Sometimes when I speak with marketing executives about social media, they seem to get it. But they don’t. Not really. They falsely believe that Twitter and Facebook are like every other broadcast channel. They see it as an opportunity to blast their message out to thousands of followers—for free!—and sell them stuff.

I find myself increasingly speaking on the topic of social media. I’m not a guru or an expert, by any means. I am just a practitioner who is learning through trial and error.

Many people admit to me that they are drowning in information. “How do you keep up?” they ask. “Between email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and, and the constant stream of news, I am overwhelmed. I don’t know what is important and what is trivial.”

Twitter is a great tool for extending your influence. You can engage your “tribe” in real time, offering leadership and assistance in a way that would have been impossible just a couple of years ago.

When I started blogging, Thomas Nelson was a public company. Our stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: TNM). When I announced to the lawyers what I was going to do, they got very nervous. They were afraid I might say something that would get us in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When I told them that I also wanted to encourage our employees to blog, they about had a heart attack.

On Friday morning of last week, my friend Anne Jackson (aka, “@Flowerdust”) challenged me to a 48-hour Twitter fast. At first, I said, “no.” But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I thought it would give me some insight into Twitter and the role it plays in my life.

I am constantly shocked and amazed at how badly some people and organizations understand and use Social Media. Some, it seems, believe that Social Media sites are places to advertise and nothing else, but surely that defeats the purpose of these sites being “social.”

Yesterday morning, I presented my company’s experience with social media at an event sponsored by Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Business. I presented three social media examples: (1) blogging, (2) twitter, and (3) user-generated product reviews.

True confession. I used to Twitter while driving. I’m not proud of it. In fact, texting while driving is now illegal in Tennessee. But I did it. Occasionally, I even revert to it. But after watching the video below, I am cured for good. (Thanks to Tim Stevens for bringing this to my attention.)