As time goes on, these organizations will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff and become a powerful resource. I believe that it is also important to choose as a “standard” a group or organization that is not looking to make a buck from the 'accreditations' or referrals.

(Social Media Club is a non-profit, free resource to its members and visitors. Disclosure: I am putting together a SMC for New Hampshire http://smcnh.com)

Another approach would be to offer social media accreditation via an existing and well-recognized communications group, like the International Association of Business Communicators. IABC already has accreditation programs, so it knows what's involved.

This kind of partnership would not only allow IABC to present itself as a forward-thinking organization, it would also provide its accredited dues-paying social media experts with a ready-made marketplace of business communicators.

All they need is a proven social media expert to help them define the terms of accreditation, and reap full props for building IABC's socmed program… Hmmm.

For instance, what are the real KPIs? As much as I'd like to think I know the answer, I think there's still some debate about defining impact (as we see in the article that inspired this post). In fact, the best answer I see tends to be that it varies from project to project.

Also worth considering: the right person doesn't always need a trophy/certificate/etc. I know when I fell into my current job, I got recruited because of my writing background and my early-adopter mentality, not because I knew jack-all about how search engines work or even really how social media worked. I taught myself very quickly because I was immersed in it. Granted, I wasn't stepping into a director role, but the most qualified person on paper isn't always the best.