In the latest instance of Twitter for brands gone bad:  American fashion giant Kenneth Cole came under fire for a timely, yet somewhat insensitive, tweet that mocked the current situation in Syria and the potential impending military action:

“Boots on the ground” or not, let’s not forget about sandals, pumps and loafers. #Footwear

— Kenneth Cole (@KennethCole) September 5, 2013

Now, on the surface, this sounds pretty benign, right? Here’s the thing, though:  When it comes to using Twitter for brands (or any social media for that matter), being timely and creative is something that any marketer would strongly recommend. As with any form of promotion, being in the right place, at the right time, with the right message is the basic goal of a marketing effort. (See Oreo’s Super Bowl efforts for proof positive of that.)  However, you must also always be wary of going too far and potentially turning off your audience with the things you post on behalf of your brand.

So how do you know if something you’re about to post is going too far? When in doubt, fall back on your grandfather’s advice about chatter at the dinner table:  Never Talk Politics or Religion.  The conversation never ends well.