Social has been something of a revolution over recent years, changing the way that we talk to our friends and family, as well as the methods that companies can use to get in touch with their customers.

It has also been the arena for some  interesting, entertaining and funny asides. However, its darker aspects have also been often on display. Another example of this was seen just this week, as a PayPal executive took to Twitter to denigrate his previous colleagues and company.

Largely though, such public humiliations can easily be avoided by taking a little time to create content.

To carefully consider what you say online is advice that has been bandied about many times before. However, it is certainly relevant now, if not more so, considering how quickly you can get your innermost thoughts and opinions out there, as the former director of strategy for PayPal, Rakesh Agrawal, is probably right now finding out.

He posted a series of messages on Twitter. In them, the now deleted posts contained personal slights at Agrawal’s co-workers. Sent overnight, Agrawal claimed they were not actually for public display, but should have been sent as direct messages.

Such protestations did not wash with PayPal though, who released its own tweet saying:

“Rakesh Agrawal is no longer with the company. Treat everyone with respect. No excuses. PayPal has zero tolerance.”

Though not clear with its message, Agrawal was quick to point out that he was not sacked by PayPal for his Twitter outburst.

However, many industry experts have said that the timing is not what Agrawal needs to be worried about.

Just the fact that he chose the platform to air his grievances will damage him professionally, and should serve as a warning to any other employer thinking of getting things off their chest in the public domain of social media.

Steven Morris