I do think that more and more company’s are starting to “get it” and there are plenty examples of those doing it right. Best Buy and Comcast have, with good reason, been cited numerous times for how they are leveraging Twitter for customer service. In the banking industry, Wells Fargo remains both an early adaptor and leader of building online communities to connect with customers. You’ll find frustrated customers, along with loyal supporters leaving comments on their blogs and in their commnunities, but that’s ok. It’s real. And over time, it helps to build trust. Forrester put out a report in 2008 noting that Only 16% of online consumers who read corporate blogs say they trust them. I wonder how many people trust online reviews and fear how the unethical actions like those you’ve described may impact trust in what should be a very useful and important tool for consumer research.

What’s doubly galling here is that clients want this approach as well – and then they wonder why their business starts to drop off…

Great stuff as usual, Rach – you’re really on a roll!