August 7, 2010 by Andy Russell
There is no doubt that social media is a powerful vehicle for airing people’s feelings and swaying opinion. Since the launch of the site, it has been used in a number of controversial ways, including to announce an execution in the US, and to virally spread news, promotions and other information.
This week, however, Twitter has come in to its own, after being used to persuade a negligent company take action following a complaint. Air Canada have been pushed to fix the wheelchair of a terminally ill boy, following a flight with the company where the chair got damaged.
The boy’s aunt, a prolific blogger, tweeted about the situation, and also blogged about it. People around the world took up the tweet and reposted it, making it spread virally to the extent that it could not be ignored by Air Canada officials.
Tanner Bawn, the ten-year-old affected by the incident, was travelling to La Guardia airport in New York with Air Canada to attend a charity event. He was scheduled to take part in a walk-a-thon to help raise money for a live-in carer to support him. The event was organised by his aunt, as Tanner suffers with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is totally reliant upon his wheelchair for mobility.
The wheelchair, worth almost ten thousand pounds, was damaged in the flight, arriving at La Guardia in pieces. Following the Twitter exposure, Air Canada fixed the chair within twenty-four hours, and promised to undertake a permanent repair upon Tanner’s return home. They have also pledged to send Tanner to Disneyworld to compensate for the damage.
Tanner Bawn’s aunt, Catherine Connors, commented: “I’m impressed with how Air Canada has stepped up. But I’m still distressed that it took the internet shrieking loudly at them for it to happen. If my sister and Tanner had been here on their own with no blogging or without the vast social-media network to help them, it wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
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