Allen Sterns of CenterNetworks reports that the professional network site LinkedIn shows growth up to 319 percent compared to Facebook’s 98 percent. Sterns says, “A year ago the Facebook fans claimed LinkedIn was dead and that Facebook would replace LinkedIn as the business networking tool of choice. I haven’t seen that happen and if anything, I’ve seen more LinkedIn requests than Facebook requests lately.”

Jason Falls answers how PR pros gets placement on blogs in Social Media Explorer. According to Falls, PR pros don’t get placement on blogs because don’t have placements, rather stores. He also sites that the biggest hurdle for PR pros is “the disconnect between media outlets and bloggers as media.”

Just as the Buzz Bin discusses customer service let downs, Andy Sernovitz’s Damn I Wish I Thought of That reiterates the need for excellent customer service. He states that companies should not hide their problems and that they should ask their customers for help and advice on how to fix the issues. Andy also cites Dell’s Ideastorm as an example.

Five Blogs Before Lunch’s David Isben provides three steps towards improving a professional marketer’s reputation. Isben’s steps are in reference to the “bad press” that marketers get and his claim that they’re “simply misunderstood.” He says, “Our [marketers] ability to quietly, and deftly present organizations, which might otherwise be overlooked, to the American public is unparalleled.”

Gyutae Park of Winning the Web lists 11 steps to building an indestructible authority site. “…you can build a site with potential long term value without constantly looking over your shoulder for penalties and copycats. In the end, authority sites will rule the web,” states Gyutae. Among the eleven steps are write posts that build off your expertise, use confident language and take a stance, and make friends with the top people in your industry.