• by October 10, 2008

Excellent point [from Catharine P. Taylor.] Most big marketers look in fear at social media as a haven for whistle-blowers and trouble-makers, when in reality, the Jeff Jarvises out there are nothing more than trouble-exposers. If a company doesn't give precedent for such large-scale gripe (comcastmustdie.com, I'm looking at you), comments about it won't infiltrate social media channels and reach critical mass.

In other words, the social Web can be a rather uncomfortable mirror to look at for brands that have fundamental problems in their product, service, business model or customer policy. And the few brands that do get it right, "it" being their entire business philosophy, get a great response across social media. Just look at Zappos on Twitter and the general WOM warmth they've been enveloped in by their own consumers. Seems like social media are just a magnifying glass for a company's personality, wherever it may fall on the antagonist/protagonist continuum.