Waterstones Oxford Street has a Twitter account: @WstonesOxfordSt. It was being retweeted by various people in my timeline. So I bleated joylessly about how it was corporate co-opting of social media, the fourth horseman of the apocalypse etc, as is my wont. I was then taken down by various people saying “It’s not an official account, it’s the staff having fun! It’s great! They do literary allusions*!” and so forth.

Does it still spell corporatocalypse if it’s not an overtly cynical top-down exercise? Sorry; yes. Would the big cheeses stand by and let the staff tweet under the corporate identity if it was in any way detrimental to the brand? Nope.

On the other hand, would senior management actively encourage – tacitly or explicitly – this sort of ‘grassroots’ social media engagement because it makes Waterstones look modern, edgy, and in touch with the digital world like their nemesis Amazon? Yes sir. Yes, they would.

It’s illogical to call a Twitter account under a corporate logo unofficial. Use of the identity implies permission, which implies those tweeting will self-police to corporate requirements, even if every bon mot isn’t directly signed off by the press officer.

Look, I don’t want to have a go at the staff. They’re working in retail, for a start. It’s hell on your feet. You’re treated like naughty urchins by management (legal note: own experience of working in shops that do not include Waterstones) and have to deal with The Public (in the words of John Lydon, “I’ve met the man in the street, and he’s a cunt”). Plus, it’s a matter of public record that the Oxford Street branch is cheery and friendly. See. Retail worker just wants to have a bit of fun with his/her day. Totally understandable. I’d get a few grins out of tweeting at work too.

It’s just that we’re awash in a sea of pseudo-friendly copywriting and faux all-in-on-the-joke-together chumminess, where yogurt packaging refers to itself in the first person – “Lick my lid! I’m best before 27 November” – and destination boards on empty buses say “Sorry I’m not in service ” and conditioner bottles say “Don’t forget to swish! You look GREAT!”. You know companies are going to start using social media for marketing and you know the endpoint of this is that the media will stop being ours. No, it’s already happening. As PR professionals get more knowing and managing directors get more savvy, they’ll kill Twitter, like they killed Myspace (That and the retina-pulverising graphics. And Murdoch. OK, there were many facets to that demise…) and Facebook (not officially dead, just dead to me).

So this account has a human face, is likeable, readable and gives literary people the opportunity to feel clever when they spot references. Follow away, if you fancy it. To thine own self be true. But let’s not be disingenuous and claim it’s not part of the corporate marketing effort. By accident or design, it has to be.

(* yep, a lot cleverer than mine)