Good, Bad & Ugly in Twitterverse

You really can't say news across the transom any more . . . maybe these pixels just across the screen.

Good friend at another institution -- Joe Friday rules here, the names of the innocent . . . -- alerts us of the latest in Twitter miscue.

Remember, folks, the NCAA rules follow you on-line. Lots of hot pixels a couple of weeks back as media and compliance folks alike tried to discern if Twitter was NCAA-compliant. Yes, but not when you do things that would get you into the same level of trouble with the traditional media.

Like a coach saying out loud for attribution that a verbal commitment has happened. Tennessee is turning itself in over a Tweet on Lane Kiffin's feed.

"It's a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!"

Let me extend a piece of recycled advice -- just as we tell a student, when you start a Facebook/blog site/Twitter feed, you are no longer the subject of the interview, you are now the source, editor and publisher. There is no one to blame; there are no take backs.

According to ESPN's reports, it was not Kiffin who punched out the violating Tweet. It was an Kiffin's personal assistants who was tasked with keeping the feed moving. First day on the job, too. That's rough.

Here is the real problem with Twitter: You don't know who is behind the keyboard. Shaq has been very up front that it's him, and he won't accept substitutes. But for every Shaq, there are 10 celeb feeds that are "managed" by members of the PR team working for that person. All part of keeping up appearances.

On an audio podcast or a video package, you know who is doing the work. Even on the website, typically there are attribution lines. No such on Twitter -- you are presumed to be who you are Twittering as until proven otherwise.

Like @ChristopherWalken; sorry, not enough cowbell to be the real thing. Spoofing celebrities is a major part of the Twitterverse.

To repeat, that's why we claimed every one of our coaches' names that we could two months ago, and urged all our colleagues in the SID business to do the same. Not so those coaches could run out and start Tweeting, but to prevent ugly things like: @HoustonNuttOM.

I'm pretty confident the former Razorback head coach has nothing to do with this feed. A sample recent Tweet:

twitter reminds me of text messaging.....i like it!!!

Here is the problem. Look at the structure between the real Tennessee coach's feed @LaneKiffinUT and the faux feed of Ole Miss @HoustonNuttOM. Very similar. Person behind this has captured Coach Nutt's photo to add some realism. This is nothing less than media phishing -- how long until someone comes across this and tries to claim those are real quotes?