blogs

This week we've put together a short list of the most influential and entertaining blogs that we like to visit on a regular basis. Just click on one of the blogs below to be taken directly to their site. Enjoy!

• Mashable
• Emarketer
• WWD
• New York Times Style
• Seth Godin
• Ted Talks
• Satorialist
• Garance Dore
• FabSugar
• BellaSugar
• Fashionologie
• CelebStyle
• Tate Museum
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It seems to me that now a days blogging is the only way to go. Whether it's micro blogging, the normal blogging or status updates, we no longer reach for our phones to make a phone call but rather to update our social media profiles. Should we no longer ask for people’s phone number, but instead their Facebook and Twitter user names? With all these new platforms emerging, I often wonder how we will ever have enough time to keep up with them all. Heck, our company devotes an entire division to managing this for clients.
 
Although my bread and butter is made from telling clients they NEED to be in the social media realms, I strongly believe that face time is much more important than Facebook time. Yes, it's important to have a social media presence. And yes, you should keep your virtual "friends" and followers informed, but at the end of the day, how many of these people are really your friends? If you can't make the face time, at least make the phone call. Maybe Twitter is onto this idea also since they just launched the new (but when you're reading this, probably not the latest) application allowing you to make phone calls via Twalkin. Oh Twitter, you're always on top of the trends!

I know we’ll most likely be using this new application for our campaigns, so go ahead and give us a call. But, to be honest, it’s probably easier to get in touch online ☺ Someday I’ll practice what I preach.

Source: weblogcartoons.com

Ok, I really like this blog and read below to see why I like Chris…

“In the unintended consequences department, I’ve come to a realization: I have to drop satire and sarcasm as a vehicle for education, with regards to this blog. If you read the comments on this post, you’ll see what I’m getting at here.

I had no intention of misleading people with my satirical attempt.

My pledge to you, hence forth, is that if I’m telling you about something here, I’ll write from the perspective of positive improvement. Because I have NO memory, please remind me if I ever blow this. I’m human. I get sad and frustrated and stuff.”

This is why I like Chris. I think if you follow him, you might too. Chris is the co-author of the book Trust Agents. He is the president of New Marketing Labs (a new media marketing agency) and produces conferences and educational events through his Inbound Marketing Summits and Boot Camps. He’s spunky and smart (overused word, I get it). I definitely think you should check him out!

Source: littlemebigyou.wordpress.com
 

RotorBlog is a blog founded by Maris Dagis in 2006 that focuses on social networks and online communications. Dagis (from Riga, Latvia—now that is a country I’d like to visit!) started this blog to provide the LATEST in Web 2.0 news and startup reviews (according to his blog). The blog reaches 160k readers a month (are you one of them?). It’s a great resource for anyone that uses the Internet to communicate, which sounds like a crazy understatement since WHO, honestly, doesn’t use the Internet to communicate these days… But, be that as it may, this is a fab place to stay up on what's trending now. So check it out!

This week I am going to blog on blogs. I recently took a look at a smattering of my favorite beauty, fashion and chocolate blogs. This week I am “reviewing” (take this word lightly and keep in mind that if I am writing about something it generally means I like it) a variety of blogs in the social media arena. Let’s start with Mashable.com.

Mashable.com is the world’s largest blog on Web 2.0 and social networking and includes articles, news and features on a variety of related topics. The blog was founded in 2005 by Pete Cashmore and has been rated one of the top 10 profitable blogs by the blog ranking service Technorati. If you aren’t interested in the blog, get interested in Pete. Besides being ridiculously smart, he’s ridiculously hot. From publishing real breaking news to offering up great leads on resources and guides in the social media sphere, this is the place to be. I follow Mashable on Twitter (again, great for breaking news and updates on timely perspective).

If you can, try to get yourself to one of the Mashable meetups in LA or NY. And whatever you do, check it out!
 

Source: facebook.com, mashable.com

If you are reading this than you know that we publish several blogs weekly on our Web site. We started this for a variety of reasons. Firstly, if we are encouraging our clients to do a blog than why wouldn’t we, for goodness sake? Plus, it creates excellent organic SEO. My blog? Maybe not so much. (I just write about whatever is percolating in my world as a biz owner and there isn’t always a lot of link love involved in these types of missives.)

But two of our VPs write about more topical and hopefully interesting topics. One of our VPs is an ex-journalist. She’s a fabulous writer and a smarty. She really sees things through that lens and that is one of the many reasons I think she is so valuable. In her blogs the journalist often comes out, and it’s quite an interesting experience. She recently wrote about a publication, that will remain nameless, and I thought, oops… Great blog entry, but potentially damning from a publicist’s standpoint. Now, that doesn’t mean I think what she said doesn’t have merit, it’s just that we are in the business of promoting things not critiquing them. Well, of course we critique things, we do that all the time. But that’s generally when we are in the strategy phase and we are considering options. Anyway, it just got me thinking this morning about how the blog “format” has blurred these lines. And how thankful I am that I have such an incredible, smart gal working for me. Even when she’s bad, she’s good!
 

