A poor tweet turns bad for Twitter boss

Did you know that Twitter's board had no women? Or that only one of its executives is a woman?

Plenty didn't know but they're across it now thanks to a social media carwreck by a man who should know better - Twitter boss Dick Costolo.

In response to New York Times article that highlighted Twitter's all-male cast, Costolo took to the social media platform with a poor joke about an academic featured in the article. He then kept digging.

That initial comment was picked up by news sites, which then catapulted the concerns surrounding the Twitter board make-up to new audiences.

The end result? A topic that was restricted mainly to Times' readers - and on which Twitter had declined to officially comment - became a topic debated widely among a variety of audiences. And this just when Twitter is planning its IPO.

Costolo should have kept that joke for his old days as a stand-up comedian. Executives should be encouraged to show personality in their social media posts but, like everything in business, judgment is advisable at all times.