Less than stellar customer relations is certainly not a new phenomenon, but companies’ best learn that the ability of slighted customers to share their rage over poor treatment has taken on new, virulent dimensions. For sure, twenty years ago Mr. Carroll would have been no less pissed off at the “friendly skies” carrier. Still, his recourse typically would have been a cathartic rant to his wife and maybe a stern letter to customer service the next morning. Today, on his way to long-term parking he’s already called them out with a Tweet, a Facebook status update and a blog post instantaneously from his Smartphone. And, if he’s really fired up as Dave was, in a few hours a well-produced and entertaining music video is blasting the company for thousands of eyes worldwide.

Word of mouth, viral communications has always been the most powerful kind of advertising. What’s new is that the “mouth” is now an instantaneous, global megaphone in the hands of a skilled user. We’re sure United wishes they had taken better care of Dave Carroll’s guitar and accidents do happen. Next time though, they might want to think about taking better care of Dave Carroll – or if not, maybe make sure they damage his laptop and I-phone too!

MySpace has been using vanity URLs since their launch, as have Twitter and LinkedIn, and the change will certainly make swapping Facebook details easier. Another goal for Facebook might be ranking higher in organic search. Actual names will clearly rank higher than the list of numbers currently occupying individual Facebook pages. Maybe Facebook hopes to sneak ahead of other networks for name or company search results. And those who want to be most searchable should be first in line.

As someone with a very common first name to go with my equally common last name, I may have to be ready as the clock strikes midnight in New York. A future of having a year or birthday or favorite number tacked onto my user name for Facebook eternity doesn’t thrill me. I, along with countless others including the Facebook PR team, will be hoping the level of disappointment is low. Get ready for www.facebook.com/chrishunt729!

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=90316352130