Social Media Gaffes on the Anniversary of 9/11

There's a saying that a little bit of information can be dangerous. Somewhere between knowing you don't know...and knowing you do know...is that dangerous middle ground where we think we know more than we do.

This advice applies to Social Media. Everyone from individuals to large, global brands realize the need to be "in" social media, and "do" social media. Doing social media well, however, takes time. 

Here's a vivid example from last week. September 11, 2013 as the anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center towers in NY.

The anniversary also provided ample examples of misused Social Media tie-ins. This Wisconsin golf course drew ire for its 9/11 tie-in.

A surprising number of large sports brands posted questionably appropriate social media "tie-ins" to the anniversary.

Here's a tweet from the Los Angeles Lakers, using the remembrance hashtag #neverforget. But fans didn't agree the post was in good taste, and the Lakers deleted the tweet and then publicly apologized.

Other large sports brands made similar gaffes, prompting Sports commentator Keith Oberman of ESPN to pose the question: "Too soon?" - and answer, "yes!"