A question is lurking in the back of many of my conversations with marketers who are pursuing social applications. In light of recent conversations, now's the time to ask.

Imagine for a moment that you are creating a community, a blog, or some other forum of social application for your customers and other people interested in your products. Being intelligent, you've set this up to best serve the needs of those people, and are hoping that it will benefit you.

Which statement would you agree with?

A. I should create an opportunity for them to opt in to my email lists, perhaps even during their registration. They're here because they're interested in my company, so they will potentially be interested in newsletters or product updates. And that's one of the ways I can prove this social application is worthwhile for the business.

B. The groundswell is about productive social interactions, not email! Running an application just as a feeder to the email list is missing the point. The application is this new marketing, not just a way to get emails.

Have at it, folks. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.