Today a website launched that gives you the opportunity to acknowledge a friend, co-worker or just anyone you feel is worthy of a 140 character shout-out: Shoutworthy.

Shoutworthy is very similar to LinkedIn‘s recommendation platform, but it is less intimidating to write recommendations since it is only 140 characters. When creating your Shoutworthy account, you link it directly with your Facebook profile and when writing recommendations it posts directly on the person’s Facebook profile. You may also send a tweet directly to the person’s Twitter handle, with a direct link to the Shoutworthy recommendation page.

Some positives with Shoutworthy:

1. Short messages make it more likely you’ll receive numerous recommendations.
2. Short recommendations include the top keywords of what traits and talents people like most about you.
3. Those connections that are not highly active on LinkedIn now have access to an easy-to-use recommendation platform.

Although the short messages make it more likely you’ll get a recommendation yourself, it also opens up the possibility of some negative impacts:

1. The person will write a negative comment about you that can link directly to your Facebook or Twitter account. You can delete the Facebook post on your wall, but you’re unable to delete the person’s tweet.
2. You have no control over someone recommending you within Shoutworthy. If they are friends with you on Facebook, they are able to link a mention directly to your Facebook profile. So, 1) make sure you’re true friends with your connections on Facebook and 2) you better make sure your Facebook profile photo represents you well and doesn’t embarrass yourself, because it is going to be automatically included on Shoutworthy’s homepage. Once you login to Shoutworthy to update your account, you can change your profile picture HERE.
3. You can send recommendations to anyone present on Twitter. All you have to do is enter their Twitter handle within your recommendation/mention and it will link to their name. This could potentially cause for negative customer service reviews for brands. Unhappy customers are always looking for various websites to speak their mind. Will Shoutworthy be one of them?

Overall, I think Shoutworthy gives users a quick opportunity to give recognition where needed. What opportunities do you see with Shoutworthy? Do you think Shoutworthy will cause public, negative customer service reviews for companies?