Gone are the days when consumers quietly moan to their neighbours about the “service” they’ve received at their local supermarket. They’re ready, willing and more than able to tell the entire world exactly what they think of products, services, brands and fellow citizens – all with a few taps on their iPhone.

When conversation on social networks gets ugly, only the prepared survive. Brands can take months, or even years to recover positive sentiment after an online backlash – especially the attention traditional media gives to social networks nowadays. We’ve seen some disasters – Nestle, Dell and Jetstar deal with massive retaliation – and in some cases it seems no-one is safe from the wrath of a consumer scorned.

So, how do you safeguard against disgruntled conversations online? How do you deal with the repercussions once the chatter has begun? Once again, Digital Citizens has assembled a crack team to discuss this month’s topic, “Crisis and reputation management: How to deal when the web gets antisocial”. Confirmed speakers for this event are Matthew Gain (Edelman) and Rachael Falk (Telstra); Karalee Evans (Amnesia Razorfish) will be moderating what is sure to be a lively yet respectful debate about this topic. There are more speakers to be added – so stay tuned!

Digital Citizens is at the Burdekin Hotel on Tuesday, 20th of July. Tickets are $10, half of which will be donated to a charity to be crowdsourced at the event. If you would like to nominate a charity or propose your own, send a message on Twitter to @eCitizens or email contact@digital-citizens.org.

Panel sponsorship for this event is very generously provded by Centric Consulting.

Matthew Gain is a digital PR practitioner who lives in Sydney Australia. A passionate traveller and a keen yet very amateur photographer, he is fascinated by the internet and social media. He currently works for  Edelman in its Sydney office and am responsible for leading digital strategy for Australia. He has previous held roles at Microsoft and Edelman in the UK, and Ogilvy PR and Weber Shandwick in Australia.

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Working as a Communications and public relations professional for nearly ten years, Karalee Evans is passionate about effective and transparent communication and the future of the PR industry. Advocating the use of social media and online engagement as part of the communications mix, Karalee started out in public relations consulting, before transitioning to in-house public relations and marcomms roles, commencing with a Victorian Government agency. With an emphasis on strategic thinking and continuous measurement and evaluation, Karalee has advised many industries on best-practice communications, from media relations to crisis management and community consultation to online engagement.  Now working back in agency-land as Social Strategy Manager at Amnesia Razorfish, Karalee regularly advises clients on strategic thinking and planning for digital and social media including issues and crisis management.

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Rachael Falk is Telstra’s Lead Legal advisor on social media issues. Rachael has an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges corporate Australia faces from social media.

Rachael is responsible for providing legal advice and strategy for Telstra’s social media campaigns and corporate websites and was instrumental in developing Telstra’s Social Media Guidelines and training for approximately 38,000 employees.Having recently returned from an externally funded study tour of the United States, she brings an international perspective to the field.

Rachael has been a member of Telstra’s Legal Services Group since 2002 and worked in a range of business units including Dispute Resolution and Public Policy and Communication Group. Before joining Telstra, Rachael worked in private practice in Sydney and in London.