On the unlikely end of the spectrum this could even be a sort of guerrilla PR stunt, i.e.: "I love my company so much that I am compelled to twitter it to the world!"

I have had clients shocked when I showed them their aggregated "footprint" - what they look like in twitter-facebook-youtube-blog-myspace-newsfeed-googlealert-forums snapshot. Seeing these sources all together provides trend data.

Just data. They were shocked at data but that's not necessarily cause for concern. Judgment makes that call. However, a few thousand views of a vid that touches your brand should get your attention. Particularly talking about non-global brands since impact is greater.

Regardless, every company should be aware of its aggregated web 'personality.'

Thanks for the reminder.

I don't know what people can truly expect from Large Corporations. I know that in a perfect world Exxon and other Large Corporations would be in control of their brand. But the truth is that they are much further behind the curve for adapting new technologies than other companies. They can’t help it; it is the side-product of their corporate culture once a company has reached a certain size.

They aren’t the only ones to blame either. The PR & Consulting agencies they are leaning on to get them up to speed, are themselves equally as far behind in the adaptation of new social technologies. Since they are also typically the mega agencies that are supporting the mega companies, it is a case of the blind leading the blind.

While it is great for us to armchair quarterback the situation from the sidelines like Shel has done (I am by no means saying that’s a bad thing, I would have if Shel hadn’t beaten me to the punch!), we aren’t in the game, nor are we offered the opportunity to get in the game. I hope that that changes. Firms like mine are working hard to do so. We’ve been on the cutting edge of social media relations and are having incredible success with clients on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and blogs, capturing audiences that measure in the hundreds of thousands and millions, instead of measuring local audiences and clippings.

I think another side effect of these companies not paying attention is going to lead to the same issues where people and companies will have to buy their social ids back, similar to the issues with web domain squatters and flippers. In the meantime, we’ll follow the game from the sidelines, waiting for our chance to be sent into the game!

-Christopher Lower
Sterling Cross Communications
Traditional Storytellers Integrating Today’s Technology
http;//www.sterlingcrossgroup.com
Blog @ http;//abovethebuzz.wordpress.com
On Twitter/Plurk/Bright Kite/Friendfeed etc. - @MrChristopherL

We do this kind of monitoring for clients a lot, and it is interesting to read an "employee" who's a brand champion for a change. Because they can still damage their company, whether they want to or not.

Quite frankly, I doubt the spokesperson was telling the reporter that the official stance from Exxon was that Jannet wasn't them. More likely, given the disconnect in a lot of marketing departments, a few people in the Internet group are following this and many other Twitter accounts, and the spokesperson isn't on that team and doesn't follow it.

I got this question just the other day from a client Jon, and I completely agree that every corp affairs dept should have at least 1 person dedicated to online and social media.

Exxon is really just the tip of the iceberg, we looked at the Twitter IDs of the FTSE100 from the London Stock Exchange and found that 7 in 10 had left their IDs unclaimed...and so were ripe for brand jacking: http://cowtimes.blogspot.com

Exxon should care. Under U.S. IP law holders of trademarks and copyrights must defend themselves from what happened to Exxon on Twitter.

Fortunately, Twitter's Terms of Service spell out a very simple process for any company to follow if they've been a victim of "brandjacking".

I'm wondering why Exxon has chosen not to avail themselves of this process.

I am amazed that this type of social media monitoring has not been enforced within most, if not all LARGE, public company communications departments - such as ExxonMobile!

I wonder if this is a new position a communications/PR worker could invent for him/herself - Social Media Analyst. Someone who keeps an eye on the social media networks and reports comments made about the company - good, bad, or neutral - as well as rumors and accusations.