Staying “in the know” with a Blogroll

This week’s assignment asks students to add a blogroll to their personal blog sites and add 10 bloggers who write about public relations and social web topics.

Not only did I learn how to add a blogroll here, I am also learning that there is so many great resources for professionals to keep us in the “know.” It is good practice to follow or even start a reading routine to stay up to date in the industry.

A while back, I stumbled on Brian Solis’ website when I started looking at social media. I wanted to know more and subscribed to his site. I have not read any of his books yet but liked his foreword in our course book “Social Media ROI.” His blog is very informative and I think it is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about social media.

At this year’s The Social Conference, Deirdre Breakenridge is a keynote speaker; check out my previous blog post here for more details. She is a member of PRSA, and works with them on their social media. She has also written a few books and the one that caught my eye recently is her book called “Putting the Public back into Public Relations.”

I recently became a member of IABC and just a few weeks ago, I attended one of their free webinars. Shel Holtz presented “Google+ for Communicators.” He shared the latest knowledge on Circles, Hangouts, Huddle and Sparks. I thought he was very informative and knowledgeable. He explained what it is and what it is not and why it is overtaking the competition.

Olivier Blanchard, author of our course book. He “help companies develop, build, integrate, manage and measure social media programs, manage their reputation online and offline, and develop sustainable brands in an increasingly complex media landscape.”

Last year, we had David Armano as a guest speaker where I work. He is Executive Vice President, Global Innovation & Integration for Edelman Digital. David shared how social media can help to build brand affinity by having people connect with each other and participate in discussions about organizations and products. David also talked about how good customer service essentially becomes marketing – the best type of marketing is about building relationships, and social media presents an excellent platform for interacting with and supporting customers. On his Logic+Emotion blog, he shares insights, ideas and opinions on doing business in a connected age.