Isn't it ironic how poor the reputation of PR is? You'd think PR could do a better PR job on itself. Instead it's not trusted and generally seen as a twister of the truth. PR is now facing off against social media because the two represent opposite sides of a dialogue. PR speaks for corporates while social media speaks for audiences. PR is uncomfortable at the loss of control this represents and social media resents PR trying to use the blogosphere for its own ends. I love the honesty social media can bring to the discussion. I love the way social media can force corporates to speak with actions and not just words. While many marketers are plotting cunning ways to access social media groups as markets, I believe the best corporate commercial benefit of online communities will be in better customer service.  Minda Zeltin presents a great example in Satisfaction. Here customers are enabled to help each other in online forums - increasing satisfaction and reducing support costs for companies.