Where I Learn Things

I subscribe to a weekly email newsletter from Chris Brogan that provides a more personal perspective on social media. Monday, Chris had a great idea about sharing. In the sidebar of my blog there's a whole list of blogs I read and follow that I call "Where I Learn Things." You may have noticed this list. You might have even followed a link or two. Today, I'd like to share more about few of the blogs on my list, and how they influence me - you know "the whys and whatnots."

Each week I'll try and share more of my list. Perhaps you could share your list with me too, and then we can share our lists with everybody, and then they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on. (70's flashback commercial moment there - sorry.)

Oh, and before I forget Go subscribe to Chris' newsletter. If you're interested in effective use of social media Chris should be one of your primary resources. He's also a heckuva nice guy who cares about his audience. He even makes this old geek feel important, and relevant in a land I've only been a part of for about a year.

More about my list - For flat out grins and laughter, with a touch of what life is like for all of us sometimes, I read Cammie's blog at The House of No Sleep. A warning to the fellas, Cammie talks about some girly stuff from time to time, but after reading this post - I couldn't not tune in everyday to follow the goings on in The House of No Sleep.

I started following the thoughtLEADERS blog after I saw Mike Figliuolo speak at the 2009 Ohio Growth Summit. I was really impressed with his talk about leadership and I could tell he would be someone I could learn from. Netter had kind of an "I told you so" moment here as she had been following Mike for quite some time on Twitter, and knew before I did how impressed I would be. Yep. You got me Honey.

Another blog I've been following pretty closely lately belongs to Ms. Single Mama. Though I am not single, and I am not a Mama I have been really touched by this blog. It is just a well written, positive commentary about life and the things we can accomplish if we believe in ourselves and don't give up. I haven't yet met the author of this incredible story, but I sure would like to someday.

I have been fortunate enough to meet and have coffee with the authors of two other blogs I've added to my list since the Ohio Growth Summit. I'm working on another post about those meetings, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go read their blogs in the interim.

Nate Riggs is a master at communicating and connecting, especially for business marketing. Everytime I read one of Nate's posts I come away thinking - Wow! That's a great idea. How can I do something like that myself, or how can I improve what I'm doing from what Nate just taught me?

Angela Siefer founder of The Shiny Door is a social media genius who is jazzed about making the power of the online world accessible to everybody. Need an inspiring story - Check out Angela's.

See, I told you.

I want to close today by telling you about somebody who keeps falling in and out of my list because he only blogs intermittently. I wish he would blog more, and more consistently. (Maybe he'll get the hint if I call him out here? ;-) Gregor is not only a fellow geek, he is also a mentor and friend, who is very focused on finding ways to get things done more efficiently, and more importantly seeing that they are done with positive outcomes.

Greg and I were talking a few weeks ago and discussing the importance of relationships in social media, about building positive outcomes, and keeping things balanced. We talked about how much we love the conversations we find ourselves in on Facebook, or Twitter, or even here in blog land, sharing thoughts, and ideas, and...

Hmmm... Sharing - just like Mom taught us. It really is a good idea.

What do you want to share today? Tell me about the list of folks you follow.