I just sent out a tweet that got me thinking:

Wondering when the downside to lists will come: Suppose I created a list called “Zipperheads” or “Dumb People”… might cause a stir

Twitter just released the List function to all (or most) users, and people are busy playing with the feature, constructing new lists from the people they’re following. So far it seems to be a big hit with users, who are generally constructing subsets of other users based on what they tweet about, where they live, or generally positive attributes. But what happens when people use the Twitter list function to slam other users and/or brands in the social media space?

Is it so far fetched to think that, for example, a power user with hundreds of thousands of followers would put together a list called “Brands that Suck” or that a list called “Suspected Terrorist Sympathizers”? Aside from the personal affronts possible, what does this new feature mean for your brand? Hopefully Twitter users will only use their new-found power for good, but anyone who’s been on the intertubez for more than 10 minutes knows there will be some who will use it for “evil.”

In the meantime, I’m off to finish my list of zipperheads…