Working on the Consumer Engagement Marketing team, we don’t have textbooks to help us out when we have a question. Blogs on social media trends are our Textbooks 2.0, and we thought it’s about time we share our appreciation for all the great tips and thoughtful guidance we got from our favorite bloggers.

MASHABLE—We LOVE Mashable and follow their updates almost religiously. Their blogs are the words we live by. One of the largest blogs on the Internet, it’s also one of the “funnest”—at least for us, semi-geeky girls on the digital division. Thanks to Mashable, I can find my way in the ever-changing universe of Social Web 2.0 (or, better to say, I don’t feel completely lost anymore.) Plus, I know all about upcoming iPhone applications and can shamelessly show off my erudition in front of my boyfriend’s pals. What I love the most about Mashable is reading user comments on the posts: witty one-liners or three-paragraph-long “reviews.  The responses help us look at the news and trends from different perspectives.

TECHCRUNCH—Here at BBC, we live in a very feminine environment (just two guys to our more than a dozen girls) and work with mostly female-oriented products. But we also read TechCrunch — and truly enjoy it. After all, every girl needs a break from all that tabloid craziness once in a while.

CISION BLOG—Coming from a traditional PR background and working as “digital communicators,” we have to be adapting to the changing media landscape every day. Luckily, there’s the Cision Blog – a great resource for news and trends from the worlds of PR and digital. They cover all we need to know about the present state of the PR industry, evolution of social media, and provide useful tips on media analysis, monitoring, and research.

ROTOR BLOG—Rotor Blog is a great destination for news on social networking and online communications. The blogger, Maris Dagis, is the 25-year-old CEO of an IT company and blogs from Latvia. The content is always fresh and interesting; all the posts are super-easy to comprehend, and there is something appealing for everyone, from online fashion and style news (check out his blog post on StyleCaster) to finding the perfect personal trainer online.
 
NETWITSTHINKTANK.COM—This blog publishes great information on social media for non-profits, how to fundraise via Twitter, how to recruit volunteers on Facebook, how to leverage web technology for charities. Net-Wits-Think-Tank has it all. It is also a great place to read about the growing role and power of social media in online marketing. Our pro-bono client charity:water is often mentioned in this blog because of its success at maximizing the potential of various social media tools. For instance, all the funds charity:water raised via Twestival back in February 2009 and all the donations it received via YouTube’s Call To Action tool were among the success stories, described on the blog.
 

Our agency works with various chocolate brands so we are keyed into the food blogs. And there are some that we can’t live without!

Candy Addict Blog: This is the premier go-to blog for candy news and reviews. If you are a candy lover (and just about everybody is in some form or fashion) than you need to give this blog a spin, and fast! The writer is brilliant and sheds light on all types of tidbits that you, the candy addict, may have not ever considered as you are downing that little piece of heaven.

Chocolate Atlas: Chocophiles absolutely MUST check out this blog. If you love chocolate, have a global sensibility and a sophisticated palate (doesn’t everybody??) then this is the blog for you!

The Nibble: This gourmet food blog has a section entirely dedicated to chocolate. If you love chocolate, and I’m just not sure who doesn’t, you NEED to take a peek (or a long look). This is a great resource and you can trust that ALL the info included has been carefully considered.

Zomgcandy: Ok, the name is a bit interesting, BUT the content is fab! This top “sweet tooth” destination features taste tests (how else to distinguish between the good and the supremely good) and expertly reviews the very best of “all things sweet.”

Enjoy!

Beauty is apparently found in the eye of the beholder. But I can assure you, no one that I know will deny that a little blush can make all the difference in the world, no matter how empirically beautiful you just might be…

Here are some of our agency’s favorite beauty blogs:

• A Mom in Red Heels: This blog was started by Tammy, a self-professed beauty-obsessed mom. We love you Tammy and we get your obsession. Goodness knows just how easy it is to get obsessed with creams, potions and gels that can make anyone look just a little bit (if not a lot) better. This blog features products reviews and news from around the country—check it out!
• Bella Sugar: this is the beauty outpost of the famous sugar blogs. First of all, I LOVE THE NAME! It makes me feel pretty just by saying it. Try it yourself. Do you suddenly feel like your lips are graced by a luscious sugary pink glaze that says: here I am, come and get me? Give it a whirl, you may find yourself on the right end of pretty.
• Glam.com: this MAJOR fashion destination has a beauty arm: GlamBlush. The editor, India Jewel Jackson (is this really her name?), is one to watch and follow as she takes us on a beauty journey that will inspire you to experiment more (and with better results!)
• Daily Makeover: This blog caters to girls 15-25—that tender young age where so many egos are formed. This is a great resource for news and reviews and will help any young lady find her way in those saturated (and often confusing) beauty aisles/departments…
• The Domestic Diva: This tireless woman writes all day long on Twitter. She is a ton of fun to follow and has excellent tips that will encourage you. I am not a domestic gal, (though I keep a very nice 42^nd floor apartment with a kick-ass view of Manhattan) but if I were she would be my guru.

Tomorrow FOOD!