Written by: David Sickels

It seems to me that this super social networking world where everyone is everyone else’s friend (whether they’ve met or not) can be a really great thing. After all, as any entrepreneur knows, successful marketing leads to a successful business, and Facebook or Twitter can be the perfect forum for essentially free advertising.

But nothing good comes without its price.

For people who don’t know you, a comments section can be an open invitation for negative vibes. People can criticize your posts, photos, beliefs, or just the way you look with little or no justification.

The key to dealing with this type of negativity is how you respond to it.

The best way to respond to people like this is avoiding attack mode. Don’t call them stupid, don’t tell them that they don’t know what they’re talking about and don’t strike back with your own angry thoughts about them.

Instead, take the high road and respectfully disagree in your own comment. Then, to prevent your profile from becoming a virtual battlefield, send the culprit an email. It can’t hurt, and often the person will be impressed that you took the time to respond to him/her personally.

Facebook and Twitter is great to share your life and thoughts, promote your business, keep up with relationships and make new friends. However, whether or not you’re respectful online can be the reason you keep or lose those friends.