"All the world's a stage."
When William Shakespeare penned that famous phrase back in the early 1600s, it's a fair assumption he never had something like Twitter in mind.
But the micro-blogging site has given a voice to anyone - famous or not - to rave on at will to anyone who signs up to receive the 140-character messages.
With re-tweeting of messages, the original thoughts can go far beyond the writer's immediate list of followers. And very quickly, too.
So it's not surprising that some celebs have been unable to resist the temptation to vent their spleen at a person or organisation that has ticked them off in some way.
Twitter rants are certainly becoming a genre all to themselves. When those outrageous tweets go viral, the rich and famous can be left feeling very red-faced indeed.
So here is a list of Top 10 Twitter Rants, starting with one straight out of today's headlines:
1. Nir Rosen
The social networking world is reeling at the Twitter rant of US journalist Nir Rosen, who wrote of his disgust at the attention CBS journalist Lara Logan would get after her assault by the Egyptian crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square last Friday.
"Jesus Christ, at a moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified we should at least remember her role as a major warmonger," Nir Rosen wrote on Twitter.
He later added, "Look, she was probably groped like thousands of other women."
The two comments were followed by more. Rosen expressed doubt that Logan was actually assaulted.
The following day he apologised profusely - but it was too late. Rosen resigned his position as a Fellow at the New York University Center on Law and Security.
2. His 50c worth
Singer 50 Cent has established himself quite some notoriety on Twitter, taking potshots at everyone from boxing champion Floyd Mayweather to the recent arrest on a cocaine charge of socialite Paris Hilton.
50's Twitpic account was at one point suspended, due to X-rated photos. However that has not stopped him carrying on with his profanity-filled text posts.
In a recent post, he had a go at West Coast rapper Dr Dre: "Would you faint if I told you I just wrote a verse about Jimmy and Dre? Oh my god this is hard. This sh-- gonna kill," 50 tweeted. "I'm a little hurt Jimmy and Dre feel like that but f--k it. I'm focused. I got a surprise for everybody this go round."
The difficulty with 50 Cent's tweets is that they often require a translator! (This one was something about the launch of a line of headphones, 'Sleek by 50'.)
Rappers Chris Brown and Kanye West have also used the micro-blogging site to vent.
3. No Love lost from Courtney
The first high-profile defamation trial over a celebrity's comments on Twitter came about after a flow of nasty messages from Hole lead singer Courtney Love.
In 2009 Love wrote a series of insulting messages via her @CourtneyloveUK Twitter account directed at fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir.
Love and Simorangkir were embroiled in a dispute over a $4,000 payment for clothing received by the musician. But Love, who is known for erratic behavior on Twitter (and elsewhere), escalated the dispute with several vitriolic messages directed at Simorangkir.
Simorangkir filed libel charges against Love in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the complaint, the fashion designer seeks unspecified punitive damages for reputation done to her person and her business.
The case is being heard in the US this month.
4. Leave my film alone
Director Kevin Smith couldn't resist indulging in a rant against that creature often used for target-practice, the film critic:
"I gotta say that every day I hate film theory & film students & critics more & more. Where is the fun in movies?
"Sir, sometimes, it's important to turn off the chatter. Film fandom's become a nasty bloodsport where cartoonishly rooting for failure gets the hit count up on the ol' brand-new blog. And if a schmuck like me pays you some attention, score!"
Smith was tweeting in defence of his much-criticised new comedy film, Cop Out.
(By the way, Rotten Tomatoes termed it "a cliched buddy action/comedy that suffers from stale gags and slack pacing.")
5. Bad, bad bank
The rants do not always have negative outcomes.
A Twitter rant written by one Alison Godfrey of Sydney regarding her long wait for the approval of her home-loan with the Commonwealth Bank was read by the bank's customer service head who then contacted the customer immediately offering a fast-track processing of her application.
Godfrey signed the contract next day as a result of the immediate action from the bank. Ross McEvan, the head of Commonwealth Bank's retail banking department said, "Twitter gives us the chance to understand our customer's experiences with us, to interact with them in real time and reach out for on-the-spot resolution".
6. Bad sports (#1)
Sportsmen seem to have a special affinity for Twitter.
South African-born English cricketer Kevin Pietersen got himself into a bit of trouble with the English Cricket Board (ECB) recently, after he took to Twitter to rant about being dropped from the England squad, and described the decision as a "f-k up."
7. Bad sports (#2)
Shortly afterward, England all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was handed a two-week suspension by the ECB after pleading guilty to a Twitter outburst attacking national selector Geoff Miller.
8. Bad sports (#3)
Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer Stephanie Rice got in hot water after the sporting pin-up girl posted an anti-gay comment on her Twitter page - and it wasn't even about her own sport.
A bit over-excited at a narrow Wallabies victory over the Springboks in a rugby test match in South Africa, Rice tweeted: "Suck on that f--gots," adding: "Probably the best game I've ever seen!! Well done boys."
Rice lost a couple of significant sponsorship deals because of her lack of candour.
9. Bad sports (#4)
Liverpool footballer Ryan Babel put his Photoshop skills to work in a mischievous TwitPic following his side's heartbreaking loss to arch-rivals Manchester United.
The mock-up of match referee Howard Webb in a Man Utd shirt was quite witty but it landed him in hot water with English football's controlling body, the FA.
The offending pic was taken down shortly afterwards with an apology to the week's most unpopular person in Merseyside: "My apology if they take my posted pic seriously", wrote Babel. "This is just a emotional reaction after losing an important game."
10. Bad sports (#5)
The last revered spot on the list is reserved for one of our own, rugby player Neemia Tialata. The Hurricanes prop had already caused an online stir in 2009 when he put a message on his Facebook page rubbishing the Wellington selectors.
But more was to come when he was away on tour to Great Britain with the All Blacks. Tialata announced on Twitter that he and Cory Jane had failed to get into the run-on side to play England. The "doh" factor about it is he sent out his tweet before coach Graham Henry had officially named the side to the media.
(Tialata got the last laugh on the media a short while later when he tweeted about a ridiculously expensive taxi ride from Cardiff to London that he and a teammate had to take because they "missed the team bus". Rugby journalists were quickly all over the story - which, unfortunately for them, was a total fabrication! The story's here.)
Can you recall a Twitter rant that should be added to this list? Email the writer with your suggestion.
