Recently, we shared our excitement for Starbucks’ latest social media campaign. The coffee giant asked its consumers to photograph Starbucks’ outdoor advertisements and upload the Twitpic to their Twitter feeds using the campaign’s hashtag.

This was all well and good until anti-Starbucks activists “hijacked” the campaign and uploaded their own Twitpics. Instead of pictures of the Starbucks’ advertising, the activists’ pictures featured homemade banners protesting the chain’s stance on union representation for its employees.

The lesson for Starbucks, or any company embarking on a new media campaign, is to recognize that when it comes to new media, you don’t really control the conversation or the outcome. If you understand and accept this, you can prepare yourself for negative dialogue. And, you may even learn something that can turn into a positive.