Social Media as a Political Platform - Katie Schuldenberg

Author and professor Julian Zelizer shares his opinions on how the president-elect Donald Trump uses his Twitter and how it isn't appropriate behavior. Zelizer proposes rules that can be abides by when making a post over social media as a president. The first was to not tweet about foreign leaders or policies; the situation being delicate and strenuous as it is, you don't want possible backfire from what's said. Cultures are so different that a simple joke can be mistaken as an insult which could lead to many other issues involving more than that one nation. The second rule of social media was not to give immediate responses to terrorism. The subject is fragile and troublesome to many and shouldn't be forcefully addressed right after a tragedy. Some events don't need to be broadcasted in the first place. Another rule was to not become belligerent towards individual reporters and organizations. Not only does this cause one to question the validity of their statement, but it frightens the press into feeling that they cannot do their jobs anymore because they were bullied by someone of high status. The fourth rule of tweeting is not to post anything that is remotely false. This creates confusion and usually insults someone else's credibility. The final rule is to not threaten individuals or certain businesses. Alike belligerence, this causes great fear coming from someone that could actually cause damage in one's life or business.
Social Media has proved in the past to be a useful tool in self-promotion, spreading important information quickly, and staying in touch with the people, though Trump has shown us how it can be just as dangerous as it is helpful. Not only do his tweets cause panic, confusion, hurt, and insult, but he posts about irrelevant information that doesn't need to be addressed in such an important manner. Donald Trump is already tweeting about his meetings and opinions about foreign leaders and policies, openly insulting or undermining certain people that could be potential aids in times of trouble. He shows childishness in threatening people over social media over selfish or unimportant reasons. I pray that he soon realizes the position he is in and takes more responsibility behind what he says and how he says it.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/05/opinions/how-trump-should-use-twitter-zelizer/