The social networking power of ONE is unbelievably BIG! Now that can be good… and it can be bad. But it is a fact.

Remember movie director Kevin Smith who was thrown off a Southwest Airlines flight for being too fat for the last seat on the plane? (He failed the ‘armrest test’ because, said the airline, he didn’t fit when both armrests were in their ‘locked and lowered’ position.) Well, he ranted on Twitter, the web, his blog, and his podcast… and at the peak of this attention, he reached an estimated 1.65 million followers and spawned 354 Google items. Admittedly, Kevin is a high profile guy. The response to the airline was so heavy (kind of like Kevin) that it reportedly briefly crashed the Southwest system.

So it was just as fitting that Southwest issued an apology on Twitter… which, by the way, was not accepted. Ah, the power of ONE at it’s nastiest.

It works both ways though. A San Antonio man was ‘taken’ by 88-year-old actress Betty White after watching her Super Bowl candy commercial—the one where she was tackled in the mud by a pro football player. It was a funny spot and seemed to highlight the star’s long and entertaining career. Well, the fan started a Facebook campaign to convince Saturday Night Live’s executive producer, Lorne Michaels, to ask her to host an upcoming show. The campaign attracted nearly half a million members.

The result? Betty White will host the May 8^th Mother’s Day show… and become the oldest ever to host SNL. Ah, the power of ONE at its best.

The Israeli military called off a planned raid on a West Bank village because one of its soldiers posted the information on his Facebook page, possibly ‘tipping’ the opposition, which uses Facebook too. (Doesn’t everyone?) Not only did Israel ‘unfriend’ the soldier, it court-martialed him. Ah, the power of ONE at its unsneakiest.

The social networking media is a powerful tool that can be used as a carrot and a stick, a hammer, a recommendation, an advisory or a tell-all. And yes, the “I’m taking a bath” messages have given way to even more ‘over-messaging.’ Just after the minister pronounced a Maryland couple husband and wife, the groom pulled out his phone, updated his Facebook page and tweeted, “Standing at the altar with @ (wife’s name) where just a second ago, she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss my bride.” Ah, the power of ONE at its stupidest.

One thing for sure: social media is a tool. Use it wisely and it will tweet… er, I mean, treat you well.

***

According to Harper’s Index:

Number of U.S. States that have banned texting while driving: 27

Number of these states that offer traffic updates via Twitter: 25

Hmmm.

***

My, how things have changed in 10 years. According to Wired Magazine:

Things That Are Too Slow

In 1999—mail, processors and modems

In 2009—e-mail, newspapers and DSL

Contents of a Business Plan

In 2002—sell stuff online, get venture capital funding, sell out to Microsoft

In 2009—get publicity via Twitter, ask parents for money, sell out to Google

Notice a trend here? (Oh, by the way, my spell checker, which is only four years old, does not recognize Google, Twitter (no, not like a bird), Facebook and podcast, to name a few.)

Jerry Constantino, March 16, 2010

Jerry Constantino was President and Publisher of PJS Publications, a group of 20 special interest magazines owned by VS&A Venture Capital and later, Primedia. He now writes fiction and blogs irrelevantly at itsnutsoutthere.blogspot.com.

Note: Post not sponsored.