The Biggest Social Media Marketing Mistakes Of 2011 All Happened On Twitter

It used to be that some companies and high-profile people could screw-up in public and still not make a dent in their overall reputation. But social media changes that to a large degree: One mistake can mean worldwide attention and awareness, but not the kind that companies are usually seeking.

With that in mind, Advertising Age has taken a stab at documenting the biggest social media mistakes of 2011. And what really stands out is this: All of these happened on Twitter.

Here’s the list:

• Weinergate – U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner sends inappropriate photos to a woman in Seattle, later resigns
• New Media Strategies uses an F-bomb in a tweet from @ChryslerAutos that criticized Detroit drivers
• Kenneth Cole using Twitter to tie the uprising in Cairo to its new spring collection
• Gilbert Gottfried losing his Aflac spokesperson role after tweeting jokes about the tsunami in Japan
• Qantas Twitter content backfiring after its entire fleet was grounded a month earlier
• GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons tweeting a video of himself shooting an elephant in Zimbabwe
• Netflix announces Qwikster, but failed to get the @Qwikster Twitter name first
• Ashton Kutcher criticizing Penn State University on Twitter after the school fired football coach Joe Paterno
• Miami Heat owner Micky Arison violating NBA rules and getting fined $500,000 after tweeting about the NBA lockout
• Ragu sauce using Twitter and YouTube to make fun of dads who can’t cook well

You can read more background on each episode on AdAge.com.

And we want to know: What would you add or remove from the list of social media mistakes above? Comments are open.

(Stock image via Shutterstock. Used with permission.)