GM Embraces Social Media. Now It’ll Regain Market Share.

All an ailing brand needs is some social media to help it out, right?
That’s what GMnext is for. Information Week has the story:

GM, like many automakers, is faced with declining sales as credit tightens and gasoline prices rise. The company lost $15.5 billion in its second quarter. Johnson hopes the new media efforts will, at the very least, create a loyal base of potential customers who will be inclined to choose GM when things turn around for the auto industry.
“We’re creating the opportunity to interact directly with consumers,” said Johnson, who called GMnext.com “a landing page” that will act as an umbrella site for GM’s numerous Web 2.0 initiatives. The page features links to blogs, wikis, photo- and video-sharing tools, and messaging areas where car enthusiasts can engage each other and also communicate with the company. “We want to be able to talk to our customers,” said Johnson.

Maybe they want to talk to their customers, but do the customers want to talk to them? And will GM listen to what the customers have to say?