In route to Memphis from New York to present information on digital media to a Client — the worldwide communications group of 150+ people of FedEx — this advertising agency employee decided to “tweet” (post a microblog on Twitter) about his personal, not too flattering, opinion of the Memphis area.

Thing is, this “tweet” wouldn’t have been that bad if a FedEx employee hadn’t read this merely hours before the presentation was to begin — making the connection between this post and the approximate time that he would be arriving in Memphis to give the presentation.

According to Shankman.com, FedEx employees were offended by this remark and responded to the “tweet” in the form of a letter, copying “the FedEx Corporate Vice President, Vice President, Directors and all management of FedEx’s communications department AND the chain of command of the advertising agency.” [Shankman.com]

Below is an excerpt from the letter:

“If I interpret your post correctly, these are your comments about Memphis a few hours after arriving in the global headquarters city of one of your key and lucrative clients, and the home of arguably one of the most important entrepreneurs in the history of business, FedEx founder Fred Smith.

…Many of my peers and I feel this is inappropriate. We do not know the total millions of dollars FedEx Corporation pays [your agency] annually for the valuable and important work your company does for us around the globe. We are confident however, it is enough to expect a greater level of respect and awareness from someone in your position as a vice president at a major global player in your industry.

…Additionally Mr. Andrews, with all due respect, to continue the context of your post; true confession: many of my peers and I don’t see much relevance between your presentation this morning and the work we do in Employee Communications.”

Click here to view the full letter.

Social media is a tool that must be used with caution — especially when it comes to anything work-related. In this case, the advertising agency employee most likely did not think anyone from FedEx would 1) view what he posted on Twitter, and 2) realize he was referring to the Memphis area.

But not all online social networking results in a situation such as this.

U.S. Airways used Twitter as a means of communication to get in touch with family members of passengers on the U.S. Airways flight that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River on January 16. Prior to this unfortunate incident, it does not appear that U.S. Airways had an account with Twitter. The U.S. Airways Twitter account seems to have been created solely for this purpose.

Point is, social media has opened up lines of communication that will be traceable for days, weeks, months and even years after it is posted.

Proceed with caution.

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