We’re not typically ones for the bandwagon, but when it comes to iPad jokes, we just couldn’t help ourselves. We touch on its utilities, dip our toe in the iPod Touch v. iPad debate and skim through some of its features, sure. But mostly? Like the classic Seinfeld line, we’re left wondering about the marketing geniuses who came  up with that one.

Elizabeth, Beth Sanders, Matthew, and Dave

It’s not all jokes this week, though, as we talk about the inundation of the White House Facebook fan page in advance of last night’s State of the Union address and the Edelman Trust Barometer. Dave explains that the folks at Edelman release a study every year around the concept of consumer trust. Apparently Chinese consumers have more trust in American corporations than Americans do (ouch), and in 2010 a high-earning company does not necessarily earn automatic high marks. In the past, success has been fairly easily equated with trust; this year’s study reveals that our attitudes on that are changing.

And as corporations look to enhance trust in their brands, no doubt they’ll be looking to social media for solutions this year — a recent study shows that social is the top priority for marketers in 2010. It feels like a “duh!” moment for Elizabeth, but Dave notes that this shift is something to be wary of, as more megaphones are likely to appear and begin broadcasting messages on these channels.

And of course, if you haven’t heard about Google Xistence, it might just be the next best thing in virtual living.

This week our guest was Beth Sanders, a communications guru and self-proclaimed geek. As Dave points out, she’s the uber-early adopter, so we picked her brain about what she’s been into lately. What we got back was a laundry list of location-based services to check out: GoWalla, CauseWorld (which allows you to earn “karma points” that translate to real dollars for charity), Whrrl, Loopt and of course, FourSquare. We also opined a little bit about the possibilities awaiting us with the upcoming tablet announcement since we sat down with Beth prior to the unveiling of the iPad. (Giggle.)

We wrap things up with some very intellectual discussion on the virtues and pitfalls of cupcakes, but mostly about a cool local kid who’s selling them to raise money for Haiti. You can find him on Facebook. We also touch on our upcoming events, like next week’s breakfast (featuring our own Dave Barger speaking on social tools for the enterprise) plus this week’s Core Conversation, which goes down at 11:30 CDT on Friday as usual. We’ll be talking about what to do if you get hacked, and you can join us by calling 646-721-9429, or you can listen live here.

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Tags | Beth Sanders, CauseWorld, Cupcakes for Haiti, Edelman Trust Barometer, facebook, GoWalla, iPad, Loopt, Twitter, Whirl, White House fan page