A Social Media Revolution?

There is an increasing amount of pressure on all of us, as individuals and as businesses, to embrace social media in one form or another. This blog is one form of reaching out, and there are countless others, including Facebook, Twitter, and others.

A growing number of Fortune 50 companies are embracing this technology as a way to increase their footprint, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8), yet companies like Apple use little or no social media, relying instead on more traditional forms of marketing (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34329873/ns/business-the_big_money/)to drive their business. It's worth your time to check them both out!  (Thanks to my friend Paul R. for cluing me in to both links!).

Honestly, I have not given very much thought to this yet. I know next to nothing about social media, but I am spending an increasing amount of time thinking about it. I see compelling reasons for using it to reach out, but have a hard time seeing the value of Tweeting about my every move. Not only does it take away from what I am doing, but why would anyone care that I am eating a burger or brushing my teeth? Am I missing something here, or just not seeing the whole picture?

What are your thoughts on social media? Help me understand the broader picture. How can organizations best use this form of marketing effectively without driving minutiae?