Well maybe not so much of a shocking statement as it once was. Social media has pretty much disintermediated traditional brand management allowing us common folk to broadcast our views on our favorite, and not so favorite brands.  Consider the wildly popular “United breaks Guitars” video posted to YouTube. Singer/songwriter Dave Carroll had an unfortunate customer experience with United when his cherished Taylor guitar was severely damaged due to alleged reckless baggage handling. For nine months, he tried to obtain some form of compensation and was finally told in no uncertain terms that there would be none. In what Carroll calls his Michael Moore moment, he took to songwriting to document the negative customer experience.  The result? Over 4.6 million YouTube views in less than one month, numerous video responses, and interviews with CNN and CBS news. Oh, and it’s also available for download on iTunes.  Gone are the days when customers sit and sulk in a corner about bad service. Today, they tweet, blog and for the really talented, write and produce high quality music videos. Let’s face it – you are not in complete control of your online brand anymore. Customers have voices. Get involved in the conversation.  To watch the video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo&feature=channel_page 

p.s. after much publicity surrounding the YouTube video it has been reported that United has reached out to Dave Carroll to offer him some form of compensation (perhaps the last word wasn’t so final after all).