• by Aaron Goldman , Op-Ed Contributor, December 6, 2008

These notes courtesy of table lead and notetaker Janel Landis of SendTec...

Overall, the social buzz meter is really low this conference. Many people have only heard the word Facebook once or twice throughout the whole conference.

Social is difficult is measure and monetize.

Now that times are tough and advertisers are more ROI focused, there is little justification for social media.

Social media is more important for relationship and reputation management.

Is customer satisfaction worth paying someone $50k/year to monitor the blogosphere and respond?

Whose responsibility is social? Search Agency, PR Agency, Client (Customer Service)

The overall POV of the table was that it is the agency’s job to identify opportunities and issues, alert the client and provide recommendations. Because Search is the voice of the customer, social media responsibility somewhat defaults to search marketers.

Awareness of “influential users” can be valuable for product development, relationship management, crisis/conflict management, etc.