Twitter is a social media platform that certainly has its pros and cons. Celebrities, politicians, government officials, news reporters, interest groups, news organizations and everyday Americans use the platform to communicate with people around the world, promote their causes, share their political or religious views and state what they are doing in their lives day to day, hour to hour, and minute to minute.

While people can use Twitter to their advantage, it can also become a liability. Often times people say something nonsensical, tweet something egregious or tweet at the wrong verified account, which results in the individual's tweet going viral for all the wrong reasons. Even if one wants to delete the particular tweet, it can still survive. With people being able to take a screenshot on their devices, there is no escape. Depending on who sends out the tweet, it may make national headlines quite quickly. President-Elect Donald Trump's tweets, for example, have made the news, often for good and bad reasons.

The American people know the President-Elect loves Twitter and for the most part, Twitter loves him. According to Investor’s Business Daily, Twitter’s stock has risen .5% in the New Year and Trump’s use of the platform has been a contributing factor. With Trump having 19 million followers and having sent out over 34,000 tweets, combined with constant media coverage, this does not come as a surprise.

People who are not supportive of Trump or people who simply wish Trump to be more “presidential” recommend he cease from tweeting when he enters the White House. It doesn't look like this will happen. There are signs that Trump will actually take control of the official @POTUS Twitter account in the coming days.

In 2012 President Obama used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to his benefit and capitalized on what influence they had in mobilizing voters and making him more relatable to the American people to win his second term in office. In the same way, Trump has used social media to communicate with his voters and the public. Twitter is Trump's go to medium and he continues to use this medium as it has been effective. For Trump to stop tweeting would not be beneficial to him or whatever policy plans he has for the nation.

Twitter cannot and should not be where President-Elect Trump announces new policy decisions or makes official statements on world affairs, however. Trump needs to get used to addressing everyone in the nation, not just his followers. 144-character tweets do not give one much room to explain complex policy decisions. Speeches and statements on important issues should be released via official statements.

To continue to be effective and not face a public backlash, Trump should only Tweet about previously announced policies to garner support from the American people. To be relatable, Trump can tweet about personal events and give compliments to individuals as he has done in the past. Furthermore, he needs to have the respect of foreign leaders around the world and he cannot do this by labeling others as weak or by calling them out directly. Complimenting those who do not have the nation’s interests in mind on the other hand, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, is not helpful. Former Mexican President Vincente Fox Quesada should be an example of what President-Elect Trump should not do. As a friend put it, this is “Twitter diplomacy in action.”

TRUMP, when will you understand that I am not paying for that fucken wall. Be clear with US tax payers. They will pay for it.
— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) January 6, 2017

TWITTER DIPLOMACY IN ACTION https://t.co/LkRhcX0LGy
— Jared Mancini (@a2controversial) January 6, 2017

Trump is no longer the host of “Celebrity Apprentice” and no longer just a celebrity. Taking shots at world leaders, politicians or a specific celebrity who has taken over his former television show on NBC, is unnecessary. Tweets like these are petty and hurt his image. President-Elect Trump needs to be a President who leads this nation on the world stage and he needs to do this by leading by example. Having a backbone or speaking one's mind does not excuse foolish and narcissistic tweets.

Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got "swamped" (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017

being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017

People that are close to Trump in the coming administration should take the time to address his Twitter use. Trump does not need to stop his use of Twitter but he should simply think before he tweets or have someone proofread his tweets before he sends them out for the entire world to see. If President-Elect Trump uses Twitter correctly, it can be a useful policy tool. If Trump’s tweets continue to propel him into the media spotlight because of useless and churlish comments, however, America will be in for a very long four years.