Thank you for the thoughtful comment… I agree 140 characters is not enough room to establish context, intent or avoid making “broad” sweeping statements that can be misunderstood and misconstrued… This and many other factors are leading me to believe that Twitter will implode upon itself once people realize A) nobody’s “really” listening or B) It’s just plain dangerous (as you indicated above) and C) people will get tired of “tweeting” when they realize it’s a “time suck”… Twitter will remain useful for certain purposes but the broad base user-ship happening now will experience a sharp decline IMO.

Your article — “The Big Myth - Anyone Can Do Social Media” — is a myth, all right. Even 20-year veteran reporters and international news agencies get it wrong sometimes:

“Twitter isn’t big on context, and CNN reporter and editor Octavia Nasr is paying the price. The network is dropping her after she caused an uproar by tweeting ‘respect’ for a notorious Hezbollah figure upon hearing news of his death. Nasr, a 20-year CNN veteran, tried to clarify later that she meant to praise Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah only for his defiance of other Shia clerics on women’s rights, notes the New York Times, but it was too late.” http://bit.ly/aRMzDD

But that’s no reason to go crawl in a hole and pull over the hatch cover!

Instead, it’s the best reason there is to dust off the gamesmanship for which American Business is famous.

Remember General Anthony McAuliffe! When refusing to surrender during the WWII Battle of Bastogne, he said, “Us surrender? Aw, nuts!” http://bit.ly/d1uGNB

When soldiers are surrounded and defending an objective, one option they have is the “breakout.”

The rule is, when you’re out on the battlefield and you don’t know what to do, do something — anything — because if you don’t, you’re dead.

American Business used to be able to “win” with direct, interruptive-type advertising, but the effectiveness of that approach is rapidly dwindling.

It is now the indirect approach which must be mastered.

And *monitored* … as CNN has found to its cost.

The basic principle involved here is this:

Don’t make enemies for free!

warmest regards …

Elizabeth