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When your company opens up a public Twitter Q&A, first ask if it’s really a good idea, and then insure your communicators are ready to field any questions or comments — especially the negative comments that may be hurled in from left field.

It’s an increasingly popular ritual at PR News’ various events and conferences: passing around our “Advice Book” to PR pros to get their take on how to succeed in public relations and communications.

Bloggers are in the top 5 sources of reliable information, 81% of the online population trusts bloggers and 61% of the population has made a purchase based on a blogger recommendation.

Apparel company Under Armour and Northwestern University had to see this one coming. Under Armour designed Northwestern University’s flag-themed football uniforms to honor veterans and raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. But now critics are crying foul, saying the design—appearing to splatter the helmet, gloves and cleats with streaks of blood—goes too far.

During PR News Digital PR Awards Tuesday several attendees were asked what their number one rule is when it comes to proving the value of social media and digital communications.

Winner: Scholastic – Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life In 2010, Scholastic Inc., the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media, launched its global literacy… Continued

Co-Winner: 360i & National Car Rental – “Go Like a Pro” with National Car Rental + Foursquare National Car Rental is known as a premier car rental brand for business travel, offering “road warriors” speed,… Continued

To demonstrate the power of connected technology and position Cisco as the global leader in the future of intelligent networks, the company’s social media team developed and produced a weekly video series featuring next-gen/millennial workers in 12 of Cisco’s fastest-growing countries; the impact of this series continues to grow with recognition and the sharing of the series by major online publications including Huffington Post, Digiday and The Content Strategist.

Resistance is futile. Visual storytelling is fast moving to the core of marketing communications, as PR pros migrate many of their messages to the visual medium from the written word.

Yes, press releases often suffer from flowery writing and an overabundance of industry jargon. With practice, PR pros can overcome such obstacles. But there’s no excuse for failing to insert any hyperlinks in your press releases, according to Ben Lincoln, writing director at GolinHarris, who adds that press releases should be treated like a “mini website.