Persuasive Picks for the week of 01/03/11

5 Must-Read Reports on Social Media & Public Relations
TopRankBlog‘s Lee Odden shares a 5-pack of “brainfood” that should keep you busy this weekend! Need to learn more about how social media and public relations intersect? Visit this post for Lee’s pick of reports on the subject.

StumbleUpon starts 2011 as the #1 source of Social Media traffic
Is StumbleUpon part of your content promotion strategy? This post from Christina Doland shares results from StatCounter that just might persuade you to move some of your eggs to another basket.

Social Media: Next Dot-Com Bubble?
Is there a growing “Social Media Bubble” that will eventually burst and potentially ruin companies in the same fashion that the bursting of the “Dot-Com Bubble” did years ago? Contributing editor, Lauren Bloom shares her thoughts on the subject via this post on TheStreet.com.

All set for Social Media in 2011? Not so fast!
For many brands, the new year marks an opportunity to make new headway into the social space. Be sure to check out this CustomerThink.com post from Leader Networks‘ CEO, Vanessa DiMauro before you get your feet wet.

4 skills brands *should* be seeking in their social media talent
Execution of an in-depth social strategy sometime means bringing on some full-time talent to handle the new workload. This post from Arik Hanson provides several tips to help ensure you avoid the so-called “social media expert,” and hire someone with the appropriate skill set to get the job done.