Check before you tweet
JOBURG - Twitter-voiced concerns can be lost in cyberspace when people don't verify the accounts they are sending tweets to.
Twitter users should check before they tweet, just as they think before they speak.
It is all good and well when businesses set up social media accounts. But sometimes people fall victim to sending a tweet to the wrong – or rather fake – account.
In the Northcliff Melville Times (NMT) week ending 21 February issue, we published a letter and screen grab a reader sent of what seemed to be The City of Johannesburg’s Twitter response to her after she thanked them for mowing the lawn on the verge of Weltevreden Road in Northcliff.
The response from the @Joburg handle facetiously read, “Sure no problem – can we offer you a foot massage too? We can do it if you have time after we raked your lawn”.
Digital manager of Caxton Joburg North and Joburg Nortwest newspapers, Margaret Smith, shared some advice on Tweeting.
“Often businesses will have their logos as their avatars so it’s very important for Twitter users to check if it is the correct account,” Smith said.
“Also, once a business or user receives a certain number of followers, the account is verified to confirm its legitimacy.”
The city received the same scrren grab from the reader and assured her that the account was not under their administration.
Moral of the story: verify the account you wish to tweet and know your organisation’s twitter account.
