More Twittering about Twitter

On the MPR radio show about Twitter, the guests mentioned how companies are using Twitter as a way to connect with customers. According to the guests, the companies which use Twitter successfully do not try to sell their product directly on Twitter, but use it as a way to develop report with their customers. So, people are paid to sit and "tweet" all day? Odd. Talk about a job no one could have predicted! Where are your futurists now, Patrick??

But this got me thinking: When I taught communications we did a unit on advertising. Advertising has become so much more sophisticated than it was we when were young. There is all sorts of undercover marketing going on out there--Twitter looks like it is the next frontier for this type of stealth advertising. It really isn't a far stretch--I know this stuff was going on in chat rooms. (Do they even still have those?) But I know kids aren't really aware that this stuff goes on. The internet has been a blessing on so many ways, but it has given us so much more to teach children.