The employee, the consumer, the individual – has enormous power now. We have the power to independently reach large audiences, without any need for a ‘gatekeeper’, with rich content, easily, quickly, freely and even anonymously!

When have we ever had this liberty before?

Also, I don’t think corporates can paint over their ‘shoddy and unethical practices’ with social media. If anything social media to a corporate is like a mirror that reflects their behaviour to every corner of the world in a millisecond. In fact – because of social media, I reckon they’re more exposed / vulnerable than ever before.
My view is that it’s up to a company if it wants to actively use social media or not. I mean, some companies use advertising, some prefer just pr, some don’t believe in direct mail. But one thing that no corporate can ignore is that social media can have a significant impact on reputation. And that the only way to control (well, manage) this from a corporate perspective is to ensure the company behaves and interacts ethically and responsibly with employees, customers, society & the environment.