If your Twitter account is listed by other people, it's good for your reputation. If you're on many lists, it adds to your credibility in your area of expertise or niche.
The days of dropping comments into a box are long gone. Now, someone can go right on Facebook or Twitter and be in charge of a company's brand. They can make or break how people perceive a company in a very short period of time.
If you had been putting together a survey about ice cream, would your list of demographic and psychographic questions have included a question of when people eat ice cream?