The stir created by the Rocky Mountain News' move to use the Twitter micro-blogging service at a child's funeral (details can be found here and here) came mere days after the paper had used the technology extensively during the Democratic National Convention, sometimes to unintentionally hilarious effect. But sources at the paper reveal an even more laugh-inducing gaffe -- the accidental posting of the word "fucker," which proved surprisingly difficult to wipe off the website.
Insiders say a reporter from another Scripps Howard paper who helped supplement the Rocky contingent during the DNC accidentally typed in the profanity -- but unlike a blog, which allows users to simply delete passages, Twitter is a live feed. As a result, Rocky techies decided that the fastest and most effective way to get rid of the "fucker" would be to have other staffers start sending in "tweets," as individual Twitter posts are called, until the new entries physically pushed the problematic term off the screen. One person reports that a Twitterer told to text something ASAP responded by sending the word "something."
Which qualifies as the second funniest word in the feed.
In another Twittering development, sources say plans to Twitter another funeral were shelved after at least one Rocky staffer complained. Read about it here, and watch out for an upcoming Message column featuring more about this subject. -- Michael Roberts
