So your firm has spent countless amounts of money to manage the reputation of your company, your brands, its products, services and people.

And then the unimaginable happens.

You'll be sitting in your office, minding your own business — whatever that business may be — and someone will relive the Hobbian nightmare by taking your lifes work into his primordial vain by saying something brutish and nasty about your company on some blog site.

Within a matter of hours, its all over the web.

Here are a few questions that might run through your mind when this happens.

What do you do?

The knee-jerk reaction to this of course is, well, to be angry - after all, why would anyone do this type of thing, and who is this person doing it?

Is this happening because its become fashionable to bash business on blog sites?

One approach to overcome this gut-wrenching matter - concentrate instead with the matter at hand!

Detaching oneself from the emotional roller-coaster of being the target of some blog author or mystery cybersmearer is not an easy thing.

But controlling ones emotions so as to not minimize issues, or worse, overreact, is extremely important.

The recent leaking of Target's AP Directives, if anything, proves that the bloggers first loyalty is to the blogging community.

Overreacting without carefully deciding on how best to deal with a nuisance blogger can often produce disasterous outcomes.

In the case of Target, bloggers discontent rose with news of Targets legalbot approach, and suddenly the containment strategy of tracking a single mystery blogger and shutting down their practice of disseminating confidential company information resulted in a rapid blogrolling of the AP Directives document on dozens of message boards, blog sites and consumer advocacy/gripe sites.

One thing that you can never underestimate about Web 2.0 is the aspect of blogging allegiance.

Unravelling the complexities and mystery of why people say the things they do are sometimes not nearly as important as dealing with the matter that is at hand, specifically from the standpoint of minimizing the damage to ones reputation.

Whether the unkind words or allegations are being spread by a disatisfied consumer, a disgruntled employee, or a scheming competitor, focus first on what it is that is being discussed.

Listen. Don't make the mistake of minimizing the matter, or altogether sticking your head in the sand. The web-based evidence that the ostrich approach will produce disasterous outcomes is overwhelming.

Admit when you are wrong. This is what the audience wants most. The thing that makes the Web 2.0 the darling in the communication medium is its self-regulating aspects. Meaning that you won't be able to win everyone over with your words, but if your passionate and genuine with your approach to dealing with the matter, some will listen. A few will even become allies, and this could help turn the tide in your favour.

Respond in a timely, concise and focused manner. The subject of one of the earliest posts on this blog site - "tell it early, tell it all, (and try to) tell it yourself." Bringing an arsenal of PR and Legal advisors on-board isn't always necessary or advisable. Talk in a way that people will understand.

Keep the language and concepts simple.

Be sincere.

The blogging community is especially good at seeing through any campaign of disinformation or deception, and will eventually drive a stake through even the finest company's heart.

So your firm has spent countless amounts of money to manage the reputation of your company, your brands, its products, services and people.

And then the unimaginable happens.

You'll be sitting in your office, minding your own business — whatever that business may be — and someone will relive the Hobbian nightmare by taking your lifes work into his primordial vain by saying something brutish and nasty about your company on some blog site.

Within a matter of hours, its all over the web.

Here are a few questions that might run through your mind when this happens.

What do you do?

The knee-jerk reaction to this of course is, well, to be angry - after all, why would anyone do this type of thing, and who is this person doing it?

Is this happening because its become fashionable to bash business on blog sites?

One approach to overcome this gut-wrenching matter - concentrate instead with the matter at hand!

Detaching oneself from the emotional roller-coaster of being the target of some blog author or mystery cybersmearer is not an easy thing.

But controlling ones emotions so as to not minimize issues, or worse, overreact, is extremely important.

The recent leaking of Target's AP Directives, if anything, proves that the bloggers first loyalty is to the blogging community.

Overreacting without carefully deciding on how best to deal with a nuisance blogger can often produce disasterous outcomes.

In the case of Target, bloggers discontent rose with news of Targets legalbot approach, and suddenly the containment strategy of tracking a single mystery blogger and shutting down their practice of disseminating confidential company information resulted in a rapid blogrolling of the AP Directives document on dozens of message boards, blog sites and consumer advocacy/gripe sites.

One thing that you can never underestimate about Web 2.0 is the aspect of blogging allegiance.

Unravelling the complexities and mystery of why people say the things they do are sometimes not nearly as important as dealing with the matter that is at hand, specifically from the standpoint of minimizing the damage to ones reputation.

Whether the unkind words or allegations are being spread by a disatisfied consumer, a disgruntled employee, or a scheming competitor, focus first on what it is that is being discussed.

Listen. Don't make the mistake of minimizing the matter, or altogether sticking your head in the sand. The web-based evidence that the ostrich approach will produce disasterous outcomes is overwhelming.

