It’s Beaney here, running this month’s liveblog, covering Crisis and reputation management Digicitz. I’m filling in for Warlach who is your usual CoverItLive-er-er for Digital Citizens.

I’ll be pulling in tweets which use the #digicitz hashtag, or you can participate below. If you’re wanting to ask the Panel a question, please use the #digicitz hashtag, and also chuck in a #question tag so we know it’s for the Panel.

I’ll catch you at the event tonight (either IRL or on the interwebz)!

~ Beaney

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.

The first event (Private Parts: Personality and Disclosure – Finding a Balance in the Digital Space) takes place at the Burdekin, Tuesday March 9th. Doors open at 6.15pm for a 6:45pm start.

The panel members are visiting US lawyerand social media specialist Adrian Dayton (Social Media for Lawyers), Sam North (Ogilvy PR), Damian Damjanovski (BMF), and Renai LeMay (Delimiter), who will be wrangled by a very capable moderator, Bronwen Clune (Strategeist)

Our distinguished panellists will debate issues of privacy and online identity, specifically around the distinction between the personal and professional in the digital space, who owns your tweets and whether or not the individual is ever entitled to publicly disagree with their employer or clients.

Cathie McGinn said “We expect vigorous – yet hopefully respectful – debate from the panel and participants who have found themselves in hot water when the line between the personal and professional gets blurred.”

The event bookings reached capacity in less than a fortnight, and there is currently a waiting list for tickets.

Heather Ann Snodgrass said “This is an issue that affects anyone with a Facebook account, not just industry practitioners. We expected a good response, but this has definitely exceeded our expectations. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the night plays out.”

Digital Citizens’ intention is to provide an open forum which encourages free and frank debate. Digital Citizens is an inclusive, informal organisation dedicated to knowledge sharing and discussion of social, political, ethical and professional issues related to new technologies and the social web. It’s agency neutral and the only qualification for participating is the desire to speak.