The Blog DoggerWhen a blogger takes on Twitter, PR suffers

They’re calling it TOSgate and it’s the blogosphere’s drama du jour

Anyone see HBO’s recent dramatization of the 2000 recount in Florida? The film, Recount, examines that landmark moment in democracy when, for one breathless month, America didn’t have a president-elect.

Now, for several breathless days, there has been a landmark moment in the history of Twitter and its terms of service. Seems users of this micro-blogging Web site, where people post messages of 140 characters or less for others to read, aren’t protected by it.

Bloggers are calling it TOSgate (for Terms of Service) and, as Shannon at ThreeSeven.ca said, “99 percent of the world, and everyone who isn’t a massive Internet geek,” knows nothing about it.

Communicators pay attention: TOSgate has grown into a public relations problem—Twitter claims it doesn’t need PR counsel—and offers a glimpse into the conflicted mind of one blogger.