365. Freedom of expression

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Since starting Twitteretter I’ve realised that my freedom of expression, a fundamental human right, is restricted. As, in my real job, I run businesses, before I publish every Twitteretter I have to consider whether its content may be detrimental to the prospects of my companies or my position in them, should it be disliked by my audience or, in fact, by anyone who happens to come across the content. Will my opinion upset my customers or shareholders? If so, better keep it to myself. I’ve published a number of Twitteretters which I knew would have just that effect, although moderated or toned down to minimise it. This is a sad reflection of a society in which many have difficulty accepting opinions and world views which don’t agree with their own and where condemnation of different ideas, well beyond moderate disagreement, is prevalent. As one of my companies approaches an IPO, I realise that I either lead it, post IPO, or continue Twitteretter, but probably cannot do both. Easy choice

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Location: London, UK

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