Horizon Realty responds to Twitter lawsuit buzz with a press release

It takes them 431 words to respond to a lawsuit they filed over 126 characters. Talk about a public-relations nightmare, especially after that less-than-smooth quotation they gave the Chicago Sun-Times about suing first, asking questions later. This is proof that you've got to be 100 percent aware of your brand at all time, especially online. In 140 characters, no one will have time for your side of the story, especially hours after the story breaks and people have made up their minds.

This was one of the worst decisions this realty company could have made. A tweet that only 18 people could have seen (probably only 1 or 2 did) and a $50,000 lawsuit to come from it. Now millions of people are aware of the company that 'sues first and asks questions later.' This is a textbook example of misunderstanding as well underestimating the power of social media. It will be interesting to see what Horizon Realty's next move will be. In my opinion (I don't want to get sued here), there will be a incredible reduction of people who do business with them. Who in their right minds would want to do service with a company that 'sues first, asks questions later?' I certainly wouldn't. What do you guys think the outcome of this will be?

The lawsuit seems kind of silly so there is obviously something else going on related the CLTO violations. But on a more serious note, this is a huge issue. People put things out there all the time in blogs, tweets, facebook, myspace etc which are problems. Stating an opinion like you suck is different than saying you are a slut. People think they can say anything online and get away with it. While I think this lawsuit is stupid, I think it is necessary as a crazy ex will say you have a std or that you stole their credit card. Be careful what you put out there cause more of these suits are coming and needed.

Since we cannot rely on the state or the federal government to protect consumers, we have to protect ourselves. The best way to do that is by sharing stories of unfair business practices, fraud, rip-offs, etc. that companies engage in. Let's face it, corporate America has our government in its pocket. Our legislators get all kinds of lobby money to protect the interests of big business. We, consumers, are the little people. Our only defense is making companies accountable by forcing them to behave or get bad publicity. Consumers need more power, not less, and we shouldn't be afraid (due to legal threats) to tell our stories about bad companies and bad services.

A defense to defamation/slander/libel is "truth"...if she can prove there was mold, then she's fine. If she can't, then she should have been more careful with her tweet. This may not have been handled that well from a PR standpoint, but businesses must be willing to protect their image.

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