Origins of Social Media

I just finished reading chapter one of "Origins of Social Media" and one point about the global reach unhappy customers have particularly stuck a chord with me. The chapter tells the rather humorous story of a consumer who posts a recording on his blog that quickly goes viral. The consumer, Vincent Ferrari, wants to cancel his service with AOL and the sales representative is almost a parody of what someone in customer service should not do. It's bad enough the conversation actually took place, but it is even worse that the conversation where the AOL employee asks to speak with Ferrari's dad (which would be an outrageous request of anyone, but Ferrari was a full fledged adult) is online for potentially millions of people to view.

The problem for AOL was that this recording was not altered or exaggerated in any way. It became an instant hit because people either couldn't believe how crazy this conversation was, or on the other end of the spectrum they could identify with the recording because of their own experience. Now disgruntled customers know others have had the same experience, and they have a community to talk and share their terrible stories.

The article explains that before the internet an angry customer would tell ten people about the experience. But today that angry customer has a megaphone to potentially tell millions of customers. That shows that customer power has grown exponentially at a very quick rate. I personally feel like this is a good advancement because it should lead to more thoughtful customer care. When people complain on social media about delayed or cancelled flights, for example, that likley wont really hurt the airline they are talking about because the general customer base understands these delays happen. However, if someone posts a video of a verbally abusive airline attendant on the other hand, then it will likely gain traction because that is something customers do not expect or tolerate. I honestly think companies should make this chapter mandatory reading for all employees because it teaches a valuable lesson: Don't say something unless you want your words quoted in the New York Times.