Kevin Smith was asked to get off a Southwest flight because of his size, and the controversy over Southwest’s Customer of Size policy was re-ignited. I’ve got a lot of feelings on the issue, and I’ve broken them into 3 parts — the policy, the social media/pr response, and my personal feelings on the issue. It’s an epic but meaty tome that I hope everyone can learn something from.
Southwest Fails Kevin Smith and Themselves (Now with Update!)
Category: Case Study, Social Media, Travel, TwitterBehind SEGA’s Free Stuff Friday
Category: Case Study, Gaming, Social Media, TwitterWhat do all these items have in common? They are just some of the things we’ve given away to fans during Free Stuff Friday. Our Twitter giveaways have been very successful, and I wanted to share a behind-the-scenes look into how we do them. At the least, I hope companies can stop using Twitter as just another avenue to push a marketing message.
New Year, New Conferences, New Discounts
Category: Social Media, SpeakingPlanning to attend the Social Media and Community 2.0 Strategies conference in Boston? Would you attend if you had a 20% discount? I can hook you up! Hit the jump for all the details on what I’m up to in 2010.
Social Media “Experts” are Killing Us
Category: Facebook, Online Community, Social Media, TwitterWith all the self-proclaimed “social media experts” on the internet, it’s no wonder that companies have a hard time knowing who to trust with their social media. But are these people doing any real harm? I probably gave my opinion away in the title, but I do have some ideas for how to solve the issue, or at least make it better.
Unjust and Ineffective Sex Laws Move Online
Category: Facebook, Online Community, Rant, Social MediaAmerica’s sex offender laws are unjust, unfair, ineffective, and out of control. The same fear-mongering and panic is now moving online, causing social media companies like Facebook to remove the accounts of registered sex offenders. This sounds good on the surface, but it’s based in the same shaky logic and judgmental language as the original laws.
Moderation: When Good Tools are Used for Bad Reasons
Category: Case Study, Moderation, Online CommunityDisemvoweling is a great tool, but like any great tool, it can be used for the wrong reasons. Hearst told one blogger to stop using it, but it seems to me the problem is with the blogger/moderator, not the tool.
Acts of Lust, or Acts of Exploitation?
Category: Case Study, Culture, Gaming, Rant, User Generated ContentEA had an interactive photo contest at Comic Con. But it’s not that simple. They encouraged patrons to “commit acts of lust” with their “booth babes”. Because apparently sexual harassment is awesome.
The Dangers of Unmoderated UGC
Category: Case Study, Online CommunitySometimes in user generated content, the users bite back. Food Network found this out the hard way over the weekend.








