As you have probably heard already, Southwest Airlines recently made the unfortunate mistake of angering a passenger that harnesses a lot of power on Twitter.  According to reports, actor/director/writer/comedian Kevin Smith, best known for his role as Silent Bob, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, CA, this past Valentine’s Day weekend due to his weight.  Since then, dozens of tweets have been posted by Kevin Smith — @ThatKevinSmith –(last time we checked, his Twitter page was overloaded and couldn’t be accessed via the Twitter website but we were able to check it out via TweetDeck).  To put it mildly, he is angry, and quickly gave Southwest Airlines a fast-moving social media crisis communications situation to deal with.

In the context of communication overall, social media applications are a major innovation in general, though they aren’t exactly new or groundbreaking on their own anymore. We are keeping an eye out at Zenzi for cool new innovative ways that people and companies are using social media. There is no special code or guaranteed path to success or popularity with social media – much like viral videos — some of the biggest successes just happen because of a creative idea and an audience that catches on and takes it by storm. There are multiple elements that need to click into place to create a successful social media campaign, and one of the biggest elements, at least with the most exciting and unique examples out there, is innovative ideas.

One of our favorite classic examples of an incredibly successful social media campaign is the Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck in L.A., which was touted as “America’s first viral restaurant” by Newsweek. While their Twitter (@kogibbq) following is impressive with over 50,000 followers, it’s not just this number that makes them a ridiculously huge Twitter success story. It’s the fact that through Twitter and their website, within just a few months of opening for business there were often hundreds of people waiting on some street corner in L.A. for the Kogi BBQ truck to pull up. The trucks now make the rounds to the bar scene as well, tweeting about one of their two trucks’ next stops, where hungry people armed with iPhones and Blackberries eagerly await the arrival of their late night snack.

These stories are what have landed this fancy taco truck (the regular variety are a dime a dozen on the streets of L.A. during the lunch hour) in publications such as Time, Inc., GQ, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and Gourmet. To start with, the food is delicious and different, and combine that with a savvy social media strategy designed to work in line with the company’s goals and business model, and you have a successful, innovative social media campaign that has truly taken on a life of its own. Twitter may have played a role in creating an entirely new fast food trend. Kogi BBQ has definitely set a new standard for a perfect recipe for success in social media through an innovative business model that has better served their customers by using Twitter to speak to their customers’ stomachs.

Celebrities are always at the front of emerging trends. They have embraced the Twitter phenomenon with open arms. While some celebs have found unique ways to use Twitter to their advantage, others have felt the strain of having an instant access porthole into their intriguing lives.

On Friday, April 17, 2009 Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) beat out CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) as the first Tweeter to net 1 million followers. As part of a friendly wager, Ashton agreed to donate 10,000 mosquito nets to Malaria No More if he won and 1,000 if he lost. CNN agreed to the same bet and went above and beyond, donating 10,000 nets even though they were the loser. Oprah (@Oprah) and Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) also made significant donations to the charity to show their support for Ashton. In this case, Ashton used Twitter as a way to foster a technological revolution and get the word out about a worthy cause.

Twitter gives us a front row seta to celebrity gossip in real time. Immediately after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards, celebs tweeted their reactions from their seats! Pink (@Pink), Dane Cook (@danecook), John Mayer (@johncmayer), Katy Perry (@katyperry) and many others tweeted their thoughts as the events were occurring, a trend that led to a full-scale media debate.

The appealing part of celebrity tweeters is the instant access into an otherwise off-limits part of their lives. The public feels like they have a direct connection to the unattainable world of fame and fortune. Some celebs are already feeling some of the negative effects of having a Twitter account; Miley Cyrus has deleted her account and Courtney Love has the distinction of being the first person sued over defamatory Twitter posts. Should we really have all this access? Twitter allows us to answer “yes.” So, the next time Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) stumbles out of a nightclub, we’ll be right there with her, tweeting all the way.

After seeing Guy Kawasaki (pictured above) speak at two different events in the past few months (San Diego Venture Group and 140| The Twitter Conference LA), I came away pondering what seems to be a rather polarizing question in the Twitter world.  Kawasaki believes that re-broadcasting tweets multiple times throughout the day is the best way to effectively reach your audience.  He definitely has some gutsy philosophies on Twitter and perhaps this approach works for his goals.  I personally don’t agree that this is wise advice for any individual or organization working to achieve a meaningful conversation with followers on Twitter.  But if your goal is quantity over quality, Guy Kawasaki is definitely onto something, as evidenced by his nearly 200,000 followers.  I recently posed this question to the PRSA group on LinkedIn and thought that the ensuing discussion was interesting and worthwhile to share:

Traditionally, college students are early adopters of social media platforms. Twitter is one notable exception to the rule. Only sixteen percent of Twitter users are under age 25. However, those students who ARE on Twitter may have an advantage over their non-tweeting peers.

Over 30 percent of college professors use Twitter regularly. They use Twitter to post and answer questions from students, effectively expanding the definition of “office hours.” Professors host Twitter study groups that allow students to participate in active and continuous academic discussions from anywhere. Students can also collaborate on group projects via Twitter.

Everyone knows that no matter what you choose to do in life, networking is the way to get there. Twitter is a great networking tool for college students. They can follow professionals in their chosen field and keep up with relevant trends. Starting a conversation with a pro can open doors for the future. On that note, Twitter can be a useful tool for job searching. The ability to respond directly to a job inquiry might give Twitter users the upper hand.

Even though college students are reluctant to join Twitter, I think many will soon realize the benefits. Instant access to news, professors and job opportunities are crucial to every college student’s life.