Long gone are the days when consumers wrote their frustrations in the “sound off” section of the newspaper or called customer service to file a complaint. Nowadays, customers simply go to their social medium of choice and voice their opinion to the whole world. Prompt company action is usually taken, but has this created a “must threaten for results” movement?

For example, Instagram was caught in a consumer war when they released a new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service this week.  Not only were individuals in an uproar, but even National Geographic suspended their account after Tuesday’s controversy. The backlash that ensued caused them to backpedal with a blog post entitled “Thank you, and we’re listening.” In this post, Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram, stated that “it is not our intention to sell your photos.” In order to combat this issue, Instagram explained the privacy settings tool that enables users to set photos as private. This setting only allows Instagram to share user photos to the people you approved to follow you.

Do you think this blog post provides an acceptable solution for consumers? It is too early to tell, but outside of social media, sites like pissedconsumer.com are popular mediums for consumers to voice their dissatisfaction. In order to keep a positive social presence, business owners should monitor their social media accounts and respond to complaints in a timely fashion.

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