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Don't mention Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks to Alan Crease for directing me to an article by John Naughton in the Observer on a recent ruling by the French media regulator the CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) that TV and radio should not refer explicitly to Facebook and Twitter unless they are explicitly involved in the news story. They may refer instead to "your favourite social network", for example.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/19/twitter-facebook-free-plug

I tend to agree with John Naughton that we should not forget that Facebook and Twitter are companies making profits for shareholders, so why should they get free advertising? As Mr Naughton says, the BBC would not refer to a vacuum cleaner as a Dyson; it amounts to promotion. At what point does brand name become an everyday item of vocabulary? Hoover? Ipod? Walkman? Bic?

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