[ by Melanie Gretchen and Howard Haykin] FLASH: GOLDMAN SACHS IS GOING VIRAL! It may seem too good to be true, but the Wall Street giant has plans for combating the many dreaded monikers that have been foisted on the firm - included CEO Lloyd Blankstein's 'Vampire Squid' image - by becoming an active member of the social media community.  That, according to a posting on its website. Going forward, its first order of business is to find someone who knows his or her way around Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, and other key sites, to serve as Managing Director for Spin Social Media.  [C-I Note: Hmmm, wonder if the firm ever considered a person like Twitter's founder Biz Stone, or Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley or Steven Chen - co-founders of YouTube?] Anyway, Goldman appears to be on the right track - "establish a positive online presence for Goldman Sachs as well as … integrate our messaging into the online community in a compelling and valuable way for participants." Overcoming Adversity. The successful applicant will be able to use Twitter and Facebook's tools toward the Wall Street's public image revitalization.  In an interview on CNBC last week, CEO Lloyd Blankfein admitted "we haven’t gotten everything right" in dealing with the general public, which he attributed to Goldman having focused on serving elite corporations and institutional investors rather than the masses. In the same vein, in March, the firm appointed a former Treasury Department official as its new head of corporate communications.  Jake Siewert replaced its long-time mouthpiece, Lucas Van Praag, who was known for his combative stance with those who covered and/or criticized the firm. Current Status. To date, Goldman’s Twitter presence includes almost 3,600 followers, but nary a single tweet.  Instead, several Twitter feeds satirize the firm, including GS Elevator Gossip, Fake Lucas Van Praag, and Goldman Suchs, a feed whose allegedly New York-based author says, "I went from Harvard to Goldman to rehab." At C-I, there's a sneaking suspicion Goldman is going to get the last laugh - if that's at all possible.  If there's one thing we've learned, it's to never bet against Goldman - they simply know how to win, and do so more than others. [Crain's, 5/1/12]