With the year coming to a close, it feels like the right time to reflect on the things that happened in 2012 and more importantly the things that can be learned. When it comes to social media, 2012 showed that many brands, including very high profile ones, are still approaching things the wrong way. They're not thinking about social media as a place for conversations. They're thinking about it as another channel for pushing messages. This flawed thought process yielded mistakes and five ways to learn from them.

1. You Don't Control The Message

This summer, McDonald's invited a very public critique of its business on Twitter with a campaign promoting #McDStories. The brand intended to get a very positive message out there and have consumers chime in with their own upbeat stories. Instead, people Tweeted on everything from McDonald's and weed to getting sick and the sourcing of food.

This wasn't how McDonald's thought things would go but how could they not have seen it coming? There had been a previous (but not as well-publicized) incident that took a similar path for the brand on Twitter. Instead of making the second attempt, McDonald's should have realized it can't control Twitter. If it's important to have engagement with the community, then make that engagement real. Take suggestions from the community. Answer questions.

2. Would You Spam Your Friends?

Toyota took to the Twitter airwaves during this year's Super Bowl...

Special K opened up the first ever Tweet Shop in London this week. It's a spot where the brand is promoting a new line of chips (or crisps as they're known across the pond). Visitors pay for a bag of these crisps with a Tweet.

The approach is of course meant to be a way to reach a mass market about the new products. "The value of positive endorsements on social media sites is beyond compare so we’re excited to be the first company to literally use social currency instead of financial currency to launch this new product in our bespoke Special K shop," said Sarah Case from Special K.

The Tweet Shop isn't just a new marketing gimmick. In an era where so many are asking about ROI, this is noteworthy for another reason. By turning a Tweet into currency, Special K is also demonstrating that consumer content has value.

If you're in London this week, the Tweet Shop is open for business through Friday.

Who wouldn't want to be seen as an arbiter of sophistication and class?

Enter "The Society of Good Taste," an interactive Facebook app by notably discerning Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon. So discerning, in fact, that the app uses a murky algorithm to judge your Facebook interests, activities, and scholarly pursuits; ultimately, to decide whether you're cultured enough to be a fan. Watch as a well-heeled group scores your profile to see if you'll "fit in." Though I was praised for my "excellent grammar," I was warned that a ranking in the 64th percentile of sophistication had just made the cut. But what, exactly, is the threshold of sophistication? Was the inclusion of Milo & Otis in my Favorite Films list not highbrow enough to merit the 70th percentile?

Worth noting: if at first you're not accepted into Grey Poupon's Society of Good Taste, admission is granted on the second try. Additionally, if you're denied on the first go-round, the app encourages you to pick up some more cultured pursuits: namely, reading Great Expectations, watching Masterpiece Theatre, and listening to Mozart on Pandora. If you've managed to get through the gate, you're immediately rewarded in the form of an eco-friendly - excuse me, “Eco-Curean” - tote bag emblazoned "Prosecco, not Plastic," with further sweepstakes incentives offered to Society members in upcoming months.

If you grew up in the 1980s or 90s, you're likely at least somewhat familiar with the upscale nature of the mustard brand. This particular campaign is an interesting way to reinforce brand perception - even if you can find the fancy mustard right alongside the average-Joe yellow bottles. Grey Poupon'...

For those of you not hip to the fun and exciting world of alternative holidays, today is National Cheeseburger Day. Certainly a holiday this foodie can get behind.

It's also a holiday Kraft is getting behind - and for the greater good. In honor of National Cheeseburger Day, check-in on Foursquare at any Five Guys Burger & Fries and Kraft will make a donation to Feeding America, a non-profit that runs food banks across the country.

The promotion is lasting longer than the one-day holiday. Just connect your Foursquare account to Kraft online and your check-in at Five Guys over the next two weeks will count toward the charity.

This is yet another good example of linking location-based networks to cause marketing, something that has been taking hold on Foursquare and SCVNGR this year. BFG has been working with Auntie Anne's this fall on a SCVNGR-based promotion with proceeds going to Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization that fights childhood cancer.

The food industry might be one of the most obvious places in the world today where nature can be unnatural. We buy packaged fruit juices made from concentrate, vegetables that are genetically modified, and packaged goods that, more often than not, contain a plethora of additives that we have no notion of how to pronounce.

Indeed, if there’s anywhere that nature is unnatural, it’s in what we eat, which is why this little experiment from Brazilian creative agency AGE Isobar is so fascinating. When tasked with the concern that not enough consumers knew that their product was the all-natural juice they crave, Camp and AGE Isobar set out together to make an impression.

Their process was simple, but the results were attention grabbing.