I was glad though to see that Southwest responded quickly and even more than once (whether to people’s liking or not) – but I want to tackle an even deeper issue than that:

Social Responsibility

It’s no secret that the social web allows us to interact with businesses more closely and under a larger microscope than ever before. But when does one draw the line from expecting rapid communication to an issue, to going overboard and abusing your ‘social power’ for the benefit of yourself and to balloon a story even larger than it needs to be?

On one side I see Kevin Smith, a filmmaker who has more followers than Southwest Airlines themselves. A guy who was definitely wronged by the company and used his influence to voice his displeasure. On the flip side, I see a guy who continues to berate and badger SWA all over Twitter and IMO, abusing the social responsibility that we all really have in this space. For what? To truly push the message that SWA did wrong or to USE the social web to continue one’s own agenda?

We EXPECT, DEMAND, WANT big and small from companies online – but when it comes to us, the consumer, we apparently get a free pass when it comes to RESPECT, UNDERSTANDING and RESPONSIBILITY online.

Next time you want to flip the script and go Kevin Smith or Motrin Moms on a company, sit back and think about the openness of this space and the responsibility that comes along with it. Even more so, think to yourself if you’d truly do the same in-person if this situation were to happen at a brick & mortar.

But enough of my side, what do you think of this story? Is Kevin right in his continued messages against SWA? Or did Southwest drop the ball far enough to deserve this amount of ridicule?

Because following guidelines doesn’t always get you noticed.

Because letting your passion and personality ride you through gets people talking.

Because change is a good thing and it challenges people and their thinking.

Because being yourself will always be far better than trying to be someone else.

And because not conforming gives you great memories like this:

I found this video yesterday (thanks to @KatiRyan) when it was only at a few thousand views and it’s now blown up past 1mm (update: a day later and it’s now close to 5mm – wow). I’ve admittedly added to a few dozen of those views, but there’s something to it (minus the overall awesomeness of what this couple orchestrated at their wedding) that gets me excited and pumped about what is possible.

How can you step outside of the box today and challenge the world of conformity?

Enjoy your Friday!

Aside from the video being completely hilarious, it depicts the story of his experience with United Airlines. Worse news for them, the video has already accumulated over 100k views and has only been live for 2 days.

Though it has been MONTHS since this happened, where Dave was denied a claim and was left with a $1,200 bill just to repair the broken guitar, United Airlines has taken note and responded through Twitter:

This has struck a chord w/ us and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.

No pun intended =).

But to United Airlines’ side, there is specifically a 24-hour claim period and Dave passed that allotted time before he took action.

But are there exceptions?

Is United taking him seriously only because he has the power of music to have his voice heard (though it’s taken 9 months to do so)? Would all customers who went through a similar ordeal be treated the same, if they couldn’t sing? Or, is it OK to make exceptions for outstanding cases such as this one?

And lastly, is United Airlines wanting to right their wrong good on them, or is it too little too late to salvage the damage of this video? Sound off.

Wait, what?

For those, like myself, who already subscribe to their service, we’re scratching our heads as to why Sirius XM is actually making customers who want to use the iPhone app pay an additional fee on top of their monthly costs. In my eyes, they totally missed the mark – not only with their pricing strategy but also in respect to their customers. Don’t take my word for it, take a look at the 2-stars given by 35,752 ratings and some of the 3,936 customer reviews:

I went through a good amount of the reviews and a hefty majority share the above users’ sentiments about the app. Customers are lashing out at the company, labeling them as greedy and threatening to cancel their service, while a couple users above have done so already.

Look, I understand that they want to monetize their app and service, as they’ve had a rocky road since the Sirius/XM merger, but why not charge for the app itself. Their customers would be much more open to that then an additional monthly charge tacked on.

Sirius XM could have taken advantage of the opportunity to reach out to their community of subscribers and ask them what they would want and expect from an iPhone radio app. But instead, they’ve alienated many of them and probably sent their iPhones sticking to radio app competitors, Pandora and Last.fm.

I’m curious as to how many customers have bought the additional ‘premium’ service to use the app, but I’m more concerned as to whether Sirius XM is listening to the community’s voice and if any action is going to be taken at a seemingly failed attempt in the iPhone app market.

What’s your take? Am I being too harsh on them or are we, as their customers, right in feeling slighted by having to pay more? I want to hear your side.