discobeta

As brands continue their mad rush into social media -- building customer communities, tweeting with their customers and urging people to join their group on Facebook -- Influx Insights brings up a valid point: "Should Corporations be Nasty?".

The more you Tweet and Facebook friend your consumers, there's always the potential that you loose your point of view and edge because you're so busy trying to be "them" and cater to their every whim.

If every brand is following the same social formula -- "add me", "join me" and "what do you think of us?!" -- do the brands that don't become the differentiators?

To create a metaphor:

The social brand is the guy in student government. He knows everyone. He's friendly, he's outgoing and just about everyone likes him. There are no surprises. But some people may be more interested in the guy chain-smoking across the street from the high school who doesn't give a crap what you think.

Our perception of brands works the same way. For some, there is more value in being sought out vs. readily available.