In a recent article on Mashable.com, Christina Warren made a mistake that I hear all the time. She writes:

“Social media does inherently mean that you are giving up the ability to centrally control the message.”

While her article is interesting (it’s about social media and the Grammy awards), I think she’s a bit off base on that point. Getting involved in social media does not mean giving up control of your message. It means accepting that you weren’t in control to begin with.

She goes on to talk about why companies who do ‘give up control’ tend to succeed in social media:

“However, what is interesting is that the companies that embrace and accept that grain of truth are usually those that are most successful with social media.”

It’s no mystery why this happens. It’s the same reason that a person who can admit his or her weaknesses is the one who eventually overcomes them. Once a brand accepts that the message is beyond it’s control, it can begin to influence the conversation in the right direction. It can begin taking steps to get people talking positively.

It’s not about giving up control. It’s about giving up the illusion of control. And the sooner a brand can do that, the better they’ll leverage new media.