JohnstonWells.com

By Gwinavere Johnston

Trust is dead.

Amid the news of financial markets crashing, banks and lenders folding, and politicians fighting, the confidence and equity businesses have worked decades to build has given up the ghost.

We don’t trust politicians, we don’t trust major financial institutions – look what they’ve done to us and our investments. Consider the mayor of New York City – he’s going against everything he has supported in the past in order to serve another term (and another and another?)Because of the death of trust, corporations around the world will suffer.

Of course we still trust the mom-and-pop shops with which they have regular interaction. We trust their accountants and attorneys. We trust our friends and business associates. But we don’t trust large corporations any more – even though most have done nothing to deserve our wrath.

By GG Johnston

In a LinkedIn, Facebooked, Twittered, iPhoned world, it's all too easy to envision ourselves as high-flying communicators who solve crises with a few taps to a BlackBerry keypad.

No doubt, the world is changing. We live in an era of citizen-sponsored journalism, blogs and social networks. With more than 1 trillion pages on the Web, anyone can get a wealth of information about any organization within seconds. Thinking of downloading a new software program? No need to check CNET or Consumer Reports -- just tweet on Twitter and get the straight dope. Wondering about the stability of a potential investment or the cause of a crisis? Millions of bloggers, none of whom talked with a corporate spokesperson, post their opinions every day.

By Darby C. Doll

“Another levee and sandbag wall breached in Wisc. Will it end?”

From a makeshift headquarters in Madison, American Red Cross public affairs team member Jeffery Biggs shared more bad news from the flood front.

No press conference or media release. Not even a camera. Just 51 characters on a Twitter feed, sent out to thousands of victims and their families.

Biggs and dozens of volunteers, both near and abroad, relied on a Twitter micro-blog and other social media to disseminate vital information during the Mississippi River floods of mid-June.