Social Media can often be a tricky resource for individuals, however, what happens to companies when they experience social media gone wrong? If a college student was tagged in an inappropriate picture, we oculd prbably just call up the person who posted it and tell them to take it down, put it on a private view, etc. and eventually any controversy will hopefully pass in due time. But when a company utilizes social media in an unflattering way, the damage is out there and who knows how many have seen it and whose eyes its came across.
In the article, "5 Examples of Social Media Blunders and What to Learn From Them," by Ben Parr this concept is discussed. My favorite example of the list is the controversial video created by Motrin. Clearly, it was a well designed video posted by Motrin in efforts to "connect" with mothers through back, neck and shoulder pain caused by carrying around young children, something all mothers of young children can probably relate to. However, Motrin received a ton of negative backlash from this campaign because of the things it hinted at.
This is a great example of poor social media causing a negative effect on the company. Had Motrin perhaps conducted extensive testing in the forms of focus groups on the video they probably would have noticed it takes the tone of mocking mothers who carry their young children in devices strapped to their bodies.
http://mashable.com/2009/03/08/social-media-blunders/
