For all of it’s amazing social benefits, Twitter also provides the means to accidentally sabotage a new romantic connection. The fragility of a new relationship means that you need to think carefully before you answer the now-famous question: What are you doing? Make sure your tweets create a good impression so you don’t send him fleeing, and follow these tips to ensure that he sticks around:

• We all know, of course, that bashing the ex is a social media sin. Even if your breakup was miserable and messy, don’t let your anger contaminate your online brand. Call a friend, vent in a paper journal, then tweet about some of the interesting things you’re doing sans ex. Publicly complaining about a previous relationship only shows your new interest that you can be a bitter harpy.

• You may be having a grand ol’ time on Saturday night at the bar, but be aware that a timeline full of drunken tweets may not represent you in the best light to a potential new love. A constantly drunk girl may publish some hilarious tweets that increase her ever-important follower count, but this image doesn’t advertise “serious relationship potential.”
• Spreading malicious gossip is never a nice thing to do, but Twitter saves and archives these catty whispers for all to see. Don’t let a potential love interest — or a new friend — see you tweeting nasty comments behind another friend’s back or laughing at someone else’s expense.
• Be careful about tweeting too frequently from a dull day at class or work. Not only will you be in hot water should your professor or boss stumble on your tweets, but a timeline repeating that you’re bored really says that you’re boring.
• Let all your interesting facets shine through by picking creative links as a conversation starter. We all love the FAIL Blog, but wouldn’t it be more exciting to find something new and be the one who gets retweeted?

What you share on Twitter is public. And it stays public. In the time of viral retweets, Facebook sharing, and even the oddly archival splogs, it’s almost impossible to take back what you’ve said. So make sure your Twitter timeline doesn’t scare away potential love interests!

Related posts:

• The low-risk guide to flirting on Twitter

• Tweets from between the sheets
• What his Twitter timeline is telling you

Image Credit: Twitter inverted bird was found at techZilo and appears to be taken from Twitter.com itself.