Twitterverse: A Bit of Twitter Etiquette

With the great surge of people using Twitter to tell the world what they're doing, people need to stop and think about what they are tweeting and where they are tweeting from. Especially those who will tweet about things that should be filed in the TMI (Too Much Information) Folder. So read on for a few simple tips about where it is and isn't alright to tweet from and a few things that you should never tweet about.

5 Places NOT To Tweet From:

1) The Restroom. This is most especially important if you're in a public restroom. There are a few different reasons for this. First off, the people who are in the restroom do not need to hear you using your cell phone to talk or text from. Secondly, it's highly unsanitary for you to use your phone in such a germ infested environment. And even still, your followers don't need to know that you're in the restroom. Unless you're in the restroom with a celebrity and you've already washed your hands ;)

2) Your Car. If you're in the passenger seat, fine, tweet away. But if you're driving, don't tweet. You create a highly dangerous environment for yourself and the people you share the road with. You're not supposed to be talking on a cell phone while you drive without a hands free device, so you should not be texting or tweeting while you drive for the exact same reason. Once you can tweet hands free, go right ahead.

3) The Movie Theater. I don't know how many people actually do tweet and text from the movies, but this is one of the places that I find it to be inappropriate. You are asked to turn your phones to silent, so shouldn't it be courteous to not text and tweet? It's incredibly inconsiderate to have all those lit up screens all over the theater, it's also incredibly distracting, especially the coliseum seating type of theater where you can see everything the people in front of you are doing. Not to mention the fact that you're sending out spoilers to people who possibly have not seen the movie yet.

4) Anywhere that you're interacting with others. This is yet another bit of common sense, but it seems that in today's cell phone obsessed society, it has slipped the minds of many. If you're in a social situation where you're surrounded by people who want to talk to you, put your phone away, you can tweet later. If you're showing people what Twitter is, that's fine, but show them and then put it away. There is a lot more to the world than Twittering. People still want to have face to face contact with you and they want you to be paying attention to them, not your phone.

5) Work. Okay, this is a bit of an iffy place. I know a lot of people who work cubicle jobs and use Twitter at work just to have some sense of what's going on in the outside world since you're not really supposed to be interacting with others around you out loud. I worked a job that was like that and had we had something like Twitter then, the job would have been much more enjoyable. Now, on the other side of the coin are those who have jobs that require interaction with others, like at a reception desk. Twittering while working in those environments can be bad, especially if someone calls or comes up to you while you're Tweeting and you don't notice as quickly as you should have if you hadn't been distracted. Not to mention, those who are tweeting about things that go on at work that shouldn't be public knowledge. Tweeting at work is questionable, for sure, so use that common sense before doing so.

Now that we've discussed a few places you shouldn't be tweeting from, lets talk about the things that you shouldn't be tweeting about. I'm sure that most of them are going to be common sense, but it seems like a lot of the time, common sense ends up out the window.

5 Things NOT to Tweet About:

1) Bodily functions. No, we do not want to read your tweets about having diarrhea. We do not need to know how many times you vomited because you got too drunk. We also do not need to know about that funny colored goo that is excreting from your body. This is something that needs to be filed in the TMI Folder again. Everyone has bodily functions, but not everyone feels the need to share.

2) Illegal Activities. Don't tweet us about the latest under-age drinking binge that you went on. Don't tell us that you're smoking pot or getting stoned. Don't tell us about picking up the nearest hooker and taking her around the corner. Also don't tell us about all that illegal music that you're downloading, or the movie that you found on the torrent sites. Sure we all know that illegal activities happen, but wouldn't this kind of be like walking up to a cop and saying, "Here, arrest me."

3) Profanity. Admittedly, I'm guilty of using profanity in tweets, I'm sure that a lot of Twitter users are, but it doesn't need to be a giant part of your vocabulary. You have people from 13 to 130 on Twitter and able to read your tweets, keep them clean. I know, sometimes those words are the best words to express your emotions, sometimes they come out without thinking, especially in anger. That's understandable, but when ever single tweet you send has cursing in it, you've gone too far.

4) Sexual Exploits. Don't tell us about what your significant other did to you in bed last night in detail. Don't tell us how much you need to 'get laid' either. Don't tell us that what your favorite position is either. We don't need to know, we can all imagine for ourselves. Again, remember that there are people from 13 to 130 that can read your tweets.

5) Television, Book and Movie 'Spoilers'. While I can think of other things you shouldn't be tweeting about, I think that these are among the most commonly tweeted things that annoy people. People on the east coast tweet about whatever popular television show is on, ruining it for those in other time zones that haven't seen it yet. People sitting in the theater watching the newly released movie, tweeting details, ruin it for those who haven't gotten to see it yet. You read a great book that just came out, the latest thriller, tweet the ending and there goes anyone's desire to read it that hasn't yet.

I think that one of the biggest tips that I can give anyone who is joining Twitter is this: If you wouldn't say it or do it in front of your mother, don't tweet it.