BROCK McLean has vowed to be smarter in his use of social media and learn from his mistakes, but says he won't stifle his individuality despite the fallout from his recent Twitter controversy.

McLean was fined $5000 by Carlton and also given a one-match suspended ban after he posted a Twitter message saying that he had contracted AIDS from a taunting Tweeter's mother.

The 26-year-old was forced to apologise in the aftermath of the incident that made headlines across the country.

He admits he "clearly overstepped the mark" with the comment, which "wasn't one of [his] proudest moments", but he maintains the individuality of AFL players should not be stifled.

"I think you've just got to be a little bit smarter, [but] I'm still going to be who I am," McLean told Carlton's new club-produced show The Blue Print, which was filmed at AFL Media studios.

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"The idea of getting on social media is to connect with the fans with a more personal interaction and to get yourself out there and actually be yourself rather than doing the normal footy interview and saying 'one week at a time' and 'get recovery right' … and all that sort of stuff.

"People complain, mainly media people, about players being boring, but as soon as you say something a bit different or speak your mind or speak an honest truth suddenly they tarnish you a little bit or give you a bit of a bad whack.

"You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't really."

McLean, one of the most prolific users of Twitter in the AFL, revealed he had been urged to hang himself by an opposition supporter in the aftermath of the recent controversy.

He said his motives in engaging with such fans were to expose them in an effort to shame them into modifying their behaviour.

"My idea behind retweeting some nasty stuff that people tweet me is to let the supporters see some of the abuse that players do cop," he said.

"Lucky I'm pretty thick-skinned and I take it with a grain of salt, but we talk so much these days about cyber bullying and it is a form of cyber bullying.

"I'd hate to see a couple of young players come through, who are on Twitter to try and engage with the fans to try and do the right thing, who might not be as thick-skinned and might take things [like that] a bit more to heart.

"It could end someone's career or give someone depression if they're constantly copping stuff like that."

McLean believes that just as there is a line AFL players shouldn't cross in interacting with fans, a similar line exists for fans who when communicating with players via social media.

"I think it's when people get personal that's a real issue," he said.

McLean said that people should imagine they were delivering their comments in person before interacting via social media.

"If those people were face to face they wouldn't say those things," he said.

"We're all tough guys behind a computer and behind an iPhone screen, but if they stood face to face with a player they'd probably tell them how much of a good player they are or how much of a good bloke they are.

"It's a shame that some people are like that, but 99 per cent of the people that I connect with on Twitter are really good people and have got really nice things to say."