Top 10 Social Media blogs of 2010

Michael Stelzner
Published January 29, 2010

1. Chris Brogan: The Elvis of social media and the king of common sense, Chris Brogan is in a league of his own.
2. Social Media Explorer: Social media all-star Jason Falls provides a fresh and interesting take on all things social media.
3. Mashable: The world’s source for social media news, Mashable is the place to go for breaking stories.
4. Convince & Convert: Jay Baer provides rich content for businesses seeking to embrace social media.
5. Altitude: Amber Naslund offers a breath of fresh air with smart, inspiring and personal social media insight.
6. CopyBlogger: The king of engaging content, Brian Clark and his team help businesses persuade in a 2.0 world.
7. Brand Builder: For businesses looking to dive deep into social media discussion, check out Olivier Blanchard’s rich insights.
8. Diva Marketing: Toby Bloomberg’s blog provides a wide array of social media advice.
9. Kikolani: Looking for great “getting started” social media guidance? Then frequent this blog.
10. Future Buzz: A nice mix of stories and reviews makes Adam Singer’s site one that should be on your radar.

I want you to fail

It seems to me that the American people have a great desire to see others fail. Why is that? I've experienced it personally and I'm sure others have too. My frustration currently comes from watching and hearing others say about President Obama, "I want him to fail and I will do my best to see that he does". Do you ever wonder what is behind that notion? What is in it for the person or people who wishes failure on a country or an organization? Actually, they do not only wish it but then do their best to make it happen.

From my personal experience with a few organizations, I have watched as roadblock after roadblock was put up to insure that whatever I was doing would result in failure. Things I said were misconstrued, misinterpreted to the greatest negative message that could be gleaned from the words I said and lies being told. Sound familiar?

I am not by any means comparing myself to the President but I do think I have a unique outlook on how he may feel. Blindsided is one word I'd use for it. Going in with the best of intentions and truly believing that if you do your best then others will follow. Not so true. Others will withhold information, make sure to be as unhelpful as they can even if you show good faith by compromising and spending more time attempting to help them that in the end is worth it.

That does not happen in all in all organizations. For example, the one I work with now answers my email, asks if I need any help with anything and says positive things like good job! And I'm so grateful for that.

So here's why I think people set you up to fail. They are insecure, devious, greedy, self-indulgent,deceitful and have no conscience. They see that you are smarter than they are and can see the whole picture and they don't want to be exposed for what they really are up to. The easier way to accomplish that is to keep the focus on you and wear you down until you're too tired to fight anymore.

I give President Obama a lot of credit. He keeps saying, "Let's find common ground, let's work together and see what we can agree on and not concentrate on what we don't." I, as another eternal optimist hope that this will happen but I fear there are too many hate-mongers in the world now. I'm not suggesting that we give up but that we see them for who they are and what their objective really is. It's to get you to give up, not care, not vote and let them control everything with no interference. Don't be lulled into silence.

Arrogance, Ignorance or Asperger's?

What is your perception when you look at people or listen to them? Do you assume they are not very nice because they are not smiling or that maybe they are snobby? When they talk is their voice kind of flat and you think to yourself, "What a dummy that person is". How about when they say inappropriate things and you come to the conclusion that they are rude or ignorant? Could it be that you are not looking deep enough to find the treasures that seem to be hidden deep in the soul of a person with Asperger's Syndrome?

What if the person you are judging can't help themselves and you've been very critical and often condescending? How would that make you feel if you have worked with someone with these characteristics? People with Asperger syndrome have social challenges and unusual interests and behaviors but they do not a have intellectual disability or problems with language.

They do have trouble understanding other people's feelings or expressing their own feelings. Trying to negotiate the world can be exhausting since it seems everyone else 'gets it'. It takes a lot of energy to try to figure out people's motives because for the most part, a person with AS doesn't have a hidden agenda. What you see is what you get. WYSIWYG

Other symptoms:

• Have trouble with friendships
• Have delayed speech and language skills
• Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
• Give unrelated answers to questions
• Get upset by minor changes
• Have obsessive interests
• Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel

A person that suffers from AS is often sensitive to criticism and feel oppressed from co-workers that may just be trying to help. The employer can be helpful if they understand that the person with AS can be highly intelligent but have a lack of social skills that assist them in coping within the workplace.

Next time you think about making a judgement about a person who is not exactly like you, step back and take the time to notice their achievements and their ability to think outside of the box. Take note of what they can accomplish even though the path they take goes down lanes less traveled. They do get to where they are going even if it is often the long way around.

Some famous people who are thought to have had Asperger's Syndrome

• Ben Franklin
• Isaac Newton
• George Washington
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Robin Williams
• Tom Hanks
• Beethoven
• Elvis
• Socrates

Arnel Pineda and Journey - Don't stop believing live inChile

Energy kills

When did oil, nuclear power, gas and coal become more important than the lives and well being of people and the planet? It seems every day now there is another accident caused by incompetent, thoughtless, greedy corporations who are more interested in the bottom line than in their fellow man's well being. Or is it more than that? Could it be our greed and consumption that is causing these accidents?

