#30Thursday Post Number Nine (Yes it’s fine!)

Well, I have to say, I am pretty excited about how this week’s #30Thursday turned out. There are a few resounding themes, and I’d love to say that I planned it this way, but this is just what people are writing. They are writing about bullying and why they care. They are writing about how to be the best you you can be. They are writing about how to lift others up.

Pretty amazing, huh? I think so too.

And no, I probably won’t make all of the titles of my #30thursday posts rhyme – but it’s fun in the meantime. Please enjoy these fantastic posts!

1. The first post this week comes from @LouImbriano, who notes wisely that our focus should be on building, not selling. Scott Stratten of Unmarketing would adore this post 🙂

2. A very thoughtful post by @Juliemangano called “I was bullied.” I think a lot of people will be able to relate to this post. It reminds us that bullying, whether online or offline, can leave deep scars that are hard to forget and hard to ignore.

3. Mike Myatt wrote one of the best definitions of influence I have seen. How to create lasting influence – a post that shows influence is probably more than just about numbers and who clicks what.

4. My friend Paul Konrardy sent me this post from ProBlogger Darren Rouse. It’s from 2007, showing that the problem of online bullying has been going on for quite some time. Check out What A Buddhist Monk Taught Me About Blogging

5. This post created quite an uproar across Social Media sites. Great post by SME Examiner regarding three myths about guest posting. Lots of actionable items to think about here!

6. My friend @CelsiusMI brought this post from, well, MediaPost, to my attention: “Why Marketers Shouldn’t Give Up on Twitter,” by Jessica Michaels

7. This was a really interesting post by Alan Belniak for MarketingProfs (The Daily Fix). I saw Jason Falls tweet it out. If that isn’t a clue how great this post is, I don’t know what to tell you 🙂 So check out Are you really marketing or just advertising?

8. My friend David McGraw has a great idea for the month of November – remind yourself of why you should be grateful every day, all month. It’s a project called 30 Days of Gratitude. Are you in? Because I sure am!

9. My new friend @Greetums, who has been a major supporter of my efforts in the Social Media Safety project, wrote a beautiful and insightful post called Confessions of a Bully. A must read for sure.

10. @melissa_ful tweeted this post to me by Ezra Klein, and I think he has a great message: Why it gets better. Neat way to piggy-back on the “It gets better” campaign.

11. @galactic sent me this extraordinary post from August Turak at AdAge.com. In What Bolsters the Bottom Line? Selfless Marketing, Turak invokes Joseph Campbell’s concept of the hero’s spiritual journey and what advertisers can learn from the success of movies like Devil Wears Prada. Read this extremely interesting post, and you won’t regret it!

12. My friend Heidi Cohen got published at Clickz.com. Her post, titled Stop Experimenting with Social Media, offers some fantastic actionable items for integrating Social Media into your marketing efforts. Some of the comments she received are a bit shocking as well.

13. This was a fun post that my friend @gagasgarden recommended. By Clint Franzen, “It all started with a call to a local guy offering guitar lessons in piano” notes the wonder of seeing a student exceed expectations and head right towards the pinnacle of great success.

14. Speaking of my friend Gaga, she has a delightful little post this week about greenhouses, tequila, and how kids will hold on to the strangest sayings 🙂 Check out OUI Built a Prefabricated Greenhouse for $142.00 by this lovely lady.

15. Is “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” the best approach? Carol Phillips tweeted out a post by Mariam Shahab that ponders this question, and whether it’s just Generation Y that doubts this old adage.

16. My friend Tommy tweeted out this very useful post from Hubspot.com called 6 Easy Ways to Get More Visitors To Your Blog. A must-read!

17. My friend Allen Mireles tweeted out an interesting post written by Erica Naone for The Technology Review. The post is titled Social Coupons: Good for Business? The answer might surprise you. Then again, it might not 🙂

18. My bloggy bff @pushingsocial said this post was a must-read. I would tend to agree, although again it might be a bit self-serving posting a link to this from #30Thursday. Still, the info is great! Curating Information as Content Strategy, by Valeria Maltoni

19. Jordan Cooper (@notaproblog) wrote an outstanding post for Jason Falls’ Social Media Explorer called Community Managers: Whose Best Interests Do You Serve? The question extends to any portion of the marketing world these days. A lot to ponder here.

20.  Chris Brogan introduced me to a fellow named Jim Mitchem, who wrote a FABULOUS post on the bullying issue, simply called On Bullying. Jim comes at the issue from a logical space, and he creates a great read.

21. An amazing Vlog by Keith Ferrazzi called Your Turning Point. Who was there at the moment in your life when you needed someone the most?

22. Suzanne Vara’s fantastic post of the week for me was 8 Tips for Embracing Change in Social Media. Suzanne and I agree that a lot of what advertising taught marketers can be carried over into the world of Social Media. She details why, beautifully as always, in this post.

23. Sure, I’m biased, but I think this post by Jay Baer rocked the house. The 7 New Roles Agencies Must Play to Survive Real-Time Business. For insights into the ever-changing world of us agency folk, go here!

24. Megan Knight hits another one all the way out of the ballpark over at DawnWesterberg.com. Expanding on her original post, which I highlighted last week, Megan details how nonprofits can use Facebook, and best practices. Tremendous information!

25. @tommyismyname notes that we seem to be heading to a world where Minority Report seems kind of feasible. Normally, this would scare my wee pants off. However, Tommy writes about The Future of Marketing so well I’m almost kind of excited about it. Almost. 🙂

26. This post by Mark Dykeman is really really interesting – a game of “Where’s Waldo” with truly severe societal ramifications. Check out Develop your observational skills by spotting the photoshopping. Great post!

27. Jason Mikula did not rest on his laurels after last week’s fantastic post about Apple and customer service. This week, Jason analyzes a spectrum of Twitter customer service, then explains how companies can use Twitter to respond the right way. Give part 2 of Customer Service in the Social Media Era a read!

28. My friend Patrick Prothe wonders if there is room in business for kindness. This is a very detailed post, a mixture of helpful information and the human touch.

29. One great thing about my friend Maya (@MayaREGuru) is that she makes you want to jump up and save the world with her posts. Point of Ignition is no exception. I love reading uplifting blog posts like this!

30. I really thought this post by Chris Brogan, called Move On, was interesting. What is kind of a thorn in my business side (Social Media conferences) is like the kitchen table at home for him and many others. And yet, we all have a kitchen table somewhere, don’t we? What really matters, though, is what you do beyond it.