I see a lot of irony in these reactions from the above mentioned Twitter folks (not all of them of course). Think about it. SM moguls like Brogan coach the general population on the finer points of SM via blogs and tweets. Then charge companies money for seminars, coaching sessions and strategic planning of their social media endeavors. As he should. He has to make a living. All that seems OK until he accepts sponsorship to write about a specific topic and company. Suddenly he’s “selling out.” Personally, I don’t believe that. Not from someone as prominent and transparent as he is.

Why does Social Media have to be a not for profit affair? Aren’t most of us using SM and networking tools as a way to advertise our brand, connect with people, find work and make a living? I think Brogan handled this controversy well and we can all learn something from that…..

“We need to get a grip on reality and step down from our social media pedestal and realize that the conversations we have and the tools we utilize, in the end, are not there to tear one another down, but about bettering business and bettering one another.”

I’m @waynesutton on twitter and I want to make you better.

@Jane – Agree on your points that the presence of the brand vs. Chris’ online identity are different and that the transparency of Chris should have been seen from the start. Motrin, however different, was attacked in a similar manner from mommy bloggers that led to them taking down the ad. For what – a fast acting, internet-savvy group of moms that were a small % of total moms. Different scenario but another ‘tweeting before thinking’ situation as well.

Appreciate your thoughts, as always, Jane.

@Scotty – hah ok your human mind analogy had me cracking up. So true though. I’ll be sure to check out your thoughts as well and am glad to see new faces around here!

Twitter is the closest thing I’ve seen to the human mind. Each person fires off a tweet like a neuron firing a synapse. Sometimes these storms lead to brilliant ideas and discussions, while other times they lead to instinctual reactions.

This weekend’s uproar was helped by the fact it started on a Saturday – when we have more breathing room to read, track, and add our thoughts. Same thing happened with Motrin. Good lesson for any company or individual – set twitter & Google alerts and assign someone to be “on call” over the weekend (said half-jokingly.)

I’d encourage you to visit my post from yesterday – had some great comments including Chris Brogan and Jeremiah Owyang (both work the entire weekend dealing with the uproar)

http://blog.mediasauce.com/2008/12/14/why-chris-brogans-kmart-moment-matters/
@scottyhendo

I’m glad to hear your insight on traditional means of advertising online and how similar both scenarios are compared to the recent controversy. I, for one, am thankful I didn’t have to take part in some of the first banner ad campaigns! Although Chris was targeted here, thought leaders such as him and many others that are leading the charge in SM will hopefully help guide the community and build & affirm these new ground rules.

@Ross – You nailed it as the majority of us within this large community are part of a robust garden. There’s enough of us that we’re able to overtake the negativity of these situations and show the positive n backup the people or companies (in this case, Chris) that were thrown into the fire. Where forums have moderators, the entire community becomes the moderator in these types of situations – but as Jason pointed out, once we have ground rules in place, it will make things a bit easier.

@Marc – Chris definitely took the brunt of it while the ones who questioned his motives sat back and types away, 140 characters (or more) at a time. You’re totally right – there’s no doubt about it that they would gloat about winning the shopping spree if it were them. We were always told to think before we speak – I think people need to think before they tweet.

@Chris – I don’t think we’ll be censoring what we say or do from our community anytime soon. That’s definitely not the way to go about it but what will happen is that the people who continue to instigate these fiascoes will be called out more often than not.

Chris Brogan is known, and his track record and consistency and transparency is – er – visible on the web in every way. Through his blogs, tweets, and online projects. Moreover, his post was clearly marked “Sponsored Post”.

The motrin campaign was a soundbite-chocked web video fertile for misinterpretation, and misinterpretation of manufacturer’s intention was unfortunately what happened. There wasn’t a spokesperson or an identifiable web presence here, the way Chris Brogan has a personally identifiable presence.

God forbid anyone online, on Twitter, or considered “a thought leader” shouldn’t accept clearly-disclosed sponsorship, make money, or otherwise accept ads to rumroll: MAKE A LIVING.