While we see it most often with our political clients, any individual or company is exposed to the risk of getting trashed online. In politics, it means votes. In business, it means dollars. And as comment after comment piles on, each one nastier than the last, panic can set in. As BusinessWeek pointed out:

When the Web turns against them, executives are faced with the problem of how to manage the blowback. They have two choices: ignore the smaller furies and hope they won’t metastasize, or respond outright to the attacks. It’s rarely a good idea to lob bombs at the fire-starters. Preemption, engagement, and diplomacy are saner tools.

There are options. Flat Creek offers a blog clipping service that consolidated blog posts about our clients to give them a heads up about the online conversations that could affect their business and enable them to plan proactively in case an issue does pick up steam.

As an issue begins to heat up, we look at a range of options, but never ever ever is no response a good response. No response immediately gives off the scent of fear and only drives the conversation. Who knows? Most of the time, you have supporters online who are afraid to stand in the way of the mob. But if someone else does it first… it’s just as easy for a positive comment stream to get started as it is for a negative one.

As BusinessWeek advises though, preemption is always the best policy. We make prominent bloggers who write on topics of interest to our clients part of their media relations contacts. Often a blogger will want a lively comment thread but will not allow it to get out of hand with personal attacks.

Ultimately, as with any brand, it comes down to whether or not the experience matches the expectation. If you as a politician or company have not lived up to the expectation you sell, then honestly the online fury may be well deserved. The key is to stockpile goodwill through great customer service, a great product, or a principled message. So when - not if - you are attacked online, your supporters will be there for you and the issue can be neutralized.