• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 22, 2014

As a customer service channel, transparency is the best and worse part about social media channels. The good, the bad, and the ugly is there for all to see -- at least until a brand blocks some egregious consumer behavior -- on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms. So said panelists at MediaPost’s Social Media Insider Summit, on Friday. When the comments and questions are good, Facebook works in a brand’s favor, because that feed typically moves much slower than its Twitter feed. On Twitter, meanwhile, Ashley McGregor Dey, Social Media Manager at Indiegogo, said it was hard to see success stories disappear so quickly. Kate Scott, Social Media Manager at Overstock.com, said she also appreciated the extra data that customer service via social offered. On the downside, however, Scott said it’s nearly impossible to convince some customers that they’re actually interacting with a human being. Some, she said, are just “convinced I’m a cyborg!”