Ignore Twitter? Major brands learn they'd better respond -- and quick

When three major brands engaged with their Web-savvy fans and critics in separate incidents last week, their responses demonstrated how corporations are still learning how to control their messages -- and reputations -- in a fast-twitch online world. The mixed track record so far shows that fluency in the evolving language of digital public relations comes easier to some companies than others. To stay safe in the social media minefield brands need to make sure to secure their own domain names in the various online environments -- before any squatters do -- and then start to build a community there. Then when a crisis happens, online or off, brands can then use that community to their advantage.