The need for legal literacy doesn’t end with new fangled technology platforms such as Twitter.  Just because Twitter is fast and easy doesn’t mean that others won’t try to hold you accountable for what you say. 

Free speech doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want.  Just ask Mark Cuban, the Dallas Maverick’s owner, who was fined by the league for slamming an official refereeing the Maverick-Nuggets game.  That was a $25,000 boo-boo.

Unfortunately, more people are being dragged into court due to indiscrete tweets, giving rise to Twitter torts, or as I prefer to call them “tworts.”  These tweets are the latest examples of smoking gun rule #3 (choose and use your communication channel wisely).

The lesson from these emerging tworts is clear — it always pays to twink before you tweet.

Today I was reminded of a bad date I went on many years ago in the pre-cell phone age.  We were supposed to meet in front of a Greek restaurant for dinner.  We were both on time and we both thought we were at the front entrance.  Mine was on the pedestrian mall side.  His was facing the street.  The error wasn’t discovered until much later that evening when he accused me of standing him up.  Needless to say, it was all down hill from there.

Today’s reminder of the non-date from hell came courtesy of Monica Hesse’s fun article in today’s Washington Post about how communication styles can sabotage relationships.  Some people prefer text messaging to e-mail.   Others prefer Twitter or a phone call.  If, for example, they ignore their voice mail while waiting for a text message they might as well be standing at the wrong restaurant entrance. There is more opportunity than ever before to get it wrong.

Now imagine if that were to happen in a business context. 

Misunderstandings can easily arise due to terse text messages or lengthy e-mails that lack the intonations of a human voice and body language.  For customers who have little patience, those misunderstandings can quickly escalate from dissatisfaction to conflict to litigation.   

The lesson for businesses interested in controlling their legal risk is to choose their business communication channels wisely (rule #3).  To avoid creating a smoking gun document you’ll want to strive for clarity and accuracy (rule #7); but, to be “heard” and maintain a strong customer relationship you need to be in synch with your customer’s communications preferences.   The best legal risk management strategy marries the two concepts and strengthens the business relationship in the process. 

It’s a win-win.

We all know that social media accelerates the pace of communication, including miscomunication.  But most of us still underestimate how quickly one thing, even a silly thing, leads to another and can mushroom into a mini public relations crisis.

That’s what happened to Domino’s Pizza earlier this week according to the NY Times.  Two jokers working at a Conover, NC store thought it would be funny to make a narrarated, video, graphically showing unsanitary sandwich preparation.  They then loaded it on YouTube and with the help of Twitterand assorted bloggers drew enough attention to their escapade to gross out more than a million viewers.

Well, these former employees aren’t laughing anymore.  The company acted swiftly and terminated the hapless pair who are now facing felony charges for delivering prohibited foods (even though they claim the sandwiches were never delivered – it was a joke remember).

Unfortunately, it was no joke to the folks who actually watched the videos (which have since been removed from YouTube).  YouGov, a research firm that surveys consumers daily about brands, found that consumer perceptions of Domino’s were affected by the incident within a few short days.  Even Domino’s spokesman, Tim McIntyre, noted that loyal customers are now second guessing their relationship with Domino’s.

Too bad these former employees were more informed about the potential consequences of their prank before it went sideways, or had more common sense.  It’s also too bad that Domino’s didn’t stuff the viral mushroom sooner.  What do I mean by that?  Well, while it was to the company’s credit that it acted swiftly in terminating the feckless employees and pressing legal charges, it was not as quick to communicate that message in the social media that created the buzz in the first place.  As a result it left too many people wondering “What’s Domino’s doing about all this.”

The Domino’s story drives home the importance of Web 2.0.  It also illustrates how the legal aspects of business can quickly segue into far ranging reputation aspects.

Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, The No Nonsense Lawyer