8 must read blogs for better social media understanding

If you're looking to better understand Social Media, here is my little gift to you -- 8 great blogs and a single great post from each. But don't just read their posts, read the comments too. And add a few comments of your own. Be sure to tell them I sent you. Here we go.

From @ChrisBrogan, a great post on the current state of Advertising where he suggests it is broken. Chris is a wicked smart guy with a great blog and even better comments because he has a very active tribe. This is one of his better "comment" posts because he definitely hit a nerve.

From the folks over at Radian6 (the software I use for SM), a wonderful piece about why you should invest in listening. Simple, succinct and dead on if you ask me. When your boss or client asks you why you should invest in this space, send them this link.

The folks over at Kansas State's Digital Ethnography school are always doing really cool stuff. This post discusses how they used dispersed information curration to create a really huge library of information and then sat as a class to discuss the deeper learnings and connections within the data stream. Truly cool. I can't wait to use the same technique in my next new business pitch. Talk about a way to get smart fast...

I've long been fascinated by the idea of community as marketing tool. If done right, for the right kinds of products/services -- mainly those that touch a passion within consumers -- I think it is the holy grail of marketing. Pretty decent upfront costs to build but lifetime value -- blows ads away. If you're thinking about moving your brand into that space, follow Kommein's blog. He's always got really smart stuff and this post is no different. I think he's dead on correct with regard to the workload required to do community right.

And if you're trying to stay up with the latest and greatest internet stats so you can sound smart around the water cooler -- add the Pew Internet Project to your RSS feeder. That way you'll get each of their reports as soon as it is posted. Here is a link to their most recent one - Generations online 2009. Good stuff baby.

Another great blogger, especially if you're getting started in social media, is @MackCollier. Not sure if Mack focuses more on helping newbies or smaller companies or if he's just a natural giver, but his site is full of simple, straightforward information and ideas. I especially like this post about why you should monitor Twitter. Nuff said.

And two more to round out today's listing -- @BethHarte had a great post, which also led to some great conversations both on her blog and twitter, about the need to have rules for social media (and every other marketing medium for that matter) and how it wasn't necessary. I think she's dead on. Rules implies we've learned all we can about a channel and now have a "Social Media for Dummies" approach that anyone can follow. Simply not true and Beth's post reminds us of that. Take gander and sign up for her RSS feed.

And last but not least, @LisaHoffmann has some great advice for anyone wanting to be extraordinary at what they do. While she's talking about social media, I think you'll agree, her suggestions are applicable to just about every endeavor. And here again, read the comments... great stuff.

That's it for this morning. Got a blogger or site everyone should be following -- please take a minute to share via comments. Thanks.