The power of social media is still up to you.

Worried about how to engage your customers in this new world of Facebook and Twitter? You're not alone. Everyone is concerned about the ominous predictions of how social media will reinvent marketing as we know it:

- "You don't own your brand anymore. Your customers do."

- "One social media slip-up can tarnish your brand forever."

- "Your customers will ignore you unless you make it worth their while."

- "If you don't have innovative content, you won't have loyal customers."

There's truth to each of those predictions. Well, kind of. Ultimately, control over your brand still starts and ends with you. Take a look at the Air Force's new "counter-blogging" flow chart as an example. This foolproof guide gives military bloggers the tools to maintain a positive impression of the Air Force despite any type of online adversary. Trollers and ragers beware. The Air Force has an answer to your rant.

Now we're not saying this is the right approach for you. Just that being proactive and deliberate about your online efforts can pay dividends. Everyone will have critics. It's how well you handle criticism that can make a difference. Otherwise, you might feel the wrath of customer fury. (Just take a look at some of the comments in response to AT&T's latest attempt to jump into social media. Not for the queasy, for sure.)