#30Thursday number 10 (we’re in the double digits?!?)

Wow. The tenth #30Thursday already. Every week that I do this, I become more and more astounded at the brilliance that is out there just waiting to be read and shared. This week, great ideas seemed to be a common theme, along with some interesting and detailed evaluations of our world as it is today. I feel privileged to have read all of these posts. I hope you feel the same way!

1. Post number one was tweeted out by Jonathan Fields, and I’m so glad I saw it. This post by Lynn Terry, a “2500 Word Rant” about the world of online marketing, is absolutely brilliant!

2. Martine Hunter tweeted out this post by Billy Mitchell. Called “A B2B Marketing Idea Takes Flight on Twitter,” the post discusses the B2BTOTY program, which rewards Twitterers for building community, not just for getting tons of followers. Billy also mentions many great people for whom he is casting a vote. Check it out!

3. This next post, by Christopher Penn, combines so many things I adore into one post that it’s almost too good to be true. In “What Vintage Ads Can Teach You About Email Marketing,” Penn notes that the way vintage ads from the late 19th, early 20th century presented information can be instructive for today’s email marketers. Truly brilliant!

4. Sometimes PR gets a bad name, and sometimes there’s a reason for that. However, in this post that Beth Harte tweeted out, Melinda Travis notes that sometimes PR, even in the world of sports, can do some good. Check out “What’s Right with Public Relations” when you have a chance!

5. Diana Freedman is clearly after my heart. Check out her post at Hubspot called “The 9 Worst Ways to Use Twitter for Business.” You’ll see what I mean (see especially number 5) 🙂

6. Lisa Petrilli wonders where courage comes from and which leaders have it. Amazing post. No, I’m not saying that just because her image is a photo she took at Antietam. Hmph. 🙂

7. @PrTini asks, “Can you measure the ROI of Customer Service?” Where does PR end and customer service begin? Can you measure either one in the world of Social Media?

8. Amber Naslund reminds us that with Social Media, we have the unique opportunity to engage in Difference Making. What could be more important than that?

9. Brian Solis discusses a new and rising 5th “c” of community, Social Commerce. Amazing eye for detail, chock-full of great information. Check it out!

10. My friend @galactic gave me the heads up on this amazing post by @thebrandbuilder called “Why Your Social Media Marketing Campaigns Aren’t Working.” A big dose of truth in an outstanding, detailed, and even funny post.

11. Speaking of @galactic (whom you might know as Cristian Gonzales), he wrote a fantastically interesting post pondering the difference between “true” and “the truth.” Give it a read!

12. The difference between a true role model and someone who calls themselves an expert is action. Beth Harte wrote a post called It’s Time To Get To Work. Arm Yourself With Knowledge. She makes the point that reading is one of the best weapons (or tools) you can have. Instead of just stopping there, though, she proceeds to give an amazing list of books to read in different disciplines. Bookmark this post!

13. Allison Boyer asks, “Where are the Remarkable Bloggers?” It’s probably not what you think 🙂

14. This post by Mitch Joel, called Being a Twitter Snob is a Good thing, presents (eloquently) one view of the Twitter follow issue.

15. It inspired Mark Schaefer to write a response called Bringing Down the Twitter Snobs. Also eloquently stated!

16. Liz Strauss tweeted out this post by Jael Strong, which was posted at successful-blog.com. Bid Farewell to Bad Blogging: Edit! I agree with Jael 100% – you can have great ideas, but if you can’t use language well, the beauty of those ideas may get lost amidst the distraction of grammatical errors or typos. Careful is as careful does!

17. Lisa Petrilli tweeted this post by her #leadershipchat co-founder Steve Woodruff, who guest posted on Angela Maiers’ blog (phew!). In this post, Steve offers a fantastic definition for passion.

18. Marsha Collier tweeted this post and the title caught my eye – turns out it’s a fantastic article by Pauline Ores at Econsultancy.com. The post is called Five Reasons NOT to Hire THAT Social Media Expert. Pauline discusses some good signals to look for when deciding if someone is *truly* an expert or if they are just a self-proclaimed guru.

19. My friend @WriterChanelle runs a really great site for Generation Y non-grads called There From Here. This week, she featured a guest post by Julia Zunich called 5 Realistic Reasons to Find Summer Internships NOW. It’s a truly great read no matter where you are in your career’s life cycle, but I think particularly useful for Chanelle’s target audience.

20. My bloggy BFF @pushingsocial tweeted out this post from Kikolani.com. Written by Srinivas Rao, the post is called How to make a blogging advice implementation plan. Mr. Rao points out that we all read tons of blogs that offer great advice. We probably say, “Wow, that’s great advice!” But do we actually follow all of that advice? Food for thought.

21. Speaking of Mr. PushingSocial, his post this week got quite a lot of buzz, and deservedly so. Check out What To Do If Your Blog Isn’t Awesome. If anyone can tell you how to make the awesome, it’s @pushingsocial 🙂

22. My friend @knowledgebishop sent me this fantastic post by Gerry McGovern over at MarketingProfs. The post argues that a lot of online marketers are still living in the past with “needy” marketing tactics. The new way to market is to use support and make the entire learning/purchasing process a positive. Major ramifications for both customer service and marketing. What do you think?

23. Do you think that concepts like integrated marketing or customer-centric organizations are tricky to understand? You’ll be amazed at how simple @wilsonellis makes these concepts. 1 little picture, a bit of explanation, and you’re good to go. Check out The Marketing Solar System.

24. My friend Dawn Westerberg offers a reminder that the past is, well, in the past, or as Fleetwood Mac might say, Yesterday’s Gone. Don’t let the past bog you down!

25. Suzanne Vara’s jewel of brilliance this week has to do with the morning after. No, not that one. After election day! Suzanne asks if there is personal branding in politics. More to the point, would politicians succeed with their negative campaigning if Social Media was their primary medium? Interesting to ponder, non?

26. I was talking to Molly Campbell about the work I was doing for Social Media Safety. Her response was to write this post, called Sticks and Stones, or Bullying for Dummies. It’s cute and funny, but there is also a good question there. What are bullies thinking? It’s a great piece!

27. Feeling a little burnt out? Feeling a little sore, either physically or emotionally? Jason Sokol has 2 creativity tools that will knock your socks off! Tell him what you think of them once you try them!

28. My friend (and new papa!) Tommy Walker uses some of the characters from Office Space to explain how companies could benefit from encouraging the use of Facebook. Very interesting read!

29. Kay Whitaker and Amber Cleveland of Sterling Hope are not just active entrepreneurs – they are entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in the world. Now is your chance to help them out. Check out “the new deal for charity“!

30. This was a beautiful post by Chris Brogan. It got a lot of attention (rightfully so). The message is important in these crazy times. Read What We Let Slip Away.