Every Company Needs a Good Map

I was going to use the headline: What does it meme? Then I thought no one would get it and that is not good branding. While many people read blogs, many in my intended audience are not that familiar with some of the new terms, like RSS and meme. This post is a part of the meme started months ago by

Becky Carroll nominated me for this honor. (To see her list follow this link.) Becky is the author of the Customers Rock! blog. Considering her experience, enthusiasm for her cause (Great Customer Service), and the fact that there are over 70 million blogs to choose from, I am honored. Becky is a tireless defender of the customer and promoter of great customer service techniques. You can feel her enthusiasm in her writing style and you get a good sense of her commitment by her examples and stories. Her blog should be in your RSS list and on your blog roll.

The 5 blogs make me think: 

***** 

1. Chris Garrett -  chrisg.com - Chris mixes techniques used to make you a better blog writer, with marketing, and business development to make his readers think about their business as a whole. I have 200 RSS feeds that I subscribe to. I read many but not all of them. Chris' is one of the very few that I subscribe to as a newsletter so that I can read it on my PDA first thing in the morning.
2. Krishna De -  BizGrowthNews - Krishna's BizGrowthLive weekly phone calls are one of my standard appointments. If I am not in the air or in a meeting on Monday morning, I am listening to her call.
3. Hugh Hollowell - A Politically Incorrect Entrepreneur - This is no surprise to anyone who reads Hugh's blog. I comment on almost every post. If I were to ask someone I have never met, to be a guest author, it would probably be Hugh. He is a straight shooter with a tendency to just put things out there for your consideration. I really like that.
4. Devon Thorpe - MidMarketMaven - Venture Capitalists' blogs are great to read but they often get caught-up in their own stardom or are so swamped with comments, emails, and work that they are unavailable or unapproachable. Devon has been in the investment/finance game long enough to be very knowledgeable and quiet enough to still be approachable. His comments are not flamboyant; his posts are practical and useful. Despite his success, he is still approachable - for now.
5. Mark Hurst - This Is Broken - It makes me think and it makes me nervous. Did I do something like that? Have we sent out notices, flyers, or materials like that? Unfortunately, yes we have. So, I read his posts for fun and for a reminder that everyone needs to seek a second opinion.

There are many others I could have nominated but my guess is that they have long-since been recognized or I know they were. I also think that the value of these "memes" is to bring attention to blogs that are not in the top ranks at Technorati. Just in case please consider these my honorable mentions;

CK's blog, Drew's Marketing Minute, Lewis Green's blog, Seth's blog, Guy Kawasaki's How to Change The World, Marc Andreeesson's blog, and of course Liz Srauss' Successful Blog. These and many others are great Modern Magellans, Entrepreneurs, and writers.

To be nominated with the likes of  Mack Collier: The Viral Garden, Ron Shevlin: Marketing ROI, Steve Woodruff: Sticky Figure, and Doug Meacham: NextUp is terrific. I will try to keep in good standing with such distinguished company.

Background:
The meme started with Ilker Yoldas wanting to highlight blogs that are truly “meaty” with great content.  He started the Thinking Blogs Award to help publicize great blogs.

The rules of this meme (and most memes for that matter)

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to the Thinking Blogs Award post so that people can find the origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog)