Do You Have Digital Tourette's?

So you think you're a social media maven. You've got a Twitter account. And a Facebook page. Maybe even a blog. But having a social media presence is only half the story.

I'm amazed by the number of people -- and especially the number of companies and other organizations -- that think social media is just another channel for pushing out the same information they disseminate via more traditional means. Using social media for one-way communication is like watching TV with the sound turned off . . . you're only tapping half of the medium.

I call it Digital Tourette's: repetitive, involuntary expressions devoid of any external context. Tweeting random bits of information. Using Facebook as an online press room. Operating a blog that doesn't encourage -- or even allow -- readers to post comments.

For decades PR professionals have chased the Holy Grail of true two-way communication with their target audiences. That day is here now, but the uninitiated -- or just plain chicken -- are applying the same old rules to these powerful new tools.

Let's put an end to Digital Tourette's. Let's put the social back in social media.