Recommended for my public relations colleagues…
As government does more public relations work and policy outreach on the web, it will confront a new but common problem: how to respond to criticism on blogs and other private sites.
In the past, public criticism of government came merely from other politicians, editorial boards, and letters to the editor. Criticism on a blog has a different character than those. Blog criticism is more likely to be quirky, random, vitreolic, and ill-informed. It is also likely to be widespread and widely reposted on other sites.
When a politician offers criticism, the effective response is more political discussion. When an editorial board or letter to the editor offers criticism, the effective response is a measured one through a letter or phone call.
What is the effective response to a blog?
The U.S. Air Force has developed a flow chart to guide that response (click image for larger view or download pdf here). 
It is easy to criticize the particulars of this flow chart, such as its glowing reference to the “rich heritage of the Air Force.” (See some of the BoingBoing readers’ comments for examples.) However, what is remarkable to me as a government employee is the fact that this chart exists at all, let alone is so useful.
As many commenters on the web have observed, this is good advice for any netizen, not just Air Force members. (”I wish someone could order me not to engage with trolls.”)
For more, see Joey Devilla’s discussion of the chart. David Meerman Scott’s discussion of Air Force New Media, and the Air Force’s new media page.
