Two dozen weeks in, and we’re still struggling to keep up with all the news, updates, and research that keeps pouring out of the world of social tech. Here, we call that the good life.

There’s a study out there showing that people who follow brands on social sites are around 60-70% more likely to be customers of those brands. We express a little skepticism about whether there’s much actual conversion there, but we don’t have any doubt that building relationships – even with current customers – has a great value to your company.

On a related tangent, we talk about how the omnipresence of the Internet has affected our shopping decisions – if reviews, sales, and other information looked up on smartphones have affected our decisions about purchases – whether we shop online or in the store.

Privacy is an ever larger issue in this connected world, and Dave’s experience in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Interactive conference bears that out. But one of the more interesting trends that Dave spotted was a move away from attempts to be the “Next Twitter,” but rather a rush of new tools to integrate and aggregate all of our social accounts and posts.

"Patients lining up in the triage area," from LeBonheur's Picasa album.

We speak with Amanda Mauck from LeBonheur Children’s Hospital about her recent trip to Haiti with a group from the hospital aiding in earthquake relief. From their arrival in Haiti, she kept a blog of her experiences. She shared a few of her favorite posts from the trip and talked with us about how she kept the blog updated.

If you want to connect with LeBonheur and ask a few more questions, you can find them at their Web site, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

If you’re trying to download the Social Expedition Podcast right now, and you’re frustrated with how long it’s taking – get involved with the effort to compel Google to bring their high-speed fiber optic network to Memphis. Find out how at the LunaWeb blog.

Don’t forget, Thursday is March’s Twilight Camp, and the speaker at next month’s Social Expedition breakfast is Rod Kirby, who appeared on last week’s podcast.

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Tags | Amanda Mauck, Earthquake, Haiti, LeBonheur, Mashable, Sears, Shopping