Social Media: Double Edged Sword or Lifesaver?

Yes, I know what your thinking, not another blog post about the BP oil spill.  I promise not to be redundant or go on a rant.  Like many people around the globe, I've experienced a surge of emotions  in regards to the spill.  Some people have critiqued BP's social media response while others have praised it.  Whatever your opinion, you have to agree this disaster spread further than the ocean.  It traveled into our inboxes, RSS feeds, trending topics, Twitter, just to name a few.  I'm simply thinking about the BP disaster from a social media stand point.  Social media arguably was an accelerant in spreading both the news of the oil spill and capturing public outrage.  While things look grim for the oil giant, within the turmoil there is an opportunity for BP to listen to their audience and engage them positively.  


Here's Some Info:

On April 22nd there was an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico causing the biggest oil spill in recorded history.  A recent USA Today report shared that an investigative report uncovered that BP officials decided to take a riskier route in order to save time and money.  

Popular Responses via Social Media:
Unfortunately, there are currently more fans on the unofficial BP Facebook Fanpage that the official one. There are also a lot of BP parody names on Twitter.  This is every organization's nightmare.  Social media can be scary because it is unpredictable.  Unlike previous BP spills, the whole word seems to be passing along a live account of EVERYTHING BP is doing and has done. Thanks to tools like YouTube there is coverage of the spill and the aftermath .  These images are embedded on YouTube pages which people can share to their network through e-mail, a personal blog, a Facebook page and any other social media sites.  

Opportunity: The Silver Lining
Within the gooey mess of oil in the Gulf there is a opportunity for BP to clean up the mess both literally and socially.  Thanks to a recent partnership with CNN and science buff, Bill Nye The Science Guy, people are sharing and creating videos on how to clean up the oil in the Gulf of Mexico.  Social media promotes two-way communication so BP needs to go into overdrive and use it.  A tactic like this could get the public to channel their outrage into helping BP solve this mess.  This could not only increase the likelihood of a solution it could show gas consumers everywhere that BP does care about fixing the predicament in the Gulf of Mexico.  



Adrienne S.

***View my upcoming article on BP in the June Issue of the  International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics  (ISBEE) Newsletter!***