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A look at Google searches for several marketing-related PR terms shows social media marketing leading the way. Another trend is the disappointing showing for employee communications. Media relations, as could be expected, is very low in terms in the number of searches being conducted on Google. U.S. vs global searches yield some interesting differences.

A sobering thought as we enter 2019–most Fortune 1000 executives don’t have confidence in their company’s ability to respond well to disruption or change. APCO Worldwide’s research of 527 of these executives lead it to join forces with three other PR consultancies to help companies become more agile. They believe agile and curious firms are better able to respond to change.

On the morning of Nov. 30, Marriott announced that the data of approximately 500 million customers had been compromised by a breach of the Starwood Hotels database. Starwood became a subsidiary of Marriott when it was acquired by the hotel chain in 2016, and according to the statement on Marriott’s news site the breach has been an ongoing occurrence since 2014 but wasn’t detected until Sept. 8, 2018. The breach impacts guests who booked stays at Starwood properties on or before Sept. 10., and could be the second largest in history.

On Nov. 28, Patagonia CEO Rose Mercario announced in a LinkedIn post that the company would be putting $10 million—the amount it received in tax returns following Trump administration tax cuts—toward alleviating the harmful effects of “human-caused climate disruption.” Here are some lessons learned from Patagonia’s initiative.

Google’s controversial plan to create a censored search engine in China enabling state surveillance has become a tale of two memos. The optics of Google’s willingness to work on a “pro-surveillance” product is particularly untimely as talk of user privacy issues and data regulation continues to dominate the news.

Members of the Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation at the Institute for Public Relations point to the biggest measurement myths they’ve seen emerge as the world of PR measurement evolves. For a deeper dive on the future of PR measurement, join members of IPR and PR News for a Twitter chat on Tuesday, Dec. 4, using hashtag #PRNews.

Among the criteria the judges for the Top Places to Work in PR considered: growth opportunities, the quality of communication with senior leaders, benefits and compensation, turnover rate, workplace culture, flexibility of working hours, career development and training, mentoring opportunities, diversity at the managerial level, gender equality and opportunities for volunteerism.

“Lena Dunham Comes to Terms With Herself” has its fair share of lessons for communicators, especially those in media working to build out their personal brand. The piece artfully uses scene, narrative and exposition to demonstrate the blind spots that Dunham, and those caught up in the digital generation’s ‘cult of personality’, can easily miss. Here are a couple.

The social media landscape has shifted considerably this year and YouTube is no exception. The video platform, one of the most used among U.S. adults, recently announced changes for 2019 as a way to remain competitive. Here are three changes you can expect at YouTube in the coming year.

One of the maxims of employee communications is to avoid announcing job cuts or restructuring during the holiday season. General Motors ignored that norm with its announcement yesterday. Here are six other takeaways for communicators from GM’s announcement.