Here at UCAN, we are first and foremost consumer advocates. To us, proper advocacy means giving consumers strong shoulders to stand on in order to let their voices be heard. Technology, especially new and social media, provides both UCAN and its members a great way to reach out to companies in ways they couldn't dream of with traditional media.

We definitely aren't strangers to new media and social media (check out http://www.newmediarights.org/ to get your new media fix). Social media is a great way to bypass traditional customer service hurdles and get your complaint heard by the company. 

Twitter, for example, can be used to directly address the particular company that is causing so much grief. Plus, since you are limited to 140 characters, you need to be short and succinct--no sob stories, no background about how horrible your day is going, just a short and sweet summary of your complaint. Even better, your complaint about the company can multiply rapidly through retweets, or people re-posting the message you sent.

How do you go about doing this? It's simple. First, you need a Twitter account. Once that's set up, you can post new messages, or tweets. At the beginning of your tweet, put the Twitter username of the company you wish to address preceded by an "@" symbol. This is called a mention. So, if you want to mention UCAN in a tweet, you can write "@UCANorg - you are awesome!" You can use any adjective you please to describe us.

But Twitter isn't just about broadcasting your message to the masses. Sure, it's great because it gives you a soapbox to stand on, but your voice can be heard no louder than usual if everyone is standing soapboxes of the same height. Rather, Twitter can be used to create and cultivate personal relationships through direct dialogue. Savy consumers can use this to establish a connection with companies that is much more difficult to ignore than repeated phone calls.

Here are some examples of how consumers received the help they truly deserved by using 140 characters (or less!). http://www.chromaticsites.com/blog/impressive-twitter-customer-service-brand-management-cases/ Who knows, maybe your story will be the next one on the list.

Check our Twitter page often, as we are constantly creating and updating lists of Twitter usernames of different consumer-related companies. Have a username to suggest or a complaint to post? Follow us @UCANorg.