On his way to give a presentation about social media, a PR executive insulted his audience when he complained about their city on the social media site Twitter. David Henderson, who described the incident on his blog, added later, “The same fundamental rules and principles apply to a new form of media in today’s Internet era as with mainstream or traditional media.”

The difference is that now your mistakes can fly around the world at lightning speed. Mr. Henderson noted that two nights ago more people read his blog post about the mistake than visited most of the major news sites.

Not all of us use Twitter on a daily basis, but the vast majority of us rely on e-mail daily, if not hourly. The risks are quite similar: instant, widespread infamy. To learn more about how to minimize your chances of committing an electronic gaffe, check out E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide.