ITK 2. Probably part 2 of 2.

With the odd exception, I am not going to tweet about something big that I have heard or confident will happen on Twitter. The exception would be if the paper doesn't want to use it or that the news will be out in the open before it is printed. Then, Twitter is fine to use as it does not impact on what is being printed. My aim on Twitter is to find news and tweet news, as I said. I can go into the background of a deal, what could happen etc etc but you must understand the reason why certain things will be held back.

Fraudsters and people who claim to have inside info think differently. Usually, they're not involved in football or sport or involved in the game of news and news breaking. They'll just throw things out there and watch the audience gather. One of the most galling things is that so many people will lap it up.

One of the most hilarious things I saw today was Sneijder tweeting he was in Ibiza with his wife. Within minutes, this was RT'd to someone whose knowledge in the game is questionable and with a message 'is this true?' attached.

Why would someone who doesn't even know the player know otherwise? It's not even worth asking.

Someone on Twitter told their followers that the Sneijder deal will go through on Thursday. Now, it's Monday. And if you query this you are either told to fuck off or blocked. The truth is, the person doesn't know when the deal, if any, will go through. But yet will dangle a tasty tweet out there ("My source tells me it's Thursday etc") and people will follow and believe this.

Thursday comes and passes. Then it'll be Monday.

Now, I am not 'attacking' the following tweeter per se, but the following two screengrabs shows how conflicting people who claim to have information can be.  It's unfortunate this particular person has to be the subject of a discussion of ITK people, and I am sure he's a nice chap really. But this serves as a warning to people who believe everything they read.

I am terrible at working computers. I have no clue how to put pictures on this blog. So paste the links into your address bar.

EXHIBIT 1:

http://postimage.org/image/tv3q0fpg/

So - from this we, the reader, are told that there will be a key day in the Sneijder saga etc. We're told the day is Thursday and so forth.

EXHIBIT 2:

http://postimage.org/image/twmaqw04/

Ah. A problem. Now it's Thursday (which isn't going to happen) but then it changes to Monday. The negative tweets come (no doubt a lot of it was just simple questions) but the person is very dismissive. He doesn't want to talk about it. He bats everything away and tries to block things out. Interestingly, there are posts suggesting there will be no more tweets about the subject - and one saying he's even being quiet - only for the tweets to continue by the barrel full.

No more updates or tweets will be given, apparently, yet more tweets follow. And more talk follows.

Now, apparently, it's 'Monday or the deal is off' - I'm sorry, but this now just smacks of desperation from someone who, fairly or unfairly, is being given a hard time. A day or so ago they were confident it was going through on Thursday, then they were confident it was going through on Monday, now it could be off altogether. What is it to be?

I don't agree with hounding people off Twitter or bullying, and my post here is not intended to attack or bully, merely to highlight how dangerous it can be to come across as somebody who has the absolute, cast iron knowledge of something, only for their plans to explode in their faces.

There are many people who do this - just one of those things I guess.

UNDERSTANDING CERTAIN PEOPLE

People who have a track record of getting things right get a big following as people want to follow their news, which is fair enough. However, the followers then expect this person to Tweet 100% fact, tweet after tweet day after day. If they say something that has already been said or published, they are accused of not having any knowledge.

A classic example would be FourthOfficial. They were given dog's abuse the other day for simply saying 'looks like Cesc is finally done then'. A fairly innocuous statement/opinion I am sure you will agree - but he was accused of not being exclusive! People should understand not every tweet is sacred discussion. Merely a discussion point.

Had he said 'I've just got it from a good source and I can now reveal that Cesc is off to Barcelona' then fair enough, he's pretending to be something he isn't. But he didn't.


BEING FIRST

Everyone wants to be first. Even the journalists. But when journalists are first, there isn't too much of a funfare about it. They're pleased with themselves, sure, but there isn't the 'LOOK AT ME, I TOLD YOU THIS X DAYS AGO AND IT HAS HAPPENED' style approach.

People who claim to have confirmed information do so in order to, in the event it does come true by some weird twist of fate, they can scream from the rooftops that they were reliable.They had this information first. Trust them.

Don't.

Always have an open mind, even when told something by someone you trust.

Journalists get things wrong because things have not worked out as they were told. Things change and sources can be let down.

ITK, or people claiming to have info, get things wrong because they haven't really looked into the situation in the first place.