"We're a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization." – Jeffrey Michael, Horizon Group Management LLC, on the libel lawsuit Horizon filed July 27 against former tenant Amanda Bonnen, claiming one of her alleged Twitter posts "maliciously and wrongfully" slammed her Chicago apartment and the company managing it.

I spent most of yesterday in a marketing summit. The event was almost nine straight hours of marketing professionals and brand managers discussing the importance of a brand, the overall brand experience and how brand strength is built.

There are those who loudly claim that social media is just a fad. Who’s saying this? Mainly old-school corporate types who wish things would go back to the way they were before everybody with a cell phone and an Internet connection could post embarrassing pictures and videos of their product’s epic fails for all the world to see, mere minutes after they occur.

But there is no going back. No going back to top-down communication, secrecy and the control that a company has over the information that gets out about it. Businesses with a hierarchical culture need to adapt or die – or at the very least, expect to lose a significant amount of market share to nimble competitors who embrace the new rules.

Our new Web site has a look that's more than just a redesign. It's a total rethinking of how we want to connect with the world - not just prospective clients. In this spirit, we're also taking a new approach to our blog. No more white papers. Entries will still cover pertinent topics in advertising, marketing, interactive marketing, design, etc., but in lengths that are more reader-friendly.

There are blogs that everyone here reads every day. We read them because we find them informative and useful, and because we feel welcome into the conversation, even if we never comment. We hope you'll feel that way about our blog. And seriously, feel free to comment, whoever you are, whatever industry your're in, or if you're a student majoring in advertising or marketing (or anything else). Let us know what you're thinking!

Today’s Corporate Hero Award goes to Tim McIntyre, Vice President of Communications for Domino's Pizza. Unlike those in his position who have bungled corporate damage control to the extent of making the situation even worse, McIntyre responded to a classic “PR nightmare” with the perfect timing and response.