Managing in the social media age

Social media: democracy or anarchy? Discuss. I'm sure that's a question in exam papers. If it isn't, it soon will be. The announcement by First Bristol that it will consult on "bus fares and value for money in the Greater Bristol travel-to-work area” is, it would seem, an example of social media democracy/anarchy at work – unless you believe in coincidences.

People complaining about bus fares is nothing new. I imagine it's as old as the industry itself. But the ability of the internet and social networking to magnify these and other complaints is. The internet is awash with nonsense, promoted by assorted charlatans and purveyors of snake oil. Now, I'm not for a moment suggesting that the gentleman who triggered this chain of events in Bristol, Daniel Farr, falls into any of these categories. Yet just five short years ago Mr Farr would have written a letter to the local newspaper, it would have triggered a few sympathetic responses, and in all probability would then have been forgotten.

Not now. Farr launched an e-petition on the government's website and the story was picked up with some enthusiasm by the local media. The e-petition reads: “The prices of First groups bus tickets in Bristol and the quality of their service do not match up. Their fares are the most expensive outside of London, but yet their buses are unreliable and often late. Local government does nothing to improve the service or lower the prices so we call on the government to force First to reduce their charges."

Following the launch of the e-petition there was even a protest outside Bristol bus station at the start of this month. According to the Bristol Post about 30 people turned up. Wow!

So let's put this concern over Bristol's bus fares in context. First Bristol's buses carry around 430,000 fare-paying passengers every week. As of this week, Farr's e-petition had attracted just over 3,000 signatures. And you don't need me to tell you that not all of these signatories would be Bristol bus users. I've never travelled on a bus in Bristol, but such is the democracy/anarchy of the cyberworld that, were I of a mind to add to First's discomfiture, there's nothing to stop me putting my name on the petition.

So, 3,000 signatures and 30 protesters – not enough to fill a bus. Maybe the high fares stopped people from attending.

Perhaps not appreciating the likely small scale of the protest, First issued a statement on the day before it was staged: "We fully respect the democratic right of citizens to protest peacefully. Similarly we ask that those demonstrating respect our right, and that of our customers, to carry on with business as normal during the protest."

And then it continued: "We have understood the level of concern that there is locally about the perceived cost of bus travel, and in response to this we have announced our intention to run a public consultation on the issue and also undertake a structural review of bus fares in the Greater Bristol travel-to-work area. We have appointed a third party to help with this process and we expect it to take around six months to complete."

Are First's fares in Bristol high? Taking the FirstDay ticket as an example it would appear not. In the Bristol urban area a FirstDay ticket costs £4. That compares with £4.50 in Glasgow and Manchester, £4.60 in Leeds, £4.80 in Aberdeen and £5.00 in Sheffield. What are these Bristolians complaining about? A quick scan of First's website shows two places with cheaper FirstDay tickets – Bracknell (£3.40) and Bradford (£3.60), neither of which are really comparable to Bristol. So the e-petition's claim that First's fares in Bristol "are the most expensive outside of London" would appear to be factually wrong.

But truth and accuracy are unfortunate victims of the new e-democracy.

At the same time as it issued a statement to say that it respected democracy, First Bristol announced the appointment of  MVA Consultancy and The Public Affairs Company to help with its fares consultation. You'll note the two-pronged approach: serious research and a team of spin doctors, another sign of the times.

Now, none of this is intended as a criticism of First. The group that everybody loved to hate – remember WorstBus? - is changing for the better.

Rather, it's a reminder of the growing power of social media and the internet. Once a story – true or false – gains traction it is virtually unstoppable. The Bristol fares protest appeared on websites as varied as the BBC and mumsnet. There is, perhaps inevitably, a clip of the protest on YouTube.

I'm well aware of the benefits of social networks to transport operators, notably in keeping passengers informed about disruptions to service and providing instant answers to customers' queries. So it's not all bad.

But the power of the internet in general, not just of social networks, is far-reaching. And businesses need to be proactive and not only reactive. Which is easier said than done.