blending the mix

Stuff you should have been readingJuly 14th toJanuary 12th:

• Are blogs the beating heart of a social media strategy? – Debbie Weil (if you don’t know who she is, I haven’t got enough time to tell you but go here and here to find out more!) posted the following question which has really resonated with me:Is Corporate Blogging the Hub of Social Media Marketing?Debbie’s
• SQUARE PEG – this chap waffles a lot
• Link building services. SEO company. Directory Submission – Get 7000+ Guaranteed One-Way Links. Top ranking – Link building services. SEO company. Directory Submission – Get 7000+ Guaranteed One-Way Links. Top ranking
• The definitive UK Facebook audience breakdown – Robinâ��s chart below had some interesting stats about a huge surge in Facebook traffic last month when Facebook launched the vanity URLâ��s. Traffic to the site was up 9.5% on the previous Sunday.
• brandhack – a lesson for brands everywhere – This is one of the most exciting events I have seen. I received this invitation to attend the Pepsi Brandhack. Main problem is Iâ��m in the UK, the brandhack is in the USâ�¦shame. The UK would benefit from something like this – and I donâ��t just

Cool stuff I was readingMay 29th toJune 30th:

• Where is Everyone? – Articles – Baekdal.com –
• Who wants to go to Travelling Geeks â�� FOR FREE? –      I was lucky enough to get a free ticket to this Sundayâ��s Travelling Geeks even on Sunday 5th July in London. My travel arrangements are
• The best use of Augmented Reality to date – A couple of weeks ago I posted about how good BMWâ��s new ads were with their inclusion of augmented reality to promote the new Z4. All well and good you might
• The Twitterverse visualised â�� pick your weapon – Iâ��ve been threatening to post something for a while now on the elements of a â��properâ�� Twitter strategy. Which, amongst the plethora of tools, should you
• My Pertuity entry – My entry to the Fuelmyblog Pertuity Direct Kindle competition

Cool stuff I was readingApril 9th toMay 6th:

• Will humility save The London Evening Standard? – A quick look at the London Evening Standard’s new “Sorry” ads
• » The JCPR Twitter Index sixtysecondview: Sixty second interviews from pr, media and politics – David’s brilliant analysis of the Celebrity Twittersphere
• QuickPlay Media – Home – Live TV on your Blackberry.
• dirty, nasty, digital: Why brands should consider the video conversation – A good overview of a real UGC success story
• The Arrogance of the â��Citizen Journalistsâ�� & Amazon Fail – Neville pointed me to a post by Clay Shirky looking at the justification (or not) for the extensive lambasting that Amazon received this week. For the
• Supplier-side Social Media Services â�� time to shape up? Part I – I was really pleased a luminary such as Jeremiah decided to add his voice the topic he did yesterday. Itâ��s long been on my agenda to write about, so I

Cool stuff I was readingFebruary 8th toApril 7th:

• Friendfeed just boxed itself into a corner – Yesterday, Friendfeed went from THIS: To this:     and in doing so, made a huge impact on its future, nay survival, if you follow
• HobbyThingâ��s Genius Use of Tagging –
• LGâ��s latest handset | The Official Blog of LG – Hmm. The latest new LG handset is in reach. If it’s anything like the Viewty, this could be a really good phone indeed!
• How to Create a Social Media Monitoring Strategy | media guerrilla –
• HOW TO Sell Social Media to Cynics, Skeptics & Luddites – Tips, Resources & Advice – The top guys talk about how to sell Soc Med into your business.

Cool stuff I was readingFebruary 4th toFebruary 6th:

• True Internet Marketing Icons / How Online Marketing Works : SEO Book.com – Fantastic piece about how the “new” web works
• Facebook starting to look at understanding sentiment – So, according to Robert, Facebook is now looking at understanding sentiment. Yay! To quote Robert: **Facebook is, he told me, studying â��sentimentâ��
• Ten Ways to Use Google Latitude – PC World – Ten Ways to Use Google Latitude
• Sony joins with Awareness for new social network effort – DMNews – Like the idea of what Sony are doing, not sure i like the idea of creating standard community templates.
• memelabs » Start a Online Video Contest with Memelabs Video Contest Application. Contest Ideas for your Online Marketing Campaigns. – An out of the box site to help you create competitions between friends…
• 140 Characters » How Twitter Was Born – How Twitter Was Born
• Exchanging Info Via High Tech, High-Fiving Toys | PSFK –

Cool stuff I was readingJanuary 13th toJanuary 22nd:

• Master of 500 Hats –
• 40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them – Some good names here. Wonder what they’d look like in Twitter Friends?
• BrewDog on BBC 2 with Oz Clarke and James May – Cool brand, cool product – Yes please!
• Social Notworking? | Web Developer 2.0 – Seems that using Twitter at work is not worth it, despite it bringing not only enquiries and meetings, but business too.
• 49 Amazing Social Media, Web 2.0 And Internet Stats – 49 Amazing Social Media, Web 2.0 And Internet Stats

Cool stuff I was readingJanuary 9th toJanuary 12th:

• Logic+Emotion: Please Help Us Help Daniela’s Family –
• ivan krstiÄ� · code culture » How Porsche hacked the financial system and made a killing – How Porsche hacked the financial system and made a killing
• Did Google Just Expose Semantic Data in Search Results? – ReadWriteWeb – Web 3.0 IS just around the corner it seems…
• What I â��Doâ�� For a Living | ::HorsePigCow:: marketing uncommon –
• Twitter Friends – Google Analytics for Twitter – A great tool for understanding your Twitter activity.

Cool stuff I was readingJanuary 2nd:

• The IAB Social Media Handbook – Below is an introductory ebook about Social Media…what it is, how you can get started. They’ve made a fairly good stab at covering all the important areas and pointers about what to look out for. I’d love to be involved in the next version, I like to think there’s a fair bit I could add to what is already there, so Amy…do get in touch!
• Some Twitter Social Network Analysis | Mediaczar – Bit late to this one. Very interesting though, especially as we see more and more pressure mounting (rightly so) from clients looking for ROI or better justification of social media efforts!
• Wadds’ tech pr blog: UK media and PR industries yet to be convinced by Social Media News Release (SMNR) – Interesting post (and comments) from Wadds about the Social Media Press Release
• IAB UK : Internet marketing : Social Media : Case studies – Social media case studies for ya!
• How to choose a social media agency / we are social – How to choose a social media agency -
• So, you’re a social media agency… – iCrossing –

Cool stuff I was readingDecember 16th toDecember 24th:

• Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger » The Buzz Bin – Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger
• Ripple6 > the ripple platform – Another platform to have a look at.
• Twittering Toaster Offers Some Tasty Bites | Gadget Lab from Wired.com –
• Finextra: Barclays pilots Microsoft Surface in new flagship concept branch –
• Twitter has made Dell $1 million in revenue | The Industry Standard – $1m dollars in a year and a half – what could YOUR business do?

Cool stuff I was readingDecember 8th toDecember 13th:

• Ackura PressRoom – Ackura PressRoom – the most innovative social media press release on the web
• Social Media Release – Social Media Release
• Social Media Releases from IABC » Blog Archive » IABC assumes Social Media Release leadership role – Social Media Releases from IABC
• PR 2.0: The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases – PR 2.0: The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases
• CrapHammer: Wayne knows what many Word of Mouth experts don’t – Word of Mouth isn’t about clever technology, it’s about using your brain, not tools to talk to people
• Why Twitter Turned Down Facebook – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com – Why Twitter Turned Down Facebook