It seems even adopters of new technology might still fear change when it comes to branding.  Big-time international retailer Gap has decided to scrap the new logo it just released after some pushback from fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter.  Gap spokesman Bill Chandler told the Wall Street Journal that the new logo was "a step too far".  Here's a look at the two-decades-old logo (left) and the proposed new logo:

The whole episode provides an interesting case study in following the wisdom of a social media crowd.  And MarketingVox thinks Gap has made a mistake:

It is one thing to turn to crowdsourcing - especially if it is a commercial offering such as Trada.  But allowing the crowd make a strategic decision, especially on the fly, is unwise. Fact is, sometimes people just Tweet to Tweet - especially if there are a string of similar Tweets already out there - and then forget about it 20 second later. "How does the company know if the negative reactions are coming from loyal customers, or just folks who like opining on various topics via social media," writes Michael Roberto, a professor of management at Bryant University writes in a blog post.

There are other unknowns as well that were drowned out by the comments, he said. "How does the firm know if the negative reaction will translate into any lost sales? Will this move make it difficult for the firm to work with professional designers in the future? Won't they be upset by the rapid abandonment of something created by one of their professional colleagues and the turn to free crowdsourcing instead? Initial reactions from some in the design community have not been positive. Finally, won't the very same people who chose this logo be sifting through all the submissions in this crowdsourcing effort? What makes the firm feel that they will make a better decision this time."

Read Overestimating the Wisdom of the Crowd here.