Hi Kathleen - I love that you are here sharing in Chantal's space. Two inspiring minds that keep challenging me to be the best that I can be! The Social Media "thing" seemed to come in with a huge momentum and a scattered purpose - we all wanted to be a part of it and the reasons why took a bit of time to sort out. The Social Sites popped up all over & grew so fast - there was this eagerness to be a part of the wave without having a purpose, rhyme or reason - just going with the flow - getting the numbers - and one gaining "bragging rights" of I have more followers than you! Applications came into play to grow your list fast. Then many savy marketers saw the potential of "lots of followers" means another way to "get buyers on my list" and in that process perhaps lost sight of the basic "build the relationship" foundation offered in the beginning. I watch and see my Twitter comments flying by at different times of day 1,000 at a time! There is no way I can build a relationship with all of them! And I am getting far to many tweets that are consistently sales - the kind of thing I delete without opening in my email box. I am learning who to trust and who just wants to sell me something. Sorting them out. I was advised to go back in and start a whole new account and invite just those I really wanted to relate to. Now, with a bit more time and a maturity to some of these media resources, it has allowed those of us attempting to make wise use of Social Media to reflect on a meaningful participation. I appreciate your comments. I believe if enough of us make the conscious choice to bring the trust factor / relationship building approach back into the Social Media arena we can effect a cultural change! Just like I choose my friendships in real life carefully, I get to organize my internet "friends" into like minded groups. Do check out http://twibes.com - it allows you to tweet with like-minded followers and you can see what your friends are saying quite easily without "missing their tweet". Thank you for raising the issue and presenting 3 concrete steps to use to raise the bar on our Social Media Consciousness. Let's make it happen. Terry Loving http://lovingvisions.com http://terryloving.com/smallbusinessmarketing