5 Blogs You Should Be Reading If You’re Not Already
Filed Under (Musings) by Mike Wilton on 22-12-2008
Tagged Under : blogging, blogs
In preparation for a blog post I threw a question up on a number of social networks last night asking friends and followers to name a blog they would recommend someone read if they could only read one blog for all of 2009. I have already gotten a number of responses from a number of sources and I’m getting really excited about the post.
Following that I thought to myself, what blogs could I recommend to my readers that may interest them? What are some of the blogs that aren’t already on all of the lists out there that I read? Alas, this post was born. I read a number of blogs on a number of subjects; from SEO to Social Media and Parenting to Design. From my list of over 190 blog subscriptions I have compiled a list of my top 5 that I find the most influential or useful. There are a TON of great reads in my reader, but these ones stand out time and time again.
The Fire Horse Trail: David Harry’s SEO Blog - David Harry does an outstanding job at covering news and info on search and internet marketing, but what I like about his blog is that unlike a number of SEM blogs out there he doesn’t just regurgitate a bunch of information. Most of the time he is exploring facets of search that most search bloggers aren’t paying attention to or talking about; from personalized search to search patents, David has offered a wealth of information and ideas that don’t fall within the norm of search marketing blog topics.
Mashable – OK this is probably one of the bigger ones and I’m sure it’s probably been on some lists, but I know there are still a number of people out there who don’t read it or know about it. Mashable is the one blog I have to keep up with every day. If I only read one blog in my reader before selecting ‘Mark all as read’ it’s Mashable. Why you ask? Because there is a wealth of information and resources presented on Mashable. I also love that they like lists, I’m a list person so if you can give me a list of 100+ More Ways To Organize Your Life you’re ok in my book. Not to mention their news covers search, social media, gadgets, startups and more. There’s a little bit of something for everyone on Mashable.
TwiTip – A sideblog of Problogger Darren Rowse, TwiTip shares some tips on how to get the most out of Twitter. A newer blog which only started in October of this year it has offered some really interesting ideas on ways to better your twitter relationships and generate stronger traffic to your blog or website with twitter. Some tips have included use of Twitter landing pages and What To Do When You Lose Twitter Followers.
Jon Swanson’s Levite Chronicles – What I love about Levite Chronicles and Jon Swanson’s writing is that it makes me think. It always throws some sort of different perspective at me that I rarely consider. It’s one of those blogs that make you stop and reflect after you read some of the posts. In a world that moves at the speed of light and we are surrounded by information overload, this is one blog that actually slows it all down for a moment and helps you refocus.
PluginID – Another blog to come out of 2008 and another sideblog, this of ViperChill blogger Glen Allsopp, PluginID has one purpose; to help people plugin to their identity and aid in their personal development. Again a very inspirational blog, which has caught my attention a number of times and made me reflect on who I am and how I live my life. If you’re still trying to find yourself or make yourself, or simply just need a reminder as to who you are at the core this is the blog for you.
I hope you each find some value in at least one of these blogs and that you are able to add it to your reader for 2009. For now I will leave you with the same question I opened the post with, if someone could read only one blog for the duration of 2009 what blog would it be and why? I’d love to hear your responses and the list of entries will be posted in Friday’s blog.
Excellent, I had 4 out of 5 and that’s not bad
I agree David Harry’s blog is an excellent locale, I think it should be mentioned how interactive he is with his blog/social community which is a major bonus.
Well hey gents, guess I’d best pipe up and be interactive then eh? (Canadian content). Going over the same stuff to me seems a waste unless of course there is a new angle to be had. There really is often so many other topics waiting to be explored as long as search itself continues to evolve.
I always appreciate Mike’s support and it’s peeps like that which motivates one after the years roll along. SEO geekiness will never be sexy and some of the best from folks like Bill (Slawski) never get much play in social circles. But when it comes to actionable information and less drama, it is the land which SEO addicts should be spending time – IMHO of course (to avoid said drama :0)
It was a tad humerous to see your enthusiasm with the patent round ups Mike, they never go far… I am putting a post together one SEO Higher Learning which will be full of places to get down and dirty with the technical stuff. Likely to be popular as well… (like a root canal) – we’ll enjoy it though!!
Happy Holidays bro… thanks for all the kind words and support – best present evar :0)
@Jeremy Rivera which one were you missing, and what did you think of the one you didn’t know about? Just curious.
@Dave Thanks for responding. I read/skim a TON of search marketing blogs daily. Yours is the one that I look for new posts from. I think it’s because you look to the future of search a lot of the time and not just what’s going on at this very moment.
If you want to be on top of search I feel you need to look ahead at things like personalized search and upcoming patents that are being worked on. These are the future of search and search marketing and if we aren’t on top of it as search marketers we are either going to be eaten by the competition that is aware of it, or our clients are going to suffer for our ignorance.
The patents may not interest people, but honestly if you look at them you at least get an idea of what these engineers are thinking up and how these patents could affect the work we do. And I’ll be honest I am still quite new at all this, so at times it may seem way over my head, but I always appreciate your insight, support, and words of wisdom.
[...] this week I posted 5 blogs you should be reading if you’re not already and asked readers what blog they would recommend to someone who could only read one blog in 2009. [...]
Thanks so much for the mention, it means a lot to me.
I love your theme btw!
Cheers,
Glen
@Glen
Thanks for the comment. Glad you like the theme, though I am hoping to change it on 09 to something that keeps the dark feel, but is a little bit easier on the eyes.
I love PluginID and have found a lot of inspiration in it. I look forward to reading new posts in 09.