Useful metaphor points out the preposterousness of ghost-tweeting

During discussions about the ethical advisability of ghost-tweeting, it is inevitably pointed out by proponents that CEOs have speechwriters who do their speeches, write their op/eds and handle their blogs.

How is Twitter different?

“Would you pretend to be your CEO on the radio?” said communication pro Amy Dean in a Ragan.com discussion on ghost-tweeting.

To me, those are and should remain the last, unanswerable words on the subject.

Ghost-tweeting isn’t an ethical problem, it’s a practical problem. Writing a dispatch to which a client signs his or her name and for which he or she will forever be accountable is just a hell of a lot easier and cleaner and safer a thing to do than pretending to carry on a conversation as that person, while the person is, in fact, on the back nine at the country club.

Does anybody disagree? Or can we put this one to rest once and for all? —DM