An article in Sunday’s Observer from John Naughton, Professor of the public understanding of technology at the Open University.

“Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars,”…  “when there are many other social networks that are struggling for recognition? This would be a distortion of competition. If we allow Facebook and Twitter to be cited on air, it’s opening a Pandora’s Box – other social networks will complain to us saying, ‘Why not us?’?”

also

Suppose, for a moment, that BBC News started to use “Dyson” instead of “vacuum cleaner” in its reports of dust-mite infestations, or “Bollinger” instead of “champagne” in its coverage of the drinks industry. We’d be outraged. Yet that is effectively what we are thoughtlessly doing when it comes to dealing with phenomena like social networking: taking the dominant commercial brand and pretending that it’s generic.

Interesting points brought up in this article.  Do you have concerns about Facebook and Twitter being the generic catch all for Social Media?