It was only a matter of time before Doug Beattie's "historical tweets" controversy hit other parties.
Soon after the UUP leader expressed his shame over old derogatory posts, three Sinn Féin MLAs and a Green Party councillor were apologising when their own past tweets resurfaced.
It helps explain why some Stormont rivals did not fully put the boot into Mr Beattie over his Twitter messages published before he entered politics.
While the scale of indiscretion was shocking and parties condemned his language, they will have all experienced the embarrassment caused by ill-judged social media comments.
What is interesting is how parties have dealt differently with these controversies when they come to their own door.
Mr Beattie admitted he was "on the cusp" of quitting but defused a potential leadership crisis by apologising early and often.
Opening himself to a run of media interviews and questioning on specific tweets was a risky strategy, but it appeared to win back respect from the public.
The DUP tends to opt for silence and brazening it out until the news cycle moves on.
This tactic is not necessarily a sign of indifference, but instead a result of difficulties in keeping the party's more maverick elements in check.
When Diane Dodds was cornered on the radio about whether a Ballymena councillor was sanctioned over "kennel" comments about Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill, the DUP MLA said she was unaware of what actions were taken by party officers.
Mrs Dodds condemned John Carson's Facebook remarks. However, she was a party officer at the time the comments were made. Did Mrs Dodds ever raise the issue for disciplinary action?
Sinn Féin's response meanwhile when the past tweets of three MLAs were unearthed was robotically regimented.
Ms O'Neill as party vice-president delivered comments to the media saying the tweets were "not acceptable" and within minutes Sinead Ennis, Jemma Dolan and Emma Sheerin each tweeted apologies in variations of similar language.
This stringent choreography brought to mind a social media gaffe in 2017 when a then Sinn Féin councillor issued an apology for describing Bangor as a "s***hole".
Naomi Bailie tweeted her unreserved apologies but at the end of her message included the line: "Sending this now."
Parties will change their approach based on the timing, circumstances and scale of the social media storm.
Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff resigned his MP seat in 2018 following outrage over posting a video online of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity.
Ten Protestant workmen were shot dead by the IRA near the south Armagh village in January 1976.
Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms can be effective tools for politicians to engage with voters and drum up publicity for their work.
But the pitfalls are plentiful. In the relatively short history of these platforms, countless politicians have caused self-inflicted wounds by saying stupid things.
Some put too much of their time and energy into this polarised and skewed online world which is not reflective of their wider electorate.
In the wake of Mr Beattie's historical tweets controversy, some Twitter users have shared simple tips to help politicians (and everyone else) avoid online gaffes.
Firstly, think before you tweet: Not every egg account warrants a reply. The delete button is your friend. And do not tweet anything you wouldn't say to someone's face.
Secondly, never ever drink and tweet: It will sound much less funny and clever in the morning.
And finally, away from your smartphone there is a big wide constituency to explore - so spend less time online.
