Yes, the Billionaire CEO of News Corporation has joined the twitterati,
amassing more than 80,000 followers in the process! Considering the humble pie
that was served to Murdoch this year during the course of hackgate and with the
mogul being a much-maligned public figure in the UK as a consequence, this
could be quite an interesting venture!
So, what does a press veteran say in 140 characters? Well,
the majority of tweets so far come littered with slightly awkward punctuation akin
only to when your grandmother battles with predictive text, covering culture,
politics and day to day antics; already Murdoch is displaying his distaste for
the Brits – a feeling no doubt reinforced throughout 2011.
Many will suspect an agenda behind the old timers move in to
social media that is more than just a pensioner’s curiosity, however, whose
idea it was I’m not sure. Perhaps the most telling comment so far comes from
Murdoch himself with one of his first tweets reading - “I’m getting killed for
fooling around on here and friends frightened what I may really say!”
I’m sure they are. Wife Wendi certainly wasn’t approving! I also
can’t help but think of the awkward looks James was giving his old man during
the Select
Committee interviews back in July – no doubt he now feels like most
teenagers do when their parents add them on Facebook.
Image can be a delicate thing, especially in the realm of social media.
I’d therefore hazard a guess that News Corp’s PR are also wincing at the
thought of the boss tweeting – particularly if we are to see more of the above!
Furthermore, whilst my sympathy for the man could fit in a
Japanese thimble, I am also cringing at the thought of the avalanche of abusive
tweets that will now be directed straight at the octogenarian - just yesterday
the hashtag #Murdochsdeletedtweets
was trending (after deleting the above tweet at the request of Wendi). Then
again, perhaps right now all concerned are more pre-occupied on the possible
attempts to hack his password? Oh, the irony.
Whilst Twitter could make a mockery of Mr Murdoch, one thing
is clear - as Jack
Dorsey said, “With his own voice, in his own way, Rupert Murdoch is now
on Twitter.” Certainly, as Piers Morgan
also commented, “This will be fascinating…”
I wonder if he’ll follow @tom_watson?
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