(Cross-posted from TheEnergyCollective.com) The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Exxon Twitter ("janet from ExxonMobil") account, which was launched to great fanfare and using Exxon's logo, is not authorized and does not originate in its public relations department.
From the Chronicle:
This foray into the new media frontier for one of corporate America's blue chip companies might seem ground-breaking if it wasn't for one thing:
"That's not us," said Alan Jeffers, spokesman for Exxon Mobil.
"Janet" isn't part of Exxon's public relations machinery â€" the company said it has no idea who she is and wasn't aware of her until the Chronicle called to ask.
The company doesn't take positions on specific legislative proposals, as "Janet" suggests, Jeffers said, and isn't using mediums such as blogs and social networking sites to communicate with consumers.
"The company doesn't take positions on specific legislative proposals?" Well, there goes the D.C. Government Affairs office!
Personally, I hope Janet from Exxon continues... we've been following her on our newly established Twitter account (@socialmedia2day) and agreed with The Chronicle's assessment that she's done nothing to undermine the company. Perhaps she could perform for the world's largest oil company a role not unlike Robert Scoble's at Microsoft, whose unauthorized and candid blog about the company while he was working there helped to soften the colussus of Redmond's "borg-like" image.