Short sighted is the only way I could describe the apparent reaction of many Australian local councils to the launch of the Twitter site called ‘Council Gripes’. Dismissing comments placed on the site because they are unsigned, or were not received via traditional complaints systems, appears foolhardy indeed. It may also signal a customer service system clinging to an outmoded belief that procedures established before the social media age are still suitable. The genie is out of the bottle and there’s no way of putting it back. And we shouldn’t want to.