I don’t need to join the most-recent Palin pile-on — she’s apparently once again used a word without knowing what it means, and in this case the thing she wrote isn’t even a word — but her gaffe does draw further attention to something becoming increasingly obvious: It’s profoundly easy for the press to catch newsworthy people using Twitter in confusing, non-press-friendly ways.

Palin’s deleted-but-not-erased post, which Mediaite has diligently screen-grabbed:

(Update: Language Log weighs in with more background on the gaffe.)

Since Twitter messages will further integrate with news reporting, it’s important for any newsworthy figure who’s using Twitter to treat the platform as a legitimate form of written communications. Remember, Twitter is a microblog, emphasis on blog; how many newsworthy figures would write in OMG LOL KTHXBAI on their blog when media outlets take that content as firm positions on issues?

This means the following things, presented without commentary because there isn’t a great need for any:

To avoid looking foolish, it isn’t any more complicated than that. No, really, it isn’t.