Before we get to the official announcement today, I want to publicly thank a few folks who wrote recommendations for the winners this year: Jay Baer (former winner), Jodi Echakowitz, Abbie Fink, Marcus Sheridan, Ingrid Abboud and Ken Mueller. Thank you all for taking the time to write the thoughtful recommendations below.

I also want to acknowledge all the nominees, finalists and people who nominated and voted this year. I know it’s not the most scientific process, but the intent is simple: To give the community a chance to recognize some of the outstanding blogs we all read each day.

And with that, I hope you will join me in congratulating your 2011 PR Readers’ Choice Award Winners!

Best Up-and-Coming Blog: B2B Bliss

“BlissPR has mastered the difficult balancing act of running an agency-owned, multi-author blog that maintains consistent quality and tonality every day. In the B2B space in particular, they bring fresh perspectives and great ideas that are useful and grounded in reality. As the B2B world further embraces content marketing and storytelling, this up-and-coming blog will become even more of a must-read. For the record, I’m not unbiased, as I’ve had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth Sosnow and BlissPR for years. I’m absolutely thrilled for their victory here, which demonstrates (as Arik’s awards have done since 2009) that social media and blogging is indeed a meritocracy – at least in part. Turn your browser to http://blog.blisspr.com and see what the fuss is about.” — Jay Baer, Convince & Convert (2010 winner)

Most Educational Blog: Journalitics

“One of the things that stands out most about Journalistics is that every blog post, whether it’s written by Jeremy Porter or a contributor, provides PR pro’s with very practical advice.  Rather than simply offering up food for thought, Journalistics makes a point of sharing usable tips, great advice and many suggestions that we can learn from or which reinforce good practices in PR. Kudos on a blog well done!” – Jodi Echakowitz, Echo Communications

Most Thought-Provoking: Waxing Unlyrical

Shonali’s blog, Waxing Unlyrical has become a daily stop for me, which I can’t say about too many blogs. I love her personable and realistic take on the worlds of PR and Social Media. Not only is she intelligent, but she presents her information in an incredibly personal and unassuming way. Unlike a lot of industry pundits, she doesn’t pretend to know everything or have a handle on it all.

Additionally, her blog is truly a community. It’s not just a place for reading content and submitting comments, but a place where real discussion takes place in a friendly manner. Shonali embraces the members of her community and gives more than she takes. I’ve been fortunate that in just a short time I am able to call Shonali a real life friend, even though we have never met in person…yet.” — Ken Mueller, Inkling Media

Blog of the Year: Spin Sucks

I’m a long-time subscriber to Spin Sucks.  What started out as me supporting my friend Gini has turned into a daily dose of knowledge and tremendous discussions around public relations and digital communications.  A good mix of guest bloggers keeps the content fresh and engaging. And with Gini’s perspective tossed in, there’s something there for everyone.” — Abbie Fink (@abbief), HMA Public Relations

10 Reasons I love Gini Dietrich’s blog:
1. The most interactive PR/Blogging community on the web.
2. Gini actively listens, cares, and responds.
3. She’s very diverse in her writings, never same old, same old.
4. She promotes others much harder than she promotes herself.
5. The mood is always ‘happy’.
6. The posts aren’t that long, so it’s not a huge time investment.
7. She’s on the cutting edge of everything Social and Digital.
8. There’s nothing fake about her.
9. How can you not love someone who names their dog Jack Bauer?
10. She’s much prettier than Danny Brown.

– Marcus Sheridan (@thesaleslion),

“Gini Dietrich aka Aunt Gini is the epitome of smarts, humor, friendliness and professionalism. And her blog, Spin Sucks, is no different! Gini has managed to build a massive community of loyal fans and friends that love and respect her both as a person and a PR pro. It’s rare to find a site that teaches you something new not once, but twice a day! Spin Sucks does just that and more - all while making you feel at home and comfortable to join the meaningful conversations that are always taking place. Simply put: I love Spin Sucks and everything it stands for because I greatly admire and adore the incredible woman and friend that’s behind it.” — Ingrid Abboud (@nittygriddyblog)

Note: This is the second year in a row Spin Sucks has won the Blog of the Year award.