Stowe does an admirable job here of summarising the state of denial that otherwise smart people are existing within.
As Jay Rosen has suggested, we are the people formerly known as the audience. Blogging is not just another channel for corporate marketing types to push their messages to markets, eyeballs, or audiences. Social media is based on the dynamic of a many-to-many dialogue between people.
Yes, people: that’s the word that should have been used. Not audience.
Source: /Message: Enough Already: Getting Social Media All Wrong
Bankwatch 
What are you doing?!@#!$
Don’t tell people that!
You’re going to ruin the competitive advantage that the firms that use blogs to engage in meaningful dialogues with their customers have.
But, wait. What was I thinking? Those other firms aren’t listening anyway (to you, Jay Rosen, or their customers).
Nevermind.
Indeed .. its a brave new world !