Admit when you are wrong. This is what the audience wants most. The thing that makes the Web 2.0 the darling in the communication medium is its self-regulating aspects. Meaning that you won't be able to win everyone over with your words, but if your passionate and genuine with your approach to dealing with the matter, some will listen. A few will even become allies, and this could help turn the tide in your favour.

Respond in a timely, concise and focused manner. The subject of one of the earliest posts on this blog site - "tell it early, tell it all, (and try to) tell it yourself." Bringing an arsenal of PR and Legal advisors on-board isn't always necessary or advisable. Talk in a way that people will understand.

Keep the language and concepts simple.

Be sincere.

The blogging community is especially good at seeing through any campaign of disinformation or deception, and will eventually drive a stake through even the finest company's heart.

Its inevitable. Every person, from every walk of life will have used Google at some time or another.

Some use it more frequently than others.

And some, who have bank balances in the negatives, can now use Google to find step-by-step instructions on how to crack ATM's -- the new-age safes giving bank account holders instant access to their money, conveniently located in gas stations, convenience stores, and numerous retailing outlets across the country.

No joke!

A recent eWeek article discusses how operating manuals for automated teller machines like the MODEL FT5000 can be found using Google.

Numerous manuals in fact are freely available on the web. In the case of a Canadian reseller, one might even find under a section titled "Programming" information providing the specific key sequence that will bring up a screen on the ATM that asks for the master password.

The same manual even contains instructions on how to enter the diagnostic mode, and how to program the ATM's number keys to spit out cash withdrawals and how to change the passwords to take future ownership of the machine.

With this and recent news surrounding Target's AP Directives (anti-theft measures) being published by a myster blogger, and later blogrolling on a number of other blog sites, it would not surprise me at all to find out that Fort Knox's CAD drawings, safe schema & specs, floor layouts, and other goodies useful for casing a robbery can be found online too.

Originally appearing in The SHIELD™ - Volume 04 - Fall 2006

Part 1 of a 3-part series - Corporate tips to build brand and avoid disaster in the conversational era.

Corporate success in the conversational era

Blogging is here to stay.

For those of us who’ve barely mastered emails and surfing the Net,
it’s a rude awakening. Blogging is the practice of running a “web log”
where people from all over the world can chat with each other about
anything.

Web experts call this the conversational era, and like any other new
era, it comes with its own set of rules and expectations. Companies who
hope to remain competitive and aware need to find ways to incorporate
blogging into their corporate strategies. Why? Because people are talking
about them – and where people talk, anything can happen.

Some companies have tried the ostrich approach. Stick one’s head
in the sand, and one doesn’t have to see the corporate damage being
done on blogs and message boards. The results have almost always been
disastrous.

Reacting without careful thought or strategy can be equally devastat-
ing. Corporations, like people, need to detach themselves emotionally
before rushing in to defend their company’s reputation.This can be hard
when all the rule books are outdated and no longer apply.

People these days recognize sincerity. As customers, their choices are
endless. They will gravitate toward companies who show they are pas-
sionate about their work and respectful of the people who make their
success possible.

A positive blog presence, as this series of articles will show, can trans-
late into effective brand strategies, which include rebuilding old brands
and introducing new ones. But when it comes to blogging, flash and
dazzle won’t work. Honest conversation will.

The following tips will help you engage effectively with online con-
versations. Some of these suggestions, because corporations have been
conditioned otherwise, may feel counter-productive. But the web-based
evidence is overwhelming. These approaches work.

1. Listen. Most companies make the mistake of avoiding or mini-
mizing issues brought up by dissatisfied customers. The blogging com-
munity will see right through this and won’t put up with it. They will
eventually drive a stake through even the finest company’s heart.

2. Respond in a timely, concise and focused manner. Bring-
ing on an arsenal of PR and legal advisors isn’t always necessary or ad-
visable. Talk in a way that people will understand. Keep the language
and concepts simple.

3. Admit when you are wrong. This is often what the audience
wants. What makes blogs unique is their ability to self-regulate.
You won’t be able to win over everyone, but some will feel your pas-
sion and hear what you’re saying. These people will become your allies,
and they will turn the tide in your favour.

4. Accept the repercussions of your actions. Companies who
admit wrongdoing are often rewarded because they were truthful and
willing to accept the consequences of their actions. Their rewards are au-
dience trust and greater customer loyalty. The trick is, stay with the top-
ics at hand. When you’ve successfully won over your audience, DON’T
make the mistake that our final tip warns you about.

5. Talk, don’t sell. Blogs were founded on an anti-pitch sentiment.
Defy this truth, and expect to be burned. Businesses often try with well-
intended eagerness to promote their product on blogs, citing low costs
and other accessibility features. Bloggers’ first loyalty, however, is to the blogging community. Companies who’ve never been the target of nega-
tive conversation suddenly find themselves attacked for lack of obedi-
ence to the anti-pitch rule (also known as “splogging”). Winning over an
angry audience for “selling out of place” can take years.