What happens when a blogger “gripes”

One of my favourite social media people, Chris Brogan, recently wrote a post about what he wished airlines would do to improve our flight experiences. I found it entertaining and agreed with much of what he said, but I know Chris, and I know that his blog is all about social media.

So, I’m going through his bullet points and asking myself “um, Chris?”. And then, Chris asked the same question himself, but he also answered it, and it was that answer that I’m most interested in.

Chris said,

And what does this have to do with social media? Simple: I have a voice. I have a community. I have reach. ALL companies have to think about that. We are not silent. We are not complacent. We intend to influence.

And that in and of itself, is the epitome of social media. I frequently tell people that I am a loudmouth, and I also manage to get gigs because of that loudmouthedness. Everyone wants a loudmouth on their side, talkng to everyone and anyone they can about their brand’s key selling points. It’s actually a very soft form of sales – as is, really, much of social networking when you’re doing it on behalf of a company.

I was encouraged to see this written down, in plain language, on a blog that many companies will go to for social media advic. Maybe that will begin to drill it into the corporate culture.

We are loud. We are talkative. We will talk about you. A lot. You’ve been warned.