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CEOs are not the darlings they used to be. However, I have to give Dell’s CEO some props for reminding us to slow down and use Twitter in a laser-focused way. He said. “Quite frankly, one of the most important things we do with Twitter is listen. I don’t think you can hire someone to listen for you.” Message heard loud and clear.

You can’t just wing it, says Bob Pearson, Vice President of Communties and Conversations at Dell, which has 130 Twitter feeds authored by trained marketing , sales, and customer service staff.  He’s not a fan of corporate accounts that use tools like Twitterfeed to automate postings from one blog onto a Twitter account. It’s a common practice, but often results in convoluted posts. “So many companies just post their RSS feeds into their Twitter accounts,” he says. “But why do that? Who cares?”

“If you’re going to have an RSS feed then at least add some of your own personality on top of that, he says.” That’s why he ensures each Dell feed directly links back to a staff member who also has a personal Twitter account.

The key is to move beyond a pure corporate marketing model to one that emphasizes personality. “Twitter users are smart to the point where they don’t just want to be marketed to,” says Jennifer Van Grove, an editor at Mashable.com, an online social media guide. Earlier this year, she compiled a list of the best 40 brands on Twitter—and the people behind them, many of whom have earned cult followings that number above 50,000. What makes them so successful? “I’m not engaged unless you’re putting a real person behind the brand and making them 100 percent accessible,” she says.

Marriott has used their account to share details about an attack that occurred at one of their hotels in Islamabad. GM is using their feed to further explain the government bailout of the auto industry and the historical GM bankruptcy. These were tough, necessary conversations, providing a two-way feedback of the sort you can’t have with an RSS feed.

Not every company has the staff to write with the tact and brevity that a Tweet requires. That’s why David Brown started Twit4hire, which launched just last week. His company aims to build clients, charging them thousands along the way, to broadcast tweets on their behalf. More than six companies have expressed interest and nearly 50 applicants have contacted him looking for a job as a professional Twitterer. “Many businesses don’t have the resources to spend time writing tweets on a regular basis,” Brown says. “Our service would build up followers for these companies.”

By the way, I found a really cool way to have your Tweets automatically appear in your facebook feed. Go get it…it’s free and it’s too much fun.

Oh and one more thing, gosh I feel like Columbo here, just one more thing. Be TwitAware… the airlines are leveraging Twitter to not only inform their fans, now they’re starting to offer Twares. That would be Twitter Fares that are reduced. Ain’t it Tewwific.

Thanks to Kurt Soller for this| Newsweek Web Exclusive

Learn more about Twitter - Most common reason for people getting stuck on Facebook or Twitter

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