Sparkatopia

Are you listening to your customers? If they say something bad about your business in real time on Twitter, would you confront them in person?

Abercrombie & Fitch has asked “The Situation” from the hit series “Jersey Shore” not to wear their line of clothing. Lisa & Tommy talk about this bold PR move and discuss. Do they really hate Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino that much or are they just trying to catch the attention or people and build buzz? Lisa & Tommy make the case, but what say you?

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeaks on twitter!

Lisa & Tommy talk about Versace and their controversial choice to delete and turn off their Facebook comments regarding the hot button topic of sandblasting their jeans. How do you handle controversy when it happens to you? Do you have a crisis communication policy? Does deleting comments make them really go away?

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeaks on twitter!

Tommy received a personalize thank you note in a technology purchase at work. Lisa and Tommy talk about ways companies differentiate themselves from their competition.

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeaks on twitter!

Lisa & Tommy talk about the new integration of Skype chat within Facebook. Lisa’s not so big on the instant messaging capabilities in Facebook and doesn’t think she will use the video chat capabilities. Tommy is also leery of the new capabilities. Each tool has its own to gain from the merger of services. Interesting to see where this will go.

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeaks on twitter!

Tommy & Sara talk about a newspaper in Maryland that moved all their web presence form their corporate website to Facebook. A bold move dumping their website but if you think about it, it maybe a smart move! They are taking their stories and content to where their readers are instead of making their readers leave Facebook to go get the content.

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeak on twitter!

Tom and Sara discuss recent stories of PR agencies getting fired after negative tweets went out. A member of the Chrysler team inadvertently posted a highly controversial tweet from the corporate account instead of his private account. The Redner Group intentionally posted a negative tweet on behalf of their client 2K, causing the agency to be let go from the gaming corporation. Lesson learned: quadruple-check your tweets, especially if your job depends on it!

Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeak on twitter!

Lisa and Tommy talk about their picks for best news aggregators for their Apple iPads. Lisa likes Fluent News and the Daily and Tommy prefers flipboard. One beef they both find with the crop of newsreaders is the fact it takes time to download content and they are not very friendly in situations where you don’t have wifi or 3G access…like airline travel. There needs to be a way you can pre-download content for offline reading.

What’s your favorite newsreader / aggregator for your iPad? Join the conversation by commenting below or using hashtag #redshoesspeak on twitter!

Jess shares the heartwarming story of the loss of a dear relative and how she turned to blogging and social media for comfort. Your support network shows up in the most unlikely places and with the advent of social media, another channel for support is born. People grieve in different ways and sharing with your social network is one way of coping.

Jess & Tommy talk about an article in INC magazine on the online home made / vintage selling site Etsy. Anyone can launch and sell on etsy.com but if you grow too large and have to outsource the production of such goods, you can not sell on the site any longer. Jess then turns the discussion to social selling and the “sell at home” marketplace. Makes you think how important social media and relationships are to the selling and buying process. Do you take recommendations for friends and family before you make purchasing decisions? Please be part of the discussion. Use #redshoespeaks in twitter or comment below!