The September issue of Wired magazine declared that “The Web is dead” - and sent many communications pros on high alert. But rest assured. While the trend is turning from browsers to apps, websites still remain an integral part of a digital presence.

Now that we've cleared that up, it's time to take a good look at your current site and determine whether the design is helping or hurting your bottom line. Not sure? Here are four easy ways to figure it out:

1. Your business goals and/or product offerings have changed. If your business has outgrown your current website, it's time to realign it to reflect new needs and user expectations. Remember, website redesigns are more than changing graphics and layout - usability is key.

And remember to keep redesigns in the communications plan. While technology has changed the way we consume and use information, websites remain locations where users expect to get real services and complete essential tasks. So go ahead and design that app - just make sure your users can get what they need from your website, too.

Back-to-school time also means budget planning time at work. Thanks to the constant evolution of digital communications, you actually have reasons to ask for more money in 2011.

In determining what's missing from your budget, start with these three questions:

Companies that operate under the “ignorance is bliss” policy when it comes to monitoring their brand online do so at their peril. The best crisis communications plan mitigates a crisis before it gets far, and that requires knowing what's being said as soon as it's said. On the flip side, connecting with people who are saying positive things about your brand is an essential component to building an online community.

Bottom line: There's no excuse for not regularly managing your brand online – get it into your communications plan and budget.

2.   Are you taking people where you want them to go?

Whether you're trying to get people to your website or your Facebook page, digital advertising is now a key part of PR and communications. We are long past the days of people finding a website just because you built it. In addition to more robust and flexible advertising models on social networking sites, new tools like digital media verification further reduce the risk associated with online advertising by providing a report to advertisers if a vendor mistakenly places an ad that's incongruent with the media plan.

Bottom line: People will not hear your message just because you put it on your website. Use digital advertising to drive them there.

3.   Do you know where your employees are online?

Guilt by association is never fair, but it can happen when your employees misbehave online – and the damage can happen quickly. If you don't already have a corporate social media policy in the works, start now. Your employees are using social media, whether you are or not, and you need to provide them with guidance on how to help build your brand online – or at least not hurt.

Bottom line: Allocate time and resources for 2011, but start immediately.

Dan Solomon is CEO of Virilion.

During the years that I've been practicing PR, I've seen the industry evolve. The journey has been like going from The Flintstones in the Stone Age town of Bedrock to The Jetsons in a futuristic era.

One example is event planning. In the old days, inviting attendees and media to an event would require simple technology, like a phone line and invitation, which would get delivered via snail mail. This I compare to the character in The Flintstones taking photographs as a bird carves the actual picture on a stone tablet.

More recently, we worked with one of our clients who hosted a series of invitation-only summer concerts featuring performances by highly-recognized Latino DJs and chart-topping musical artists and performers. The events were held in exclusive locations from coast to coast. But what set them apart is the format in which we attracted party-goers. The ticket to these parrandas were found exclusively on the pages of the World Wide Web.

Gaining access to the coveted events required attendees to first become a fan of the client's Facebook page, which would allow you a chance at scoring tickets. Additionally, the different acts performing at the individual events would provide real-time updates and information to their followers through various social media vehicles, including Twitter. The response was unparalleled to what I had seen in years past.

As times change, so do our tactics and strategies in the world of PR. I doubt we would have gotten the same reaction with a regular invitation. For this event, it made sense to engage fans on Facebook. According to statistics, 50% of active Facebook users log into the site each day. That translates to roughly 175 million users every 24 hours, which is real-time information with the capability of reaching a multitude of people.

I sit back and watch in fascination how social media continues to revolutionize the industry. But I also tell younger generations that at the end of the day it's also about having a great product and knowing how to engage consumers. That is something that will never go out of fashion.  

Roxana Lissa is CEO of RL PR.

Whether it's a trip to my homeland Buenos Aires for the holidays or a quick getaway to Catalina Island on a weekend, there's one thing that's certain: Latinos are not staying indoors. 

They are adventurous and they love to travel and visit new places. It makes me wonder: Has the sluggish economy really had an impact on Latinos and travel?

During recent outings with family, I was one to scan my surroundings. The young couple holding hands in Aruba?  Latinos. The family of four laughing up a storm while sharing a slice of pizza at Legoland in San Diego? Latinos. 

According to the latest statistics by the US Travel Association, there are roughly 16 million Hispanic adult leisure travelers. They took a combined 50 million domestic and outbound trips, spending nearly $59 billion on travel. This number is expected to skyrocket as the Latino population continues to rise. Not only do we work hard, but we play harder.

The overwhelming numbers shouldn't come as a surprise. Hispanics value time spent with friends and relatives; it can be as simple as a carne asada on a Sunday afternoon at the park to more luxury vacation spots in Europe. After all, this is how we bond and create memories. Growing up, most of conversations with mama began with “Remember when …”

Through my travels with my family, I spread the joy of being a Latina. At the same time, I'm contributing to the economy's piggy bank by way of airlines, hotels, car rentals, theme parks, and much more.

