“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.”

Within hours, the social web was abuzz with activity. At the time of writing this post, more than 25,000 tweets with #amazonfail, #glitchmyass, #stilldelisted and #sorryamazon had gone back and forth, the online petition against Amazon’s “Adult Policy” had nearly 28,000 signatures and the AmazonFail group had attracted 4,125 members.

So, what are the lessons to be learnt?

• Be prepared. Word on social media spreads like wild fire and traditional approaches of PR crisis management are ineffective in these situations. Bypassing organizational hierarchies, there should be an internal crisis management protocol or an escalation matrix which provides a nimble mechanism to ensure faster response. I came across this article in WSJ which is a good analysis of Domino’s response to the “disgusting video” recently.

• Listen, but of course! In the Web 2.0 world it is all about power to the people. What was common between both the Amazon & Dominos “situations” was that the spark was provided by blogs with small but loyal followings. More than 4 in 5 bloggers blog about their experiences with companies (Technorati, 2008) and with 77% of active internet users reading blogs (Universal McCann, 2008), one can’t overemphasize the fact that companies need to keep their ear close to the ground at all times. Besides paid tools like Radian6, Filtrbox, Techrigy etc, there are various free tools like Google Alerts, Social Mention, Blog Pulse, Board Reader and Twitter Search that can be used to monitor buzz about your company, your brand and your competitors.

• Get the message right. Amazon’s communication left room for a lot of speculation and when they finally released a statement of apology stating that it was an “embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error”, it was “too little too late”. The message would have been more effective had it been from a senior Amazon employee rather than a PR release.

• Be where the conversation is. In this case, Amazon should have tweeted, blogged and youtubed its heart out. But even at the time of writing this post, there was nothing on Amazon’s official twitter account in response to the barrage of tweets.

In hindsight, it is easy to criticize and advise. What else do you think Amazon should or should not have done?

Bloomberg recently posted an article discussing the down side to marketing via Twitter. In the article a Twitter user of 2-months expresses her frustration with companies contacting her based on what she tweets. As with any social media tool that grows in popularity, marketers and brands set up shop hoping to reach their consumers in their natural environment. After a while the community becomes so flooded with poorly targeted and irrelevant marketing messages that users either flee the community all together, or the site begins putting stern regulations into place. In the case of Twitter, I think it’s important to highlight the difference between marketing and spam, which is something the mentioned article doesn’t do a great job of distinguishing. There is no doubt that Twitter spam (“twam”) has been an issue in recent months. Flooding consumers with messages unrelated to their needs or interests, mass auto following, hacking into accounts, etc. is a practice no reputable marketing agency should ever support. On the other hand, joining conversations where your service or brand is welcome or relevant is something I think we all agree can be an effective tactic.

The Twitter user highlighted in the Bloomberg article is upset that Home Depot contacted her after she told her followers that she was going to buy some paint at either Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Ace Hardware. The brand responded with a quick note wishing her luck and asking her if she needed any help. Maybe I’m having a hard time separating “Christy the consumer” from “Christy the marketer” – but what’s the big deal? I think the consumer should feel empowered by this. They are now being heard and have influence on how these brands operate. It was her perfect opportunity to respond and say ‘what can you do for me?’ As long as a line isn’t crossed into spamming territory (i.e. Home Depot “tweeting” or direct messaging her daily about hardware specials, sending her info on grand openings at store’s out of state, sending her countless customer surveys), I think customers should be excited by this new found authority and embrace it with open arms – or retreat to a deep dark cave with no Wi-Fi.

Bottom line – marketing can quickly turn into spam based on a single, poorly placed message, while spam on the other hand can never turn into marketing.

It just highlights for me that despite its growth in the past year, Twitter is still dominated by we marketers — and that so much of what we, well excuse me, what I  get excited about and obsessed with is tied to such a small group of people talking to themselves instead of the people they want to most understand.

This was essentially confirmed for me by the following AdAge article published earlier today. It’s one of the most interesting articles on our industry I’ve read in the past month. I, like Abbey Klaassen, don’t think it’s a problem to be so involved in the Twittersphere — so long as you can see the forest for the trees.

Please go read up and come back and post your thoughts. I’ll be playing on Facebook. You can reach me there along with most of the general populace.

Copy has evolved from a static tagline to a conversation, plain and simple, and it’s incredibly important to note that evolution. We all read that monologue is now dialogue, or that it should be. We read how it is no longer enough to talk, but equally as important to listen and respond. And so the copywriter’s job has changed. Or at least there’s now room for a different kind of copywriter in your company. And this new hire requires a few new and key qualifications.

You’re looking for a conversationalist — someone who can draft responses and reinvent messages on the fly, who can communicate with your customers whenever they have questions and needs. And I’m not just talking someone who’s good at schmoozing but someone who can genuinely communicate with your customers about your brand and all of its layers of value in real time.

You’re looking for someone who’s passionate about your brand, who knows it inside and out. And this becomes your job as the brand, as much as anyone’s to educate — always. In this era of dialogue, you should want everyone to be as knowledgeable about your company as they can be, knowledgeable about everything from your client list, to your executive roster, to your corporate history, to your mission, to your little league sponsorships. This empowers your employees and even your customers to speak to what you do as a brand and enables your new-age copywriter to navigate the world of consumer feedback with an arsenal of value points that will only bolster your brand identity online and off.

You’re looking for someone who’s patient. Continually learning about your company and listening to consumers takes time. It’s no longer about canvassing streets or sites with cookie cutter messaging but about joining the conversations and threads that are most relevant and appropriate. You want someone on your team who knows when to engage and when to respond, and more importantly when not to. And this requires that you, the brand, are patient too, that you take time to educate and allow time to find more of the right conversations, even if that means speaking less.