The great thing about the medium is you can turn it off and go skiing or diving or something. It’s not like they’ve strapped you to a chair and sewed your eyes open….

Mr. Smith does have a lot of power, though, due to the strength of his brand. For the record, SWA has great responsibility in this case as well.

The silver lining in this sad situation is that it is an example of how *not* to do something.

Thanks again for opening the forum and giving folks an opportunity to comment. Best, M.

It is true that Southwest Airlines failed when approaching Kevin Smith and asked him to leave, but at the same time Kevin Smith failed on his social responsibility to voice his complaint outside of proportions and, knowingly of his power and status, take it to other media outlets taking advantage of the situation.

The difference is that Southwest Airlines failed him as a customer and later fixed it providing him with another flight and a comp for his frustation. But Kevin Smith failed his followers -those who follow him because he adds value to their lives- as a public figure and he is not compensating any of them for the time he stole from them when ramping against Southwest Airlines.

We are experiencing a shift in communications that we haven’t realized yet. The social networks are only tools and mediums through which we communicate with each other. They might be here today and might not tomorrow, but the relationships we build thru them will stay forever and we have to value them and respect them.

@jameswebster makes an excellent point, the SWA is not one person. Many people share responsibility here, from the staff on the plane, the bloggers and the Tweeters at corporate, and those who hired/trained them.

@gregelwell Loved your comment about the “story within the story.” This is a social media case study unfolding, with events happening real time, LIVE for the world to watch.

But it goes past observation; turn a light on something, you change it. All the back and forth between the viewers has certainly added fuel to the fire, changed the story into something more.

I agree with lots of folks here that SM power should be used responsibly, and that both parties share fault for this situation. FWIW.

When I buy a ticket, I pay for space.

When a fellow passenger spills into my space, SWA cannot deliver what I purchased. It is a form of overbooking.

Now, if passengers do not want the opinion of a flight attendant to determine their allowable girth, perhaps a simple tailor’s tape measure would help. Publish how many inches of girth are allowed, and outfit each plane with a tape measure. How hard can be be?

No doubt some government reg may come into play … to which I say, there should be a national standard, fairly and unambiguously administered.

Ironically, SWA just email me a promotion on cheap tickets as I was writing this … Always trying to fill every seat!

You hit the nail on the head that instead of the constant badgering: ‘He could have used the opportunity to bring an awareness, solve a problem and then set policy moving forward.’

I’m not telling Kevin to not have a voice at all, it’s the demeanor in which he did that, though will create change in Southwest policies, has created this great divide between two parties.

Thanks again for the great comment!

I respect his side of the story and being humiliated, publicly, by SWA employees. Even more so, and something I just commented on above to Seth, is Southwest’s responsibility on the web and their lack of judgment when it comes to their blog post to Kevin (which I’ve publicly stated I disagreed with) and their treating (or lack thereof) of their comments, which many are riddled with hate.

In the end, I’m not Kevin. I don’t know his feelings and how he’s doing emotionally with this situation. I’m sticking with my guns to this post on responsibility, but I agree SWA could have done a better job in their communication and handling of this situation.

Thanks again for sharing your views. Very well said!