"Web 2.0 is also being promoted as the democratisation of voice, conversation and opinion. It is no longer necessary to be elite or famous, or have a newspaper, TV or production company behind you in order to be heard. The cost of participation is trivial, where anyone can blog, or upload their clip to YouTube, or their photos to Flickr. However, this is not to trivialise the difference between having a digital presence, whether it be a blog or a video clip, and actually being heard. This is where local councils can make a real difference, by utilising Web 2.0 technologies to enable the voice of the community to be heard. This promotes the ideals of citizen empowerment, as endorsed by the recent CLG White Paper 'Communities in control: real people, real power'."

"Most Americans feel that companies should have a presence on social media sites, and many feel that they should actively interact with customers through those sites. Those are just some of the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, which said that 93 percent of Americans expect to see companies online where the users are—on social networking and other media sites."

"Twitter is my watercooler as I work solo from home (or a local cafe) in Alaska. It is my finger on the pulse of social media and things happening in the Lower 48. It is my way of touching base with friends, acquaintances and people who I’d like to get to know better."