For all the debate about whether offshore oil drilling in particular is too risky, the larger truth is simple: we are digging deeper oil wells and deeper mines because we have used almost all the readily available fossil fuels. Going after this harder-to-reach energy is riskier, for the environment and for the workers.

I remember growing up in town where everyone worked in 'the mill'. Even then I recognized that money was more important than people. Yes, they were paid well but at what cost? Lost limbs, deafness and a short life span were common place but they all had a truck, a car, a boat, a camp and plenty of money to spend.

Predictions have been made that what we are facing now was bound to happen, just as terrorism was predicted and no one listened. Experts warned of impending terrorist acts but it all fell on deaf ears, just as the warnings of polluting the earth and poisoning our ecosystem fell on deaf ears. I am not sure anyone is really listening even now.

There is a trend that you may have noticed lately due to our increased use of fossil fuels. The more we use, the more accidents happen.

What constitute a severe accident?

An accident is severe, when at least one of the following consequences occurs:

• 5 or more fatalities
• 10 or more injuries
• 200 or more evacuations
• far-reaching ban on the consumption of food
• release of at least 10000 tons of hydrocarbons
• cleanup of a land or water surface of 25 km2 or more
• economic damages of at least 5 million USD

"Up to 10,000 miners die every year in Chinese coal mines. Our use of oil costs hundreds to thousands of human lives yearly through accidents. The collapse of two hydro storage dams in 1975 caused the death of 26000 people in China. And Chernobyl not only caused 31 immediate fatalities, but also many future latent fatalities. Insurance companies continue to pay high monetary damages, but there remain other damages to humanity and nature which no one pays." Energie-Spiegal

April 2010 Methane explosion in West Virginia 25 miners killed

April 2010 Deepwater Horizon (BP oil rig) explodes and sinks with the oil still leaking to this day 11 killed

June 2010 Natural gas line in Texas erupted killing one

There is always a chance of accidents occurring. Energy companies may have neglected safety precautions that could have prevented these tragic events. More important than their neglect is our consumption of energy.

We, the consumers may be the ones that need to carry the burden of blame. We use more energy than countries with similar climates such as Japan, France, Germany and Australia and twice as much per capita as the United Kingdom.

The only countries that use more than we do on a per capita basis are small, oil-rich, deserts like Qatar and Bahrain. Canada, which is considerably colder, less densely populated, and also has such a high footprint in part because it has a lot of energy-intensive extraction industries.

Subsidies for homeownership increase the opportunity for living in the suburb and driving everywhere. The Interstate Highway System has caused a massive imbalance between funding for roads and mass transit, leaving no option for those who have no access to public transportation.

It is time to change American policy in favor of comprehensive energy reform and rethink our consumption. The accidental deaths of American energy company workers can not only be blamed on the corporations. We need to accept our (the consumer) responsibility in contributing to their deaths and injuries. Please support alternative forms of energy.

Springtime in Vermont

It is the first official day of Spring and I am so excited to see green shoots popping up from the ground, the sound of birds singing, geese flying and honking overhead and mostly the warmer days.

I enjoy all the seasons that we have in New England, but I especially enjoy Spring because it is a new beginning for many animals and plants. The maple buckets are being removed as I write this.

Everyone is out raking their yards and picking up debris from over the winter. The lake is still frozen but one strong wind and it will be wide open.

There are people out walking on the road I live on and out riding their bicycles after a long winter 'away' or stuck inside. It seems as if there are only 3 or 4 people I see all winter then all of sudden the count blossoms like a flower. I wonder to myself, "what do they do all winter?"

Welcome home Spring, Welcome home.

The View from Here

This is the view from my office. It does not look the same everyday, in fact, the day I took that picture was one of the first days in months that the spectacular Green Mountain range could be seen from my office chair.

There are many reasons that it isn't clear from here. One is that it is usually snowing on that side of the lake. You can actually watch the snow move across the lake occasionally. The sunrises are spectacular in the morning if you are up that early. Another reason is the clouds that sit on top of the mountains, blocking the view.

More often than not I don't look, therefore I don't see the magnificent Mt. Mansfield. I often remember how awesome it is when we have guests and they point out how beautiful the view is. It brings me a renewed appreciation of the country side and why I enjoy living here.

When I first moved here I traveled the back roads and took hundreds of pictures that I was seeing with a fresh perspective and wondered how on earth people from here did not see the beauty of Vermont. 10 years later, here I am, looking but not seeing. I believe it's time to hit the back roads with the camera again and look for what I saw 10 years ago.