August 12th: Vlogger Justine Ezarik posts a video showing the absurdly huge (300 page) iPhone bill she received from AT&T. Hundreds of thousands of other iPhone users receive similar massive wastes of paper and postage at the same time. Blogosphere erupts, and within 24 hours the video clip is all over the mainstream press.

August 22nd: All iPhone users receive a txt message from AT&T stating the following:

We are simplifying your paper bill, removing itemized detail.

Once again we’ve witnessed the incredible power of the social web. In just 10 days, a tiny video clip forced lumbering giant AT&T to initiate a major change in their billing process — and 10 days is pretty swift for the newly re-formed Ma Bell.

Image: A pic of my iPhone bill — a mere 44 pages long.

From time to time, clients ask us if we can help edit (or create) a Wikipedia article about their organization. The Official Lava Row Response is as follows: Never write/edit an article about yourself or your company, and never pay someone to do it for you.

We realize this answer can be frustrating to someone who understands the important benefits of getting referenced in Wikipedia. (Brand popularity, awareness, high traffic volume, etc.) The wiki regarding conflicts of interest sums it up best: “Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a forum for advertising or self-promotion.” Attempting to edit one’s own article can result in public embarassment and negative press for the organization, as members of the Wikipedia community are bulldogs at sniffing out self-serving edits.

This week, a new application called WikiScanner launched (created by CalTech grad student Virgil Griffith). WikiScanner gives everyone the ability to check exactly who is behind a Wikipedia edit. Remember, transparency is a good thing. It serves as a reminder to marketers and P.R. people (ourselves @ Lava Row included) that we ultimately do not control brand images — customers do.

This reinforces the need for every company to bust their asses in creating positive, meaningful relationships with their consumers, both online and offline. Letting the customer write your story shouldn’t be scary, as long as you’ve made them a happy customer.