned thus starting with her chain, chain, chain of hits in the late '60s including "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer" and many more. Though she's never quite achieved the same commercial success as in the beginning of her career, she still wears the crown in her golden years.
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Freddie Jackson
Harlem native Freddie Jackson first gained acclaim for his 1985 ballad (and album) 'Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)' He then followed that up with hits such as 'You Are My Lady.' Subsequent singles such as 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' 'Jam Tonight' and 'I Don't Want To Lose Your Love' all went number one on the R&B charts.
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D'Angelo
Michael D'Angelo Archer been called a founding father of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s. This son of a preacher man and Virginia native had his first mainstream success in 1995 with the single "Brown Sugar." Five years later, in 2000, he won a Grammy for Best Male R&B act and his second album 'Voodoo' won for Best R&B Album of the year.
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Patrice Rushen
Being a jazz artist wasn't the only thing on Patrice Rushen's mind. Having Quincy Jones by her side as a mentor made fans 'Watch Out' for her R&B hits 'You Remind Me,' 'Forget Me Nots,' 'Haven't You Heard,' and 'Feels So Real.' An accomplished musician, producer and arranger led Rushen to be musical director of the three consecutive Grammy Awards from 2004 to 2006.
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Boyz II Men
You'll never forget the words as long as you live. "End of the Road" was the slow-jam of the decade and it closed every high school dance across America, long after Boys II Men's star had faded. The 1992 number-one hit was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and was the most successful single ever released on Motown Records, according to Wikipedia.
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Brian McKnight
At just the age of 19, Brian McKnight secured a record deal with Mercury Records. McKnight is a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer who plays nine instruments. His smoldering ballads "One Last Cry" "After the Love" and "Anytime" ensure his esteemed place in the cannon of black music.
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Cameo
Originally consisting of 13 members, Cameo's Larry Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, and Nathan Leftenant brought the world a brand new sound inspired by heavy drum machines and edgy synthezier arrangements. The group made sure all of their 'Cutie Pies' maintained a 'Single Life' with hits like 'She's Strange' and 'Candy.' Their fashion sense (ahem, cod piece) is also something that renders them unforgettable.
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Crystal Waters
Dance music, singer and songwriter Crystal Waters became an international superstar with '100 Pure Love,' 'SayIf You Feel Alright,' and her hit song 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless).' The latter gypsied its way back onto charts in 2006 when rapper T.I. sampled it for his single 'Why You Wanna.'
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Alexander O'Neal
Topping the charts with a string of duets including 'Saturday Love,' and 'Everything I Miss At Home,' Alexander O'Neil and Cherelle helped define the mid to late 80s with their funky dance grooves. O'Neil probably didn't expect so much 'Sunshine' in London where he holds the record for being the only R&B artist to sell out concerts at the Wembley Arena.
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Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999)
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its wack as f*ck that everybody can bash me... but soon as i defend myself its world war 3.I TAKE SH*T FROM everybody... its cool though. (Necole Bitchie)
To the contrary, young Chris, every day ordinary people are held accountable for what they tweet.
David Le worked for the Washington, D.C. Department of Employment Services in Anacostia. That is until Mr. Le sent tweets reportedly calling the people of Anacostia "ghetto." In addition, he bragged about being lazy and being instructed to loaf around on the clock:
thank goodness my boss is making things easy, he told me to pretend to do work so he can mark me down for hours...
one of the schools I am in charge of is Anacostia HS. If you are from here, you know ANACOSTIA... about 100+ murders in one year...
They decided to just pay us for 40 hours a week bc we are too lazy to sign in and out...
In americas ghetto anacostia... If i get scared i will just yell chinese carry out! They will not shoot me.
Needless to say, David Le (who is Asian) was very quickly let go as a result of this thoughtless digital rambling.
But don't let his story lead you to believe that you can tweet what you want between jobs. People even get fired from jobs they don't already have for sending unprofessional statements over Twitter. After receiving a job offer from CISCO, Connor Riley foolishly tweeted thoughts pondering whether she would accept a "fat" check from CISCO despite they fact that she would hate working at there:
Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.
Not smart. After CISCO caught on to her lack of gratitude, she lost her offer and no longer has to worry about that long drive.
You would think that stories like these are unusual, or that Chris Brown is a particularly idiotic case, but he is not. There are many long lists of people who have suffered severe consequences for what they have tweeted.
Twitter is not a toy. It is not your therapist. It is not your best friend on the phone that you share your most intimate thoughts with. Twitter is the front page of your local newspaper or the anchor desk of the nightly newscast. If you don't want to see your thoughts on the front page of the local paper, then don't tweet them. If you don't want to get fired from your job, avoid tweets attacking your employer, customers or peers.
Did you know that the Library of Congress is preserving your tweets? Yes, it's that serious. Even if you don't have a high profile like Chris Brown, you still need to exercise extreme common sense when posting to your social networks. What you say on the Twitter platform might in fact last your lifetime.
Gina McCauley is the CEO of the Blogging While Brown Conferenceand the blogsMichelle Obama Watch and What About Our Daughters. She is currently completing her first book, 'Michelle Obama Watch.'
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Comments: (23)
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By: serenitymuszings on 1/06/2011 2:52PM
I watched the so-called beef. It is clear that you did not follow the time line of RazB, who clearly initiated the whole thing. As a journalist, I can tell when someone is getting ready to drop music because they generally land in the news; surely you can too! The ex-member of B2K is in the process of pushing a new project, so why not go after the easiest target? TMZ reported the information one-sided. It saddens me that you are doing the same. Here are two young men who made the error of posting their internal squabble to an external world. Of course we are paying more attention to Mr. Brown, because quite frankly, he is the bigger artist. Raz has not had a hit in years.
I only hope that my peers continue to report the news the correct way - fair and balanced. African Americans have enough problems with mainstream media failing to report both sides to our story - on any given 6:00pm news broadcast. Let's not have it here, as well.
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By: karrac on 1/06/2011 5:48PM
well things happen..and chris brown has made some bad choices,but he is a great artist.i wish him nothing but the best..i will always be a fan of his no matter what.YOU LIVE AND YOU LEARN.CHRIS BROWN MUCH LOVE.
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By: Chris Brown #1 Fan on 1/07/2011 12:21PM
THIS REALLY BLOWS ME. ALL OF YOU ARE NOT TRUE CHRIS BROWN FANS. A TRUE FRIEND OR FAN, WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU ARE WRONG. RAZB HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO LOSE, AND CHRIS HAS A LOT TO LOSE. AND YOU MIGHT AS WELL STOP USING AGE AS AN EXCUSE. HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO APOLOGIZE CHRIS. AND THE GAY POPULATION HAS A RIGHT TO FEEL BETRAYED, AND I AM SURE HIS SALES ARE GOING TO SHOW. I AM GAY, AND I TOOK THIS VERY HARSHLY. I CANNOT STAND RAZB, BECAUSE IF HE WAS MOLESTED HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO GO THERE, EVEN IF CHRIS SAID IT FIRST. BUT FOR ME TO HAVE BOUGHT ALL OF YOUR CDS CHRIS, FOR YOU TO PUBLICLY MAKE THOSE COMMENTS, I AM DISGUSTED.
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