HONG KONG (CNNMoney) — Oops! Add this to the growing list of Twitter fails.
Twitter finance chief Anthony Noto appears to have accidentally tweeted a message that he intended to send privately. The presumed subject of the tweet? A potential acquisition by Twitter.
“I still think we should buy them. He is on your schedule for Dec 15 or 16 — we will need to sell him. i have a plan,” Noto’s message said.
The errant tweet set off a wave of speculation as to which company Noto was targeting, although few solid theories developed.
Noto quickly deleted the tweet, but not before a few sharp-eyed observers took screenshots, including Fusion editor Kevin Roose. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tweet set off a wave of jokes as Internet users basked in the irony of a Twitter boss failing to use his own service correctly. Others joked that it’s always good to see executives sampling their own products.
Twitter has been a source of disappointment for investors of late, and its shares are down 17% since the company indicated in late October that new user growth was slowing.
Other epic social media screwups include a pornographic tweet by US Airways, anti-Obama messages by KitchenAid and, of course, the antics of former U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner.
