Think you're funny? Maybe you are, and maybe you aren't -- it's not always up to you to decide. As every good comedian knows, a joke that can work brilliantly with one audience can bomb with another. With Twitter, you don't really have the luxury of choosing, or even truly knowing, your audience. So why risk alienating and offending a significant chunk of your following?
Take the example of agency representative James Andrews (@keyinfluencer), whose snarky tweet regarding Memphis, the global HQ of his client, FedEx, landed him in hot soup. Early this year, Andrews landed in Memphis and tweeted his reaction to the city.
Needless to say, FedEx was not amused, and Andrews was subject to a chastising email that quickly made the rounds of the blogosphere.
The 140 Twitter Conference featured a special panel of professional comedians who use Twitter to stay connected with their fans and networks, and to try out new jokes in 140 characters or less. However, when asked if they thought it would be appropriate to use humor for a corporate or business account, all panel members immediately voiced their hesitation. Since a good joke, by its very nature, always walks the line between funny and offensive, it would not be wise to take that risk.
Stand-up comedian and actress Loni Love (@lonilove) advised that if you can't be funny, focus on being positive and inspirational on Twitter. That will put a smile on your followers' faces without running the risk of a backlash.
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