BP facing social media backlash

The Globe and Mail reports that embattled oil company and environmental villain is set to experience a social media backlash. Virtually overnight, Facebook and Twitter lit up with former customers of the British company complaining and boycotting the providers services.

From The Globe and Mail report, the Boycott BP Facebook group is now hovering around 100 thousand fans. There are approximately a dozen albums of user-generated photos, showing everything from a pelican soaked in oil to images of a BP rig sitting on Planet Earth with a bloody sword, complete with the caption 'How does it feel murdering your mother? British Punks!!!'

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The backlash against BP is indicative of what has become commonplace in our hyper-connected society. If you mess up, your family might forgive you but the web world will not -- they will hold you accountable. While some companies are looking to social media as a way to clean up and promote their image, the online audience has a tendency (and the smarts) to sniff out the good from the bad (and put emphasis on the evil).

What do you think? Is this the continuation of a digital, global citizen's arrest?