There is clearly a lot of concern over companies entering the social media space. It's a new medium to be a part of and companies aren't sure how to act or how to respond to certain situations, for example negative feedback. I though it would be interesting to compare social media actions with real world actions to show that there are indeed a lot of parallels as far as actions go.


Real world
Walk into a cocktail party
Social media world
Sign up for an account on a social media platform such as Twitter or Facebook
Real world
Start talking to people at the cocktail party
Social media world
Start engaging in conversations on social networks
Real world
Somebody starts saying negative things about you. You approach them and try to figure out what you did to offend them, perhaps apologize and buy them a drink. If that doesn't work just understand and respect that you have differing opinions.
Social media world
You start receiving negative feedback across social networks. Respond by explaining yourself through a blog post or individual message. State that you are willing to work with users to help identify and resolve any issues. Apologize for any inconvenience caused to the users and make sure you act and respond to user feedback. Understand that there may always be people out there who try to bash your brand, there is nothing wrong with negative feedback as long you respond appropriately.
Real world
Use a megaphone to try to speak with everyone at the cocktail party at once. People will hate you and learn to ignore you.
Social media world
Get as many friends or followers as you can and start sending them out links, marketing messages, and product offerings. Again, people will hate you and learn to ignore you.
Real world
Have a conversation with a small group of people who share your similar interests or fans of your work. These people will want to connect with you and stay in touch with you once the cocktail party is over.
Social media world
Connect with people who share similar interests. Respond to messages and requests. Focus on the interaction and the relationship and not so much on trying to push across a piece of content. If you can provide something of value to your connections, then they will turn into brand evangelists over time.
There are probably a few other scenarios that you can think of in the real world that are easily translated into social media world scenarios. At the end of the day though we are dealing with real people and real connections, don't forget that