If you are active in social media, then, you know what I am talking about and even if you are not, still this would be good information.

Here are few tips on handling negative comments: -

1) Distinguish between comment and a rant – Comments are worth listening and responding to and can help in alleviating negative buzz about your company. Rants, on the other side, are just rants so get your drinks and enjoy the playoffs.

2) Quick response on the same platform – The reason I use the word “quick” is because the timeliness is as important as the accuracy of the response. People expect near real-time response in social media. It is critical to do a fast response or else it loses it’s validity and impact.

3) Improvement Opportunity – The negative is as essential as the positive and provides opportunities for improvement for your company. You should acknowledge the comment and respond back with your action plan (considering your suggestion our next product release, next year, some standard PR response etc.) Again, be honest and transparent.

4) Patience is a virtue – Be patient and see if your supporters/advocates might chime in to protect you. The beauty of social media is that not all responses have to come from you.

5) You’re NOT the only one – Believe me, yours is not the only company that gets negative comment, so neither get defensive nor overreact to the negatives. Look for the comments that are worth responding and make sure you can respond fast.

6) Prepare for the negatives – Lastly, as someone wise said “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” Yes, you can’t be prepared for all the negative comments, but, some of them can be expected like:

• when a company makes a policy change or
• new government legislative that affect your industry
• change in pricing/product features etc.

Public communication team can help you prepare some answers so that you are in a much better state than being caught off guard.

Let me know your thoughts.

Well, here are some qualities you might want to consider when hiring leaders in your organization (yes, these are beyond the standard list of questions given to every manager): -

1) Passionate about the job – Has the person shown passion on what they have done before in their career? You will know a passionate person when you meet one. Identify “positive passion” and then make sure it can be channeled correctly for your organization.

2) Forward-looking – Ask questions on how does he see his team and position in the next 3 to 5 years. The response will tell you the thought process of the candidate.

3) Lean management – The future leader should be able to manage with less people and still deliver efficiently and effectively. So, some information from previous positions on team management shall be very useful.

4) Relationship management – Has the leader demonstrated good relationship management at all levels within and outside the organization. How well is he known in the circles, LinkedIn references etc. You want a relationship builder to get things done in any organization.

5) Cultural Fit – Ask questions that will help determine if the person shall be a good cultural fit in the organization (or sometimes you want a trail blazer in your organization. Well, in either case, ask questions that are related to your company’s culture.

6) Motivational/Inspirational Leader – This is a key characteristic  as all teams need some motivation at some point or the other and finally reflect the shadow of the leader. All employees look at their leaders to imbibe their qualities, so it is essential that the leader you hire comes with a lot of positive energy and can inspire (not just use coercive power) to lead the team.

7) Change Management – We all go through changes in organizations (and even in our personal lives), and a true leader holds his ground during change. Key to any organization is change or I would say leaders that can handle change.

Share your thoughts and let me know what you’ve found important in the interviews.

So, I am starting a new trend from this week onwards that I will write “miniblogs” (maybe I have coined this word ).

Miniblog is a blog that uses pictures, bullets, charts etc. to write in 350 words or less.

People have been doing it but not realizing that it can be separate concept. So, all my posts shall be miniblogs and if I need to write more then….I will split it in parts 1 & 2 . So far, I am doing good.

The study conducted by research firm Psychster and commissioned by cooking/recipe hub Allrecipes.com, was to experimentally test user engagement across a variety of so-called “widgets,” defined to be interactive ad types that may prompt users to engage their peers in a social manner.

The report also found that corporate profile pages (like Facebook Fan pages) produced the most purchase intent, especially when users were able to add themselves as a fan.

Key Question: Are some ad types more effective than others?Secondary Questions: Do ad types work for all brands on all sites? Must the brand be relevant to the website for the ad to work?

Here are the key results: -

If the goal is brand awareness and positive associations, Sponsored Content may be the best choice.

If the goal is purchasing and loyalty, then Profiles that allow people to become Fans and add logos to their own profiles may be the best choice.

If the goal is purchasing and the best ROI, Banners and Newsletters may still be the best choice.

The Google Buzz has its share of issues after its launch. The real power that Buzz had was the existing170+ million gmail users.

Easy enough, Google thought that, WE the users, would want to follow the people we mostly chat or send emails to OR create a auto-follower list from our Gmail address book. This way Google’s develops the Buzz network faster than any other network a.k.a. Facebook or Twitter.

Lo and  behold, little did WE know that our privacy could be compromised and all our Gmail addresses could be exposed through Google Buzz. Well it takes FTC’s attention and leaking of White House Deputy CTO’s Gmail address list to have Google take action on their mistake.

So, what comes out of Buzz’s product manager Todd Jackson “Rather than automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with most, Google Buzz now suggests people for you to follow instead,”.

Love Google but that does not mean I love everything they do, what are your thoughts, are you Buzzin or Buzzin’ off?

Read more: Google changes Buzz privacy settings – San Francisco Business Times: