http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Dave Carroll is a Canadian musician with a wicked sense of humor and apparently “hell hath no fury as a Dave scorned”!

Dave was sitting on a Untied Airlines flight waiting for takeoff, when he spotted a UA baggage handler … throwing his guitar case. Result, a broken guitar and a failure by the Customer Relations department to resolve the matter to Dave’s satisfaction, Check. Dave’s move, Dave made the Youtube video above the experience, Check.

With the video closing on 5 Million views, Chris Ayres, LA corespondent for the Times Online, estimates that the resulting fallout has cost United $180 M or 10% of their market cap. It’s not that United Airlines don’t know how to do customer service really well, Ravesh (see the link) gives them, the thumbs up. However I think it would be fair to say, that this incident has turned out not as they would have liked.

Moral of this Social Media Story.

Social Media has changed the communication landscape. Media is now created by everyone, People are “The Media”. This can work for your business (i.e. lot’s of positive recommendations like Rakesh’s cheery post above)  and against your business (i.e. a video like Dave’s). The best insurance for your business is to develop a Social Media Strategy for your brand or business and use your Social Media presence to build a relationship with your clients and customers. Oh yer… and work hard to solve problems that your clients might be experiencing, lest you cross a customer like Dave.

It’s the Attention Age, do you have it?

Update: United have offered to compensate, Dave says “no, it’s not about the money” and invites United to donate to a charity of their choice.

Does this seem amazing to you Dave an individual is now telling a multi-national Airline what to do. Welcome to the Attention Age, Dave has a lot of people’s attention (currency) and is now in a powerful position, his song is selling very strongly in iTunes (cash, old fashioned currency), and appearances on major networks, newspapers, and plenty of buzz online (more currency), Checkmate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay7hFIYQFnw

Your Move

If you don’t already have a Social Media strategy in place for your business, then it might be a good time to start. Byron New Media are creating a 5 video series on Developing a Social Media Strategy for your Brand or Business it might be a good time now to sign up for the FREE videos and the accompanying overview or you might like to contact us about engaging us as consultant to develop or implement a strategy  for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueB2PPyHaNs

Social Media can be a very direct medium, it’s quite intimate. Social Media Marketing is subtle, it can become direct but it starts more obtuse.  As someone wanting to market in the personal space of Social Media it is far more engaging to have a good time and allow other sot do the same.

The video above is brilliant touch in subtly, and watching it I found myself have a pretty good time. It will no doubt position BB&A (the company that posted it on Youtube) as being capable and great to work with. At no stage do they attempt to broadcast their brilliance but instead show themselves getting the job done.  I had a feeling when I met Mark and Gideon (founders of BB&A) on Twitter about a month ago, that here was a company and a couple of guys who really get Social Media and who will do well leveraging it to benefit their business. Tip of the hat lads! Social Media subtle like well … Elvis???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elo7WeIydh8

An Ad Agency, Boone Oakley from Charlotte, North Carolina has created thier company website on Youtube videos. Let me say that again thier website consists exclusively of Youtube videos.

Don’t believe me go to www.bonneoakley.com and you will be directed to the Youtube video above. The videos have annotations that act as the navagation for thier “website” which link to other “pages ” (more Youtube videos). The creativity to come up with what is a realitivly simple idea is breath taking. I am sure Uncle Seth would call this remarkable and a purple cow.

Follow Clay Shirkey on Twitter I Follow Boone Oakley on Twitter

There will be a moment when you believe in Social Media. Just like the moment that the Berlin Wall came down, Obama got elected and Ashton beat CNN to 1,000,000 tweeps you will remember where you were when it happened.

When was it that you realised that New Media (Social Media) had the power to transform … your life, your business, your cause, or even the world. We are living through the most amazing change in the communication landscape in the history of humanity and you, we, the broader people are through the power of Social Media, in charge.

The Moment I Believed

In 2007 (I know the version below is December 2008), it was late at night, the rest of the family was asleep. I watched “The Message”,  a youtube collaboration video, made by an ingenious unknown person known as Mad V. At 2.13 minutes into this clip, a young man I’ll probably never know changed my life. The sincerity with which he shares his message “I Believe In You” touched me so deeply, that I was able to realise Social Media is not just about a meeting of minds, it has the potential to be much much deeper than that.

It has the potential give people the thing that they crave at this time in our history, connection, real heartfelt connection.

If you have a purpose, whether it is to create a product that improves peoples lives, create unity in the world, or to teach people to take care of thier health you will need to deeply move people. In order to do that there is no more effective or efficient way than through the strategic use of Social Media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BzXpOch-E

Has your moment of belief arrived? I would love to hear your story, please leave a comment.

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