In reply to David H Deans.

Dean – It depends on how you define “meaningful”. As you know, social media has changed the way we engage with our stakeholders. Social provides access and enables real-time feedback. So while some may view an in-person meeting as more meaningful, some of those connections may not be possible without the connections made on the social channels. If you look at it this way, community managers are creating those connections. If they don’t have the domain expertise, they are connecting stakeholders with those that do. And that is of course as you pointed out, part of the authenticity and credibility of extending our brand in social. :-)