What's so scary about social media marketing?

There is much discussion this morning about a glaring missed opportunity by British businesses. Yep, businesses in the UK are too mistrustful of social media, choosing first to ban it outright when in reality it's becoming a pretty effective way to converse with customers. Consider this new research published on Thursday by  TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony:

Cymfony surved over 70 marketing execs in the United States, UK, France and Canada to ask them their thoughts on the potential of social media as a wortwhile marketing investment. The findings among American survey respondents was promising and enlightened. Nearly 50 per cent  said brands must urgently engage with social media or risk falling behind. In the UK? Just 18 per cent, a figure Cymphony regards as "surprising".

From where Matt & I stand, this figure seems a bit low. Agencies and brands in the UK are truly  catching up to speed quickly. We'd expect to see these figures rise dramatically in the next six months, declining economy or not.