In 1955, when Gene Moore joined Tiffany's, the venerable store was, as it still is, the most intimidating establishment in Fifth Avenue, a place of steep prices and unsmiling, if polite, security guards.

ECONOMIST: Gene Moore

But this strategy risks making Mr Poizner appear negative, especially if the polite and more issues-focused Mr Campbell is actually the one to beat.

ECONOMIST: The California governor's race

Just like the dutch coffeehouses, and countless wall street bars, and stock message boards, Twitter is going to have either a low signal to noise ratio if you are being polite, and a lot of BS if you are not.

FORBES: So Much For Mining Twitter Sentiment For Picking Stocks