Required: Full time Tweeter

Social networking has changed the rules. First, how we communicate and now, what we choose as a profession. That's right, companies, unable to counteract the effects that Facebook, Twitter and Myspace have on staff, have jumped on board and started using these sites as another, more focuses way of talking to their customers. The moral of the story? Where once, you could only apply for positions like book keeper, receptionist and salesperson, you can now be employed by a big corporate as a "Tweeter."

Tweeters have the task of promoting their companies products, clearing up misconceptions about the brand and just talking to customers about anything, the weather, traffic, global warming. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "small talk" that was once reserved for stuffy PR functions. Now small talk is literally small, 160 characters or less to be exact.

Tweeters, Facebookers and Myspacers have replaced the dated traditional marketing roles and in essence removed the vacuum from the marketing clean up. Silly? No, not really. They are full time jobs, some dedicated employees stay up all hours to talk to followers in different time zones.

Big names like Coca Cola and Ford Motors have declared it their responsibility to talk to the people who are talking about them. In a way, it has bogged down social networking media sites with lots of marketing bumph, but on the other hand..."first hand" information has never been so readily available.

Customer services and call centers have, in many respects, shown their inability to really develop a relationship with customers. Much less cement brand loyalty. Social media can fill in the gaps left by traditional forms of communication with customers. I think the difference is that with social media, the focus is to engage people. It's the text message from a large retail store on your birthday, only better because it isn't a computer generated message, its from Joe Blog, fellow Tweeter, Facebook friend. The guy/girl that you can truly say that Myspace is their space.

So here's to talking to the people that count, or should I say...Tweeting to the people that count. Speaking of the people that count...log on to www.hummba.com to meet up with fellow travellers, download free audio guides and share your experiences with the Footprints application. It's geo tagging at its best.