When economic times turn bad and unemployment is on the rise, people tend to network more. In this social media-enabled era that means that many increasingly turn to online social networks and communities.

So the counter-intuitive thing to do in this economic downturn - engage more aggressively with your customers, prospects and detractors in social media and social networks.

And when you do, remember that the most important behavioral attribute is not transparency, but empathy and reciprocity.

What do you think? Are you using LinkedIn or Facebookmore often? Would you network more heavily on Twitter or in other communities right now?