After a week of review and troubleshooting it looks like no one (and everyone) is somewhat responsible for what transpired around the sudden devaluation of United Airlines last week.  It appears that a collection of happen stance phenomena conspired to knock the airline down a few billion dollars.  Some might even call it karma.  While this perfect storm of circumstance aligned to unlock a potentially devastating inadequacy in the way investors come into information, this drastic decline in worth does not seem premeditated.

So even though several people dropped the ball (the Sun-Sentinel, Bloomberg, and even United themselves) the fact that this financial mess occurred is only an unlucky coincidence.  However, what this occurrence does bring up is the potential for a planned misinformation campaign aimed at creating a position of positive arbitrage in order to achieve a corporate takeover.  The likelihood of this occurring directly following this past event is unlikely, however the market has a short memory.  In addition with the collapse of Lehman Brothers earlier this week, and the bailout of AIG imminent, market volatility is creating a caustic brew that has everyone a little edgy.

While there appears to be no immediate fix to keep the engines from propagating bad intel, I believe the short-term fix is a strong mixed media presence.  If any company is concerned of how the market currently perceives their bottom line, a social media presence can help bring truth to value.  If bad information is being spilled then think of how rapid a response a Twitter message (tweet) or blog post on the companies website can be produced to refute.  This can occur almost instantaneously and in real time.  If United even got wind of this report last week and had an active social media presence, reassurances could have been issued in a much quicker manner than it takes the general media to pick up and cover the story.

As we accelerate into web 3.0 it is critical for organizations of every size and shape to be willing to connect directly with the community.  As of right now this is most easily done through social channels.  So as the markets continue to readjust themselves make sure you have a strong conversation occurring with those who are invested in your success.