One of the questions from the audience was regarding the Chevy Tahoe user-generated campaign and did it give customers too much control, resulting in some decidedly non-brand-friendly messages. It’s a good question and Charline hit it on the head: All these brands are breaking new ground and so there are going to be efforts that give up too much control and some that are criticized for not giving up enough. What works for one company isn’t going to work for another but everyone can, if they keep experimenting, find what works for them. Yep. Couldn’t agree more.

The question, as she says, is not whether social media tools should be embraced. The question is whether to do that now or do that later, but it’s largely an inevitability.