Technology, including the Internet and blogs, strips away the protections that used to shield businesses from the consequences of their imperfections.
There is no such thing as an eraser on the Internet.
The success of any economy owes much more to the fact that the culture considers trust and fairness to be important social norms. And as new technologies wire us ever more tightly together, you can go to the bank on the fact that consumers and businesses alike will become even more trustworthy and transparent in their dealings with others.
Of 462 executives who were asked, "What characteristics are needed to be an effective leader today?" 56 percent ranked ethical behavior as an important characteristic, followed by sound judgment (51%) and being adaptable/flexible (47%). --Source: American Management Association, New York, NY
Connectivity means untrustworthy business will be quickly and efficiently outed, making it far more financially risky to take short-term advantage of a customer. And it might be easy to get away with once. But then a scorching expose will be posted online, only to be downloaded by others months or years from now, maybe even becoming part of your "permanent record."
Rather than worrry about how customer opinions or customer generated content might harm your image, you can create substantial immediate and long-term benefits for your business by facilitating them. And if yours is one of the many companies considering some kind of corporate blog or forum, trust and transparency will improve the benefits of this venture, as well.
Source: Face to Face, 1to1 magazine, July 2008