Blame it on character limits, the English language or plain stupidity- our politicians & celebs love their share of 'Twitter Trouble'
All avid Tweeters and followers, are you fed up with the mundane life? Want to stir things up a little bit?
Our Twitterati show you how.
1- You could blame Twitter for your 'political' faux-pas
@Sushma Swaraj: 140 characters only. Give me a break!
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is the latest to be 'bitten' (quite painfully, embarrassingly) by the Twitter bug. On Saturday, Swaraj posted:
"I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC, which has been quashed by the Supreme Court. I think this is enough. Let matters rest at this and we move forward."
Now hold on a second. "So, you disagree with your party colleague Arun Jaitley's stand that he give a statement in Parliament?", asked the media.
In less than 24 hours, Sushma was forced to clear the air with a statement (in the flesh this time).
"There is no difference within the party and between me and (Arun) Jaitley on the issue. The demands he (Jaitley) made, the Prime Minister had already spoken about it that he (Singh) will give a statement in Parliament. That is why I did not put it on the twitter... There is a constraint in twitter that you have to say things in 140 characters. So I did not put it on twitter".
140 chars only? Twitter better raise that limit now. We need our politicians to have their say- Entirely!
2- You could lose your job!
@Shashi Tharoor: Alas, Twitter, woe is me! *faints*
You may have tweeted in the virtual world', but watch out! It could have damaging results in the 'real world'!
And that was the bitter lesson Mr Shashi Tharoor, former MoS External Affairs, learnt last year. It all began with a Twitter-war with then IPL Chairman Lalit Modi over the new Kochi franchise.
In a series of tweets, Modi claimed that Tharoor lobbied hard for the group because his girlfriend (now wife), Sunanda Pushkar, was getting a 'sweetheart' deal: 70 crores in sweat equity which was undilutable in perpetuity.
The Twitter battle snowballed into utter chaos and controversy in Tharoor's political career. Finally, under pressure from his party, Tharoor resigned, but not before defending his 'mentor' role in the Kochi team to the hilt in Parliament.
The only silver lining in the dark, dark, cloud- Lalit Modi got the boot too!
3- You could tweet the 'Word of the Year'
@Sarah Palin: Ah, 'refudiate'!
Palin introduced the term into the world's lexicon last July when she used it in a Tweet about the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in New York.
Her exact words:
"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate."
And no it wasn't a typo. The VP-aspirant, in normal circumstances, clarifies her are one- but this time round, whoops!
The message quickly disappeared from her Twitter page, but the gutsy Palin defended her usage in another Tweet.
"'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
Following the 'tweet-isode' (if Palin can, so can we), New Oxford American Dictionary named "refudiate" 2010's Word of the Year.
Also to her credit, the Oxford University Press blog defines refudiate as a verb "used loosely to mean 'reject.'"
Take a bow, lady!
4- You could try not parading your ignorance
@Bipasha Basu: Must learn to tie shoe laces! NOT.
It's a celebrity's turn now and our very own are not far behind!
Bipasha Basu made a blunder by posting a picture of two little girls trying her shoe laces.
"I need to learn to tie shoe laces ASAP! Embarrassed that I can't! No patience grrrrr! Promise I am not spoilt! Will learn soon."
Despite her 'pure intentions', the nation did not find it funny.
Bipasha later deleted the picture explaining that the girls in the picture were her sister and a friend.
People just don't get a joke, huh, Bips?
5- You could be the Turkish President with a pirated copy of 'The King's Speech'
@Abdul Gul: I always get 'special copies' of movies! Jealous now?
Now, here's a lesser known Twitter story.
President Abdullah Gul recently became the first Turkish leader to set up his own Twitter account.
And yes, as practice goes, within days he hit controversy.
"I watched 'The King's Speech' with my wife. It is really a very good film ... I suppose the film will be subject to many discussions and be awarded with many prizes."
So how did the President watch it if it wasn't released in theatres or available on DVD?, noted an avid follower. Did someone slip Gul a pirated copy of the film?, others wondered.
