If you’ve worked hard to build the trust of your followers, don’t throw it away by pulling everyone into your petty consumer altercations. Do everything possible to avoid the social shakedown.

I’ve seen it many times. Twitters microcelebrities with massive followings shaking down a major organization.

It usually goes something like this: Visible social figure has flight mix up at the boarding gate. Angry, he takes to Twitter to rant, rave and demand answers. So about 30 minutes later after resolution and upgrade to First Class, social figure returns to Twitter to magnanimously rave about the response to his concerns by the brand he just publicly screwed.

Kudos to Joe at @United who was just amaaaazing : )  

This kind of behavior, rationalized as healthy public ‘engagement’ that keeps organizations honest, is a type of social extortion.  A public shakedown that represents the hijacking of a brand for personal gain.

I’ve been tempted to leverage my followers when I’ve been slighted. But trust is the foundation of what we do. And those who listen to you trust that they’re not going to get pulled into your conflicts.

Marlin Brando in The Godfather