Today is Twitter’s fifth birthday, and what would we do without it? Last night’s Ask Ed Miliband was another unmitigated PR success. We learnt that Ed likes cheese and onion crisps and is a virgin. But it’s not all fun and games online, especially if you work at the BBC.

Beeboids have had their Twitter wings clipped with vast rules and regulations on what they can and cannot tweet. The BBC Social Media Guide published today states:

“You are not discouraged from doing any of this, but as a BBC member of staff – and especially as someone who works in News – there are particular considerations to bear in mind. They can all be summarised as: ‘Don’t do anything stupid'”

That may prove tricky for some, but it doesn’t stop there:

“You shouldn’t state your political preferences or say anything that compromises your impartiality. Don’t sound off about things in an openly partisan way. Don’t be seduced by the informality of social media into bringing the BBC into disrepute. Don’t criticise your colleagues. Don’t reveal confidential BBC information. Don’t surreptitiously sanitise Wikipedia pages about the BBC.”

Guido was wondering why Nick and Laura weren’t playing yesterday.