Companies used to spend heavily on creating their brand. Marketing types would think through every detail and aspect of the brand to ensure it conveyed the right message to the right people. After brand horror stories(1), it was prudent to be obsessive about your brand. On the web, content was carefully curated with the same editorial zeal as a magazine.

These days it’s different. Social media values stickiness over brand identity. Web sites need to be active with conversation even if it’s in appearance only. The content can even be syndicated with “semantic analysis” guaranteeing appropriateness. Take for instance, Social Weather:

Notes

(1) Link is not chronologically consistent with the telling of the story. Sorry