Top Ten Favorite Blog Posts of 2011

If there ever will be a “Year of the Blog”, 2011 is it. There were a ton of new bloggers last year, and many of them are simply fantastic. Also, many seasoned long-time bloggers noticed a sharp increase in blog followers thanks to Twitter and other social networks.

Like most marketers, I find out about new bloggers and new blog posts mainly via Twitter – and of course, I RT the best.

Here are my favorite bloggers and blog posts of 2011:

1) The 12 Most Annoying Behaviors of Sales People – Doug Rice for 12most.com

Doug Rice is a regular contributor to 12most.com and for good reason – he’s a gifted readable writer who understands the mechanics of sales and marketing from all angles. His blog post about the most annoying habits of sales people really hit home because in many of my custom training sessions, I have a roomful of salespeople who have to unlearn bad habits. Many of those bad habits are listed in Doug’s blog.

Sadly, bad habits such as “Nagging”, “Interrupting”, “Not Taking No for an Answer” and “Asking Leading Questions” are still often the tools of some popular high priced sales training camps. Even though these techniques went out about the same time as AOL and shoulder pads, some “sales experts” are still trying to push their use on young inexperienced  salespeople.

Read Doug’s blog post and if you are doing anything in his list, stop doing it.

2) My Twitter Follow-Back Policy – Ted Coine

Everyone needs a Twitter Follow Back Policy – even if it’s just a thought and not a written policy. There is no better person to learn about Twitter and Twitter following than Ted Coine. He’s considered the most influential business leader on Twitter with over 100,000 followers and the leader of the #leadbiz community.

Ted’s follow-back policy is a great one to adopt. Read it and then immediately start following @tedcoine.

3) #UsGuys: Meandering Stream or Dynamic Torrent? - Paul Biedermann

#usguys is this group of people,….well no, not really a group…it’s like a bunch of people on Twitter who…..

Oh never mind. Read Paul’s blog about #usguys and you’ll know all about #usguys.

I “met” Paul through an #usguys chat and have been a fan of his blogging and tweets ever since. He and his blogging partner Peg Fitzpatrick (more about how awesome she is later!) churn out some of the best content on Twitter, LinkedIn and the internet in general via their website re:DESIGN.

4) How to Keep Your Online Identity Safe – Deep Soni

Deep is another guy I “met” on Twitter. He’s probably one of the most tech savvy people I know. If there is a new or emerging technology Deep knows about it – AND can probably explain it easily to you, … to your grandmother and to your 4 year old.

I love this post he wrote about online identity safety because he took the time to show exactly what to look for and where – unlike other blogs of the same subject who simply preach not to open emails from strangers.

5) Etiquette for Everyday – Kelly Frager

I know Kelly IRL (in real life). She began teaching etiquette classes for children many years ago and has since expanded to include etiquette for grown-ups as well. Her blog focuses on a variety of etiquette no -no’s, sticky situations and a major faux pas or two.

I subscribe to Kelly’s blog because every time I think i know everything there is to know about being polite and considerate I read something from Kelly that opens my eyes. Thank you, Kelly.

 6) Ponderings: Beauty and the Beast {within} - Peg Fitzpatrick

Peg Fitzpatrick is a connector. That is simply the best word to describe what she does – connect people to other people, connect people to ideas, connect people to new thoughts, …connect people to themselves.

In this blog post, Peg writes about women and how we can support, mentor, teach and help each other. Thanks Peg.

7) Google Plus is a Blog-Killer – Marcy Massura

I perked up when I heard about Marcy uttering this phrase during her PRNews Webinar. She received a ton of email asking about it so she dedicated a post to why she believes Google Plus could kill blogging.

Her screenshot of the Google SERP for her name was quite telling – her four year old blog was only two entries higher than her four month old Google Plus profile.

So I tried Googling my own name and my results are even worse – my Google Plus Profile is now number one on the SERP.

I haven’t made up my mind about Google Plus yet. It could end up being the social media network of all networks or just another place to posts phone pictures and online game scores.

8 ) I’m Taking Back My Influence. Opting Out Of Klout. – Sam Fiorella

I really liked Klout when it first came out. (Klout is a Twitter tool that supposedly measures influence). I had a pretty high Klout score (65/100) and thought I was pretty cool.

Then I went on vacation and didn’t tweet for a week. My score dropped to 35. It also began proclaiming that I was influencial about some odd topics: hurricanes, dentistry and coffee to name a few.

I then began to hate Klout.

But rather than me explain why, read Sam’s post. I love it for many reasons but mostly because it gave me “permission” to not care about Klout scores anymore. Mine or anyone else’s.

9) Ken Levine: The world as Seen by a Comedy Writer – Ken Levine

Ken Levine is an award winning comedy writer who wrote episodes of Cheers, MASH, Frasier and The Simpsons to name a few.

Read his blog. It is always funny and often it is HILARIOUS!

10) Capital Weather Gang on The Washington Post

For my Baltimore and DC area readers, when it comes to weather forecasting, it doesn’t get any better than these guys.

The Gang are not just accurate in their forecasting they are daring and thorough as well. They don’t shy away from talking about upcoming stormy weather possibilities unlike other forecasters content on predicting the weather 12 hours in advance. They’re quite prolific tweeters as well. Follow them at @capitalweather.

* * *

Have a favorite blogger or blog post? Please share!