I think I've got it now!

You may recall that I was inspired by the activities of the Interactive portion of SXSW to recast my blog into a new, powerful force in the world of social media (not to mention a money making machine).

I did note that Food, Arts and Crafts, and Political commentary had been done to death, so I was looking for a new meme - one that would spread like wildfire and bring me fame and fortune. I think I've found it. I'm going to become the Great Ombudsman! The Consumer Advocate for the little man! You're welcome.

What brought this to my attention are the increasing number of news items that tell of some corporate giant being brought low by the power of social media. In fact, the July Kiplinger's magazine features an article entitled "How to Complain and Get Results" which highlights, among other things, using social media as a weapon in the battle for customer satisfaction. The article recounts how someone named Derek Torrey had broken his pick trying to struggle through Comcast's impossible automated phone system and indifferent customer-service reps. He finally gave up and tweeted Comcast with a very public plea for help. Within 10 minutes a representative responded and the problem was resolved to Derek's satisfaction.

You may have seen Dave Carroll’s viral video "United Breaks Guitars." It seems that while Carrol was flying from Nova Scotia to Nebraska on United Airlines, somebody broke his $3,500 Taylor guitar. Carrol spent more than a year trying to get redress from United, to no avail, so he and his band wrote a little ditty, recorded it and put it on YouTube. To date, more than 10 million viewings of that video have delivered more than 10 million not-so-subtle jabs to the reputation of United Airlines, and will do so for years to come!

United sat up and took notice. As a result of the publicity, it finally offered to pay the cost of repairing his guitar and flight vouchers worth $1,200 but Carroll told the airline to donate the sum to charity. "They definitely want this to go away," he said. Carroll garnered so much publicity he now has a second career as a keynote speaker, lecturing corporate America on customer service.

Or how about when Southwest Airlines bumped movie director Kevin Smith because he was too large to fit in a single seat on a full plane?  One little tweet informed 1.65 million followers of the situation and Southwest gave itself whiplash remedying the situation. That worked so well, when Virgin Airlines refused to let him board (they said he was too late - he said he was not) a few months later, out came the iPhone and this time Smith heard from Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson himself.

Or how about Delta airlines just this week stiffing a bunch of soldiers returning from duty in Afghanistan by charging them extra-bag fees?  Yep. A YouTube video got them satisfaction and new rules for Delta in just hours.

Okay, you get the point. So how does all that figure into my amazing new blog? Simple. I'll take on all your consumer complaints and do battle with corporate America with the power of social media! That's right. I am your new Captain Justice! Highlighting your humiliating treatment at the hands of robber barons, I'll fight for truth, justice, and airline vouchers. So, send me your sad stories, and as soon as I get 1.65 million followers on Twitter and a few million blog followers, I'll take up the battle.

Let's see, now. How does this Twit thing work? Hmmm. I may need to call customer service here.