30Thursday number 12: we’re back!

Battles. Passion. And a dash of how-to content. That’s what was in the mix the last week in the blogosphere!

Welcome back to #30Thursday, a concept I started last year, put on hiatus in November, and am now bringing back – but with a few changes.
Originally, the idea was that I would get recommendations of posts to include here. Unfortunately, most people ended up recommending their own posts instead of other folks’ posts, which was not the idea. So, I’m pickin and choosin this time around.

What hasn’t changed is that I’d be more than happy for you to start posting your own #30Thursday or #13thursday or whatever you’d want to do. This is about sharing great content and promoting other people.

And on that note, let me get out of the way and wave you towards #30Thursday curation #12. Enjoy!

1. In The Battles We Wage, Suzanne Vara tackles the core of the moral conundrums we face in the Social Media world. What if you give but aren’t getting what you expected? Are you naturally suspicious of someone who rises to the top seemingly from nowhere? Lots of great food for thought here!

2. Danny Brown’s battle is against the mind-numbing banality of sameness. How can we avoid all sounding like a blogging Greek chorus? This post will really get you thinking.

3. Lisa Petrilli had to fight her own battle to decide not only to start blogging but also to share her wonderful personality with the online world. In doing so, she realized that the path you are on defines who you are and what you do, both online and in the real world. Happy 1-year anniversary for your blog, Lisa!

4. Geoff Livingston is trying to battle distractions that pull him away from what really matters in the online world. What are your Social Media distractions? Good fodder for conversation.

5. Nancy Davis continues to inspire at her blog, helping women who may feel there is no hope left know that hope abounds. This week, Nancy offers five ways to boost your self image when you’re going through a hard time.

6. One way I make myself feel better is by visiting Molly Campbell’s blog. This post make me smile from ear to ear, which kind of hurt, but give a read to The Iceman cometh, sort of and tell me if you make it through without laughing!

7. If you’re struggling to “make it work” consider Rufus the Dog’s suggestion and work in newspaper for awhile, where you have to make things work under some occasionally difficult conditions. Check out why Rufus feels newspaper artists make the best designers, and tell him if you agree!

8. Patrick Prothe is awesome for many reasons, but this post of his gives you several ideas why. In “It’s just business” is bunk, Patrick notes that for most of us, business can be personal – very personal.

9. I had a really fun debate with Nicholas Cardot at #blogchat Monday night, so I decided to see what he had cooking on his blog site. I found this gem about how to make money blogging. While we are on very different paths, I appreciate the simplicity with which Nicholas runs you through his steps to success.

10. I thought this post by my friend Daria (aka @mominmanagement) was both insightful and charming (as she so often tends to be). It’s hard to create new traditions, but it can also be rewarding. How can a working mom take advantage of a special day like Mother’s Day? Share your thoughts with Daria and enjoy her thoughtful post!

11. Ian Rountree was on the same wavelength as Rufus this week. Ian questions whether bloggers can really hone their craft now that it’s so much easier to *look* professional with things like premium themes. In Blogging with Rock Skis On, Ian argues that learning to blog first in Blogger or another more simple platform helps you concentrate on what really matters – your content.

12. A lot of people think it’s “easy” to be self-employed. Peter Pollock does a good job of explaining the pros and the cons of being self-employed. It resonated with me having recently read Carol Roth’s Entrepreneur Equation. You should read this post!

13. I’ve seen Dino Dogan leaving comments on all of the blog sites I respect the most, so it’s not altogether too surprising that I saw him posting about a guaranteed way to landing a guest post, and that the answer was “joining the comment brigade.” If you don’t believe in commenting on blogs just because….you are a hermit? this post offers a pretty darned good argument for making yourself a known factor on blogs you respect. Good stuff.

14. If this post by Estrella Rosenberg doesn’t inspire and move you, I’ll be a little worried about you. In Answering the Call, Estrella details how she came to find her calling and what made her pick up that phone.

15. Another inspiring post, this time by Susan Giurleo, reveals why this wonderful lady really uses Social Media, and why she wants you to use Social Media, too. In Dr. Giurleo’s real, honest opinion, Social Media is about changing the world. You just need to be ready to do it.

16. As a librarian, it’s no surprise that I found this post by Mark Dykeman fascinating. In Books owned versus Books read, the anti-library of unknowledge, Mark wonders which is more valuable – a library of books you’ve read or an “anti-library” of tons of books you haven’t read. From there, Mark takes you on a journey to think about digital content and knowledge as an entity. As you can tell, it’s a fantastic post! 🙂

17. Only a sharp mind like Tommy Walker could develop a fascinating marketing blog post based on SkyMall magazine. But indeed he did. In The SkyMall Guide to Making Sales, Tommy notes that SkyMall takes a situation where they know you are not doing what you most want to do and turn that into an opportunity to catch your eye with brilliant images and well-written copy. Great post for advertisers, marketers, and fliers!

18. The story of a woman and her love affair with the internet. Kat Caverly tells the history of her and the online world in her post called The End of the Internet, which she hopes we never find. A whimsical look and what has come and gone in the online world.

19. The damage the flooding is causing in many places around the country is going unnoticed, generally. Janice Person is documenting the historic flooding in Memphis, Tennessee. Talk about a perspective changer.

20. Are you feeling like you are talking to a ghost town of a community? Debra Ellis points out, in her post called Hello? Is anyone out there? that it might not be you. It might be that a lot of people in your community have simply moved on. Take heart from this very interesting set of data.

21. Brilliant marketer Heidi Cohen hears a lot of people saying that social media doesn’t work. She names six problems that might be in your way, and offers advice on how to fix those obstacles, too.

22. Laura Click notes that while blogging consistently can be a really good thing, it can also become a burden both to you and to your readers. She gives you 4 reasons why you might want to push the pause button on your blog.

23. Jim Mitchem notes that if content is king in the world of Social Media, hiring a copywriter (whose job it is to create content) may be a great idea. In Write Well or Die, Mitchem outlines how this breaks down for you.

24. I really like this post by Jon DiPietro. He combines the wisdom of Godin, Pressfield, Edison, Jobs, and others into a cohesive blog post that describes what he calls the Godin/Pressfield Algorithm. Start. Work. Fail? Ship! Pretty interesting way to organize the process of getting “it” (whatever that may be) done.

25. Paul Flanigan offers advice on how to find blog ideas, and how to turn those ideas into posts consistently. Some great ideas here!

26. Have you thought much about the readability score for your blog? I hadn’t, but according to Kimberly Turner’s post at ProBlogger, we’re missing an opportunity to enhance the sharing of our posts. Very interesting!

27. Debra Leitl has a great post summarizing key tips for  SEO. I learned something right off the bat! Check out her post, which summarizes the 4 Rs of SEO. See if you learn something new, too!

28. I really like this concept from Stanford Smith – get your blog going like a flywheel. He diagnoses some common ailments that bring down blogs and tells you how you can avoid them.

29. Mack Collier, king of #blogchat, can tell when you’re phoning it in on your blog site. Are you being careful to keep your passion for your blog alive?

30. There’s a lot of talk about mobile marketing, but it seems like there isn’t a lot of solid “how do I do this?” information out there. Lisa Barone has you covered with this phenomenal post, 5 content usability tips for mobile sites. If you’re thinking about making your site mobile-friendly, this post is for you!

Image by Michal Zacharzewski. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/mzacha