"United Breaks Guitars"

This song is rather catchy. The tune is memorable and the words are easily stuck in your head, not to mention it’s pretty funny. I think that really contributed to the popularity of this song. However, the most important aspect I see that really skyrocketed this hit song is how so many people can relate to this experience, or one similar to it. Many people have bad experiences with an airline or two, whether it be smashed property, lost luggage, seat problems, or arrival/departure lateness issues. Every problem usually results in negative feelings toward the airline, and when someone else shares their problems, it just builds upon their already disapproving views. This is an example of the significant effect social media can have on a person or company.
I think that people don’t understand the significant role of PR and social media. YouTube is just one example of how 1 million people can hear the complaint of one individual in a matter of 3 days. What companies need to be looking out for today, is that this can happen easily and to anyone. The traditional rule of thumb when it comes to customer satisfaction has always been for every person that has a negative experience they will tell ten people about it, and every person that has a positive experience will tell two people about it. “United Breaks Guitars” is a perfect example of how social media has changed that rule from ten people hearing a negative message to possibly millions upon millions. To compound this even further is the general tread of society to be more interested in the bad than then good. People are more likely to seek out negative video clips and news stories than positive ones. Social media makes all of this possible.
What really gets me is how once United realized that the media message traveling throughout the world in this video was really going to affect them; they decided they should do something for this man and his broken guitar. It shouldn’t take 1 video, a million viewers, and $180 million lost so make the appropriate people listen to one dissatisfied customer. They may serve thousands of people a day, but without the proper treatment of people, what does that matter. United Airlines could have bought over 50,000 guitars for the money they lost in stocks due to this video. This just goes to show that treating people poorly will come back and byte you in the butt, and cost you a lot of money!
Social media is the new media of 2009. Many people are discovering it, embracing it, and spreading it. This means a drastic change for companies, celebrities, and people all around the world. They may want to look into their company standards, their ethics, and their way of doing business because the world will know when something goes wrong, and it could very possibly blow up their face. Social media is the voice of the people and they doing something to make a difference.