What can I edit in a Twitter Re-Tweet?

 

What's the deal with the Twitter Re-Tweet (RT)? Talking about getting more RT's seems to be all the rage lately, but what rules are their around the RT? 

What room do we have to edit a RT?  Can I merely RT the link with credit and then post my own comments around that?  Or do I need to keep the original tweet as close to the original as possible and then try to add my comments at the end if possible? Switching as many of the you's to U, and two's to 2, etc.

Shouldn't we as Twitters be able to simply RT the link and post our own comments? If we can, how would we show this? Take the below example of something I RT'd the other night.

"RT @mitchjoel: By the looks of this, Social Media is just getting started. Where do u think it's going? Add ur side here: http://is.gd/ijlm"

Can I change this to,..

"RT @mitchjoel http://is.gd/ijlm ;(The changing demo of social media and what's gonna happen next?)"

Or am I not giving the originator of the Tweet his proper credit? Or maybe, because I added new content to the tweet do I even need to give credit to the original tweeter at all for the link?

What if I read the post by Mitch, but then saw his tweet afterwards?  Do I need to RT him, or can I simply do my own Tweet?  Same question can be asked for other content on Twitter as well.  Before I post a link should I scan everyone I subscribe to in order to see if they have already Tweeted the link?

Please free me from this Twitter RT jail, and let me know what you think.

Social Media Burnout? Will we see social media Karo-jisatsu?

How long until a big time social media enthusiast burns out and leaves the medium all together?  Or ever worse, how long until someone that is on Twitter 7 days a week 18 hrs a day, finally has enough and either goes insane, or does the unthinkable because of the over work?

Getting online everyday, blogging, checking your Tweets, replying to Facebook invites etc. can be overwhelming.  I even find that simply Tweets or Facebook updates can just be a little too much for me on certain days.

You can love the space all you want, but at some point people need breaks.  We need to breakup our lives in order to give us balance.  Otherwise I see too many of us in the social media space becoming much like Japan's Karo-jisatsu workers.

I am sure these Karo-jisatsu loved there job as well, and were trying to simply provide for their families and help others, but we must make sure everything is in balance.

All too often I find myself with my laptop in the family room as my wife and kids are doing something else.  Of course I justify it by saying I need to work harder, and stay on top of this stuff especially during these down economic times, but is it worth it? Probably not.

Finding that balance is different for everyone, but we all must try and be understating with others as they find their balance.  So next time you see 3 blog post, and 30 tweets on a Saturday or Sunday from your favorite social media guru, make sure to throw up a prayer to help the guy out.

At the very least be understanding if he does not get back to your ping immediately.