Do you remember several years ago when that AOL customer taped his conversation with an AOL rep who tried to bully him out of cancelling his account? It showed up all over the news, online and in print. What if you had seen an ad for AOL after seeing that news story? Is there anything they could have said to make you want to do business with them? Behold the power of word of mouth.

In today’s world, word of mouth is instantaneous. We don’t have to wait for the news. With the advent of tmz.com and other paparazzi sites, we can see what Britney Spears is doing at this instant, should we so desire.

A great but somewhat scary example of this happened at South by Southwest recently. The 23 year old billionaire founder of Facebook was interviewed for the keynote. You could feel the excitement in the room as we all waited to absorb what made him so successful.

The interview didn’t go well. But instead of audience members privately thinking their opinions, they instantly got online (thanks to Twitter, Meebo, etc.) and began a conversation berating the interviewer. The “horde’s” disdain was palpable. My point is that the keynote wasn’t even over when hundreds of opinions, photos, etc. were posted online.

Dell made virtual history a few years ago when it acknowledged its notebook batteries catching on fire on its corporate blog. Before this, Dell’s blog was antiseptic, filled with marketing speak. Dell's perception was changed to that of a trusted advisor when Dell publicly acknowledged the issue that everyone was talking about.

Companies can no longer control the message and they should learn to embrace it. Realize that broad conversations are happening about you, whether you choose to take part or not. Be involved in the conversation in an authentic, trustworthy way. If you don't provide it, don't be surprised when customers look elsewhere.