Advertisers are taking notice. And because we're the fastest-growing minority market, there's future business ahead. As more Hispanics gain increasingly disposable wealth, they are more prone to leisure activity. The Hispanic buying power in California alone is about $228 billion. How many trips can that buy you?

Let's crunch more numbers. Recent stats suggest that US Hispanic spending growth dwarfs the general market. While the general public as a whole continues to tighten their belts, Hispanics continue to loosen their wallets including a 14% increase in entertainment spent on fees and admissions.

Do you know where will you be next weekend? There is a lot to do and see, and we, mi gente, are going by the masses … Somos latinos y nos gusta vivir nuevas experiencias!

Two important trends are about to clash and smart PR organizations can capitalize on them and their synergy to build more profitable businesses.

The first trend is that the oldest of the 76 million millennials (experts disagree on the exact age range but many categorize this generation as those born approximately between 1982 and 2004) will turn 30. They will enter their middle management years intent on reshaping work into a more comfortable existence. I admit I am of this generation and we are comfortable coming to work in flip-flops, jeans, and headphones.

But for all that this generation has been maligned for trying to write its own workplace rules, its denizens also bring a very special quality to business and that is their need to connect their work to a higher purpose.

Consider this against another important business trend – a renewed emphasis on building strong, collegial cultures where teamwork can flourish. As organizations look for ways to refresh and reinvigorate their cultures, they have a tremendous opportunity to look for ways to integrate clients and projects that make work more meaningful. For PR firms, this may be targeting clients with similar sensibilities or embracing pro bono work. Corporations can make sure they engage their millennials in their philanthropic efforts.

The author John Stossel, who wrote “Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity – Why Everything You Know is Wrong," is quoted as saying that “happiness comes when we test our skills towards some meaningful purpose.” Maybe the millennials have it right - flip-flops, work-life balance, and a higher purpose.

The president of TogoRun returned from a leadership training program and shared her thoughts about change.

Apparently, at one of the sessions she attended, one of the faculty members said that in the past 100 or so years, three events have occurred that have made people feel as though the world was about to implode and they were standing on the precipice.

The first was the massive destruction of entire populations that happened with World War II. The second was the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis with its threat of annihilation from a nuclear holocaust.

The third seismic shift is the impact of the factors that are shaping the world we live in today. The collapse of large financial institutions, entire countries poised for bankruptcy, the bailout of banks by national governments, evictions, foreclosures, and tremendous job losses have created a culture of fear and panic. Who will lose a job or a house next and can we really depend on government to save us?

Getting comfortable with change is the challenge of the 21^st century. And PR can do more than nearly any other business discipline in making this happen. Organizations need to communicate honestly with their customers to explain change and its likely impact.

PR can help social institutions regain credibility by helping them form and articulate their obligation and responsibility to people. PR can help the healthcare industry explain that huge advances in medicine have actually made the world less scary. And, even consumer packaged goods organizations can explain to the public that our food and water are better protected and safer than ever.

PR professionals have an obligation to try and help their diverse publics grapple with and become comfortable with change. This may be our finest moment.

I'd like to finish up my look at CSR this week with a renewed call for some common language and understanding. 

Today we still hear the term corporate social responsibility being applied to everything from a call for greater transparency, to sustainability initiatives, to charitable giving. These are fundamentally different issues and to paint them with a similar brush is not helping our own cause or the causes we seek to support.  

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, proposed a conceptual framework a few years ago to define different types of business engagement. He suggested a common sense way to talk about corporate responsibility in terms of five major areas:

• Corporate governance: a commitment to ethical business practices, compliance with local laws, transparency
• Corporate philanthropy: the traditional area of “giving back to society," which is usually in the form of cash donations and grants, as well as goods and services
• Corporate social responsibility: In essence, CSR is how a corporation responds to the expectation of its stakeholders. It means addressing the wider financial, environmental, and social impact of all that a company does.
• Corporate social entrepreneurship: the transformation of socially responsible principles and ideas into products and services
• Global Corporate Citizenship: The recognition that the corporation is a stakeholder itself within civil society and is committed to helping maintain stability, prosperity, and sustainability.

As strategic communications consultants, we have an opportunity to extend our influence if we adopt a more sophisticated framework for discussing CSR that moves beyond mere marketing and reputation building. 

Now that we've earned a seat at the corporate table, we can and should help organizations think through how they want to engage at a more fundamental level. Do they want to merely “give back” with generous grantmaking, or commit as global corporate citizens to incorporating sustainable business practices into their everyday operations? Or perhaps create a sea-change in consumer behavior by starting a compelling new “ethical brand” within their brand portfolio?

Let's bring a higher level of understanding and insight into the CSR discussion, beyond the sensational headlines of the next BP-like disaster. CEOs and boards have spoken - they are committed to helping their organizations increase not only shareholder value, but value to society as well. We can help.

Paul Jensen is chairman of the North American corporate practice at Weber Shandwick.