But the director general of the Turkish body that oversees cinema and copyright issues jumped to the President's rescue (on Twitter). "Gul was provided with a "special copy" of the film at his request."
Special copy? Yes, we get it! (wink wink)
Source: India Syndicate
Our Twitterati show you how.
1- You could blame Twitter for your 'political' faux-pas
@Sushma Swaraj: 140 characters only. Give me a break!
"I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC, which has been quashed by the Supreme Court. I think this is enough. Let matters rest at this and we move forward."
Now hold on a second. "So, you disagree with your party colleague Arun Jaitley's stand that he give a statement in Parliament?", asked the media.
In less than 24 hours, Sushma was forced to clear the air with a statement (in the flesh this time).
"There is no difference within the party and between me and (Arun) Jaitley on the issue. The demands he (Jaitley) made, the Prime Minister had already spoken about it that he (Singh) will give a statement in Parliament. That is why I did not put it on the twitter... There is a constraint in twitter that you have to say things in 140 characters. So I did not put it on twitter".
140 chars only? Twitter better raise that limit now. We need our politicians to have their say- Entirely!
@Shashi Tharoor: Alas, Twitter, woe is me! *faints*
You may have tweeted in the virtual world', but watch out! It could have damaging results in the 'real world'!
And that was the bitter lesson Mr Shashi Tharoor, former MoS External Affairs, learnt last year. It all began with a Twitter-war with then IPL Chairman Lalit Modi over the new Kochi franchise.
In a series of tweets, Modi claimed that Tharoor lobbied hard for the group because his girlfriend (now wife), Sunanda Pushkar, was getting a 'sweetheart' deal: 70 crores in sweat equity which was undilutable in perpetuity.
The Twitter battle snowballed into utter chaos and controversy in Tharoor's political career. Finally, under pressure from his party, Tharoor resigned, but not before defending his 'mentor' role in the Kochi team to the hilt in Parliament.
The only silver lining in the dark, dark, cloud- Lalit Modi got the boot too!
@Sarah Palin: Ah, 'refudiate'!
Palin introduced the term into the world's lexicon last July when she used it in a Tweet about the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in New York.
Her exact words:
"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate."
And no it wasn't a typo. The VP-aspirant, in normal circumstances, clarifies her are one- but this time round, whoops!
The message quickly disappeared from her Twitter page, but the gutsy Palin defended her usage in another Tweet.
"'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
Following the 'tweet-isode' (if Palin can, so can we), New Oxford American Dictionary named "refudiate" 2010's Word of the Year.
Also to her credit, the Oxford University Press blog defines refudiate as a verb "used loosely to mean 'reject.'"
Take a bow, lady!
@Bipasha Basu: Must learn to tie shoe laces! NOT.
It's a celebrity's turn now and our very own are not far behind!
Bipasha Basu made a blunder by posting a picture of two little girls trying her shoe laces.
"I need to learn to tie shoe laces ASAP! Embarrassed that I can't! No patience grrrrr! Promise I am not spoilt! Will learn soon."
Despite her 'pure intentions', the nation did not find it funny.
Bipasha later deleted the picture explaining that the girls in the picture were her sister and a friend.
People just don't get a joke, huh, Bips?
@Abdul Gul: I always get 'special copies' of movies! Jealous now?
Now, here's a lesser known Twitter story.
President Abdullah Gul recently became the first Turkish leader to set up his own Twitter account.
And yes, as practice goes, within days he hit controversy.
"I watched 'The King's Speech' with my wife. It is really a very good film ... I suppose the film will be subject to many discussions and be awarded with many prizes."
So how did the President watch it if it wasn't released in theatres or available on DVD?, noted an avid follower. Did someone slip Gul a pirated copy of the film?, others wondered.
But the director general of the Turkish body that oversees cinema and copyright issues jumped to the President's rescue (on Twitter). "Gul was provided with a "special copy" of the film at his request."
Special copy? Yes, we get it! (wink wink)
Source: India Syndicate
