tl;dr social media isn't just a tactic to dabble in, because it opens the floodgates for end user communication. It's potentially a revolutionary way to establish context with users, but you have to be ready to engage fully or it can do more harm than good.
You didn't just seriously use the phrase "a revolutionary way to establish context with users", unironically. Right?
Just because people abuse a phrase doesn't mean it is not relevant.
If you two really believe that this stuff is revolutionary, I am embarrassed by how low the bar is for my generation.
There's no reason to be embarrassed btw.
Then I looked at your other comments, and realized that I had just been trolled so hard that it had more in common with a religious experience than ordinary, mortal satire. My vision went gray. I saw angels beckoning me to a bright white place. There was harp music, reasonably priced German beer, etc etc.
You are really amazingly good at this. If someone isn't already paying you to dick with people on the internet, they should be.
Firstly, to get this out of the way, your attitude doesn't really belong on HN and these petty arguments don't contribute to the discussion.
Let's look at how I believe it is revolutionary for the Chinese restaurant.
* They now have an easier, more convenient and better way to contact and be in constant contact with their customers.
* They have pretty good data on their customers. Their ages, their genders, their education status and more.
* Easier transition to online business. If they decided to provide an online service they already have an attentive customer base to work from.
For what it is worth, I do think most "social media experts" are full of waffle.