The other day, a friend of mine asked me if I thought that the whole Tiger Woods fiasco would be as wide spread if Twitter didn’t exist. After thinking about it, I said no. If you look at how the situation unfolded, after sites like TMZ told of Tigers many indiscretions, Twitter was sparked. Better yet, it was on fire. Twitter not only helped fuel the news, but it allowed people to voice their opinion on the situation.

You Can’t Hide

Because Twitter allows users to share content easily and more importantly, instantly, news becomes “as they happen.” In most cases, users on Twitter learn about breaking news even before major news networks do. Best case example is what happened when it was determined that Michael Jackson had passed away. It wasn’t from CNN or Fox that people found information about the situation, but rather from social media outlets like Twitter.

The downside to news spreading on Twitter is that sometimes the validity of the facts is questionable. Although users on Twitter were some of the first to share the untimely death of Michael Jackson, most if not all were still vague on details.

You Can Find Anything On Twitter

Not only does information filter throughout the Twitterverse rapidly, but it is also unique in that you can find it as it happens. Using tools like Seesmic and HootSuite, anyone can search for a term or phrase within seconds. The ability to reach thousands and millions of individuals is continuously growing, and the ability to monitor what they are saying is becoming easier everyday.

A great way to describe trying to keep something from landing on Twitter is like trying to hide from someone while playing Hide N’ Seek when they have a tracking device. You can try and run from them as long as you want, but eventually they will catch up to you.

Social Media Rumors

One of the biggest mistakes that Tiger Woods did was that he gave control of the situation away by not coming out and confronting it. Looking back on it, Tiger essentially let people assume what they wanted. While news publications made their own guesses on what had happened, people on Twitter were coming up with their own. Similarly, going back to the Michael Jackson situation, people began creating rumors that appeared so real that even major news networks began running those sames stories.

Twitter users aren’t news reporters, only individuals. It is only natural then that when people hear rumors about something, that assumptions will be made. Unfortunately, in some cases the Twitter rumors can have a negative affect.

Be First To Control Your Content

It is important to remember that anything can end up Twitter. Whether it’s a breaking story or a video, one way or another, someone on Twitter will be talking about it.

With that said, it becomes more and more imperative that individuals and companies alike begin to monitor what is being said about them.  Robert Scoble said it best when he said:

“Twitter lets me hear from a lot of people in a very short period of time.”

If that is the case, then perhaps it is time for us to drop the ‘hide’ in ‘hide n’ seek.’

Joseph is the Director of Marketing at Viralogy.com & works in social media & sports consulting. Read more about him at http://JosephAYi.com .

Tags: Search, Tiger Woods, Twitter, Viral