This made me wonder whether the notion of customer lists being protectable trade secrets is sustainable in the era of social media.  Will it seem quaint or Big Brotherish in the future that companies tried to “own” the social capital created by their employees?

This is an interesting question. The title of the post refers to Faccenda Chicken Ltd v Fowler [1987] Ch 117, [1986] 1 All ER 617 (CA) (available here (.doc)).