http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1901188_1901207,00.html

Although Twitter was originally intended for communication among individuals, a number of companies have begun to actively participate on the platform. Some are “tweeting” and some are just listening but many are trying to find their niche. Some companies are using Twitter as a marketing channel. They will post about company accomplishments. Others are using it as an opportunity to accept feedback from their customers. Feedback and customer service go hand in hand. I’m reminded of a page-layout software company that had the most popular product in the industry not too long ago. Their only problem was horrendous product support. If they had taken the time to listen to and inform their user base, they would not be lagging way behind the current leader in market share just a few short years after being on top. Twitter and other social networks tend to strengthen relationships. In this competitive business climate, relationships are very important. An impromptu survey was done here at Mercury by sending out a tweet asking the question: “Who offers the best customer support:” and two vendors were named. One responded quickly, “We do!”, the other…we’re still waiting for a reply. With whom do you want to do business? In this era of instant information and business partnering, you don’t want to be late. You want to be first and reliable.