It’s hard to imagine where social media is headed. Facebook is only 8 years old and already claims to have 600 million active users. It’s changed a lot – in some seemingly frivolous ways and in some mind-boggling ways. (Think ending oppression and dictatorships. Not career-ending moves because of pictures sent. I know. It’s hard.)

Obviously social media means different things for different people. For my husband it’s “a whole lot of nothing.” For me it’s been a great way to reconnect with some people I thought were lost forever. Granted, some of them I didn’t even know I had lost, but in that way it’s a bit like finding a $20 bill in a coat that I haven’t worn since last year. We all have our reasons for being on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or FourSquare.

But honestly, there are nights when I’m tired, mindlessly looking at (surfing? reading?) Facebook. A couple of clicks and suddenly I find myself looking at wedding pictures of someone I’ve never met. And will never meet. At those times I think my husband is right.

Recent articles in the New York Times have made me think about the applicability of Facebook and Twitter for us all, but especially for banking. One of the newspaper’s biggest stories is a learning lesson for all of us – don’t post/email incriminating pictures of yourself. Apparently some adults are still learning this lesson. But more interestingly there was a story about Gripe – “a better Better Business Bureau for the Twitter age.” Basically, anyone can post a complaint on the site and it simultaneously alerts the person’s Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

What does this mean? Well, it used to be that you had to mail in your complaint letter. While this does seem archaic, it also helped ensure the complaint was valid. Most people wouldn’t go to the effort of looking up the address, writing the letter, sending the letter, and so on. Notice I said “most people.”

Anyone who has ever worked in customer service knows that not all complaints are valid. I know this because one summer I worked at the [Fill in Store Name Here] Service Center. If your refrigerator broke down I was the one you got on the phone to schedule service. Upon hearing the issue I would politely respond, as instructed by my manager, “I’m sorry to hear about your problem. I can schedule a service appointment for you 28 weeks from today. Does morning between 8 and noon work for you?” Turns out that the average number of kids among people who own refrigerators isn’t 2.5. It’s 12. Most people calling couldn’t wait 28 weeks because they had 12 kids to feed and couldn’t possibly last until even THAT afternoon without a refrigerator. We also had our fair share of people who called everyday – at the same time – just to talk and people who wrote us letters just to fill us in on their lives.

Now that customers can complain with the ease of a status update or the click of a button, companies have to be more vigilant than ever. One story that I particularly like is from Heather P. Armstrong, of Dooce, a widely read blog. She had struggled to get Maytag to fix her washing machine. Eventually she asked the customer service representative: “Do you know what Twitter is? Because I have over a million followers on Twitter. If I say something about my terrible experience on Twitter do you think someone will help me?” She was told, “Yes, I know what Twitter is. And no, that will not matter.”

Of course, shortly after Tweeting her complaint to her followers Ms. Armstrong heard from an executive at Whirlpool, the parent company of the Maytag brand, and her machine was soon fixed.

Whirlpool has since setup Facebook pages for each of its brands. Under “Discussions” customers can post things such as, “Worst Experiece Ever!,” “Still not fixed!,” “After 40 years of Maytag, We’re Done” and my personal favorite, “What’s your favorite family recipe?”

Personally, I think complaints should be handled correctly. The First Time. This has implications for all industries, and certainly banking. Everyone makes mistakes. Even banks. A while back I had to call my bank several times to get an incorrect fee reversed. While it was a somewhat minor issue, I was in the right and my bank was in the wrong. But in the age of instant complaints for the world to see, banks need to be more vigilant than ever. In Comperemedia webinars and blog posts, we’ve discussed the relevance of social media for the financial services industry. While I’m still not sold on the idea of a Facebook page for a bank – how many people would really “friend” their bank – it could be a valuable customer service tool. I don’t think social media is a “whole lot of nothing.” It’s big and it’s here to stay.

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