I am graduating on December 12th with a Masters of Science in Marketing from Texas A&M University. I am very fortunate in that I will most likely have a job on the day I graduate. Last year at this time, all of last years’ graduating class were already signed with some great companies making some great money. That is not true of this year.

The economic recession is affecting all of us. There are a lot of people out there saying that companies are still looking for rockstars, and that if you are a rockstar you should have nothing to worry about. That may very well be true, unless those companies don’t know you’re a rockstar.

Having a 4.0 is great, but it doesn’t mean anything if your resume is buried in a stack because you submitted it online through monster.com. So how do you let people know you’re a rockstar? You start a blog!

Here’s what co-founder of Brazen Careerist, Ryan Healy says on the subject:

You can be the most knowledgeable 22 year old in the country on your subject matter, and you can have a great resume, but that’s not enough. If you want employers to come to you, you have to communicate your knowledge and ideas to the rest of the world. Quite simply, this means start a blog! Blogging is, hands down, the best thing you can do for your career.

Additionally, a resume cannot show an employer your personality or express your ideas. A blog can. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today if it wasn’t for Employee Evolution. And I’ve heard of countless others who have turned their blog into a job. All you have to do is ask around the Brazen community to find some great blog success stories. — Read the entire article here.

I started this blog less than a year ago and it has led to some remarkable things:

• I’ve been invited to speak
• I’ve been given books to read and review
• I’ve been offered expensive products (like computers) to test beta versions
• I’ve had job opportunities
• I’ve had partnership opportunities

And more important than anything on that list is the fact that I have helped a lot of wonderful people and in the process I have met and interacted with some amazing rockstars that will no doubt have an impact on the rest of my career.

What are you waiting for? Start your own blog today!

Here are some great resources to convince you and help you get started. They’re from some of my friends, and I am certain they will help you see the value of blogging. Take 15 minutes and read all of them, and then if you have any questions or need any help getting started, shoot me an e-mail and I would be more than happy to help you anyway I can.

Start a Blog Today — Mitch Joel

Save Your Career, Start a Blog — Joseph Jaffe

How to Launch a Successful Blog in the First 90 Days — Rohit Bhargava

Why Start a Blog and 25 Tips to Make it Work — Valeria Maltoni

What about you? Do you think your blog has increased your ability to get hired? Has blogging enabled you to have additional professional opportunities? If you haven’t started a blog, but have thought about it, what is holding you back? Please share in the comments, and I would be most interested in stories about how your blog has helped you professionally.

Previous installments of this series are included here for your convenience:
Get a Personal Branding Toolkit
Watch Gary V’s NYC Keynote
Read Never Eat Alone

If you find this series to be helpful in your job search, please consider subscribing to ensure that you get all 25 actionable posts.

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Sports companies and brands have traditionally been slow at adopting web 2.0 and social media strategies. This is unfortunate because fans are all over the web having conversations about your brands without you. Joining this space, and potentially becoming a prevalent figure in this space will give your sports company the added advantage of gaining valuable insight into your fans’ culture and conversations. It is not crazy to think that you could leverage the knowledge you gain in this space to increase revenue for your company or your team. People like Lewis are helping lead this movement.

Today, I want to discuss various ways you can use Twitter, an extremely hot social networking and micro-blogging service that lets you broadcast a 140 character message to your followers, to start embracing this movement and promoting your sports company.

I would not encourage diving into uncharted Twitter territory headfirst. People that use the platform to only promote their own work will quickly lose respect of others that are contributing to relevant communities, be it sports, social media or both. First, I would suggest reading up on some of Twitter’s best practices. Then, once you have a general feel for how to add value, consider following prevalent sports figures currently on Twitter.

Here’s a couple to get you started:

@LewisHowes
@KathleenHessert
@JasonPeck

Following and learning from other sports marketers, networkers, and social media enthusiasts enables you to see how they are using Twitter and gives you some indication as to how you should approach your own Twitter strategy. Reach out, add value to their networks, and connect so that you can learn new things from each of them. In addition, if all of us that are passionate about helping lead sports into web 2.0 start collaborating chances are we can all benefit one another and the sports industry.

Once you have got the basics down and started connecting with other prevalent sports figures, you can promote your sports company (or brand, etc.) by pointing consumers, fans and advocates to your content. When I write a blog post that I am proud of and I think it will genuinely add value to the lives of my followers I send out a tweet with the link. It’s no coincidence that on these days, my blog receives the most amount of traffic.

Let me reiterate that you should refrain from tweeting everything you produce. Here are a couple of tips for promoting your content via Twitter:

a.) Make sure that it is some of your best work or something that you are pretty certain is unique, helpful, and/or will benefit your followers.
b.) Promote your work about a 1/5th of the time you promote the work of others. I would even say for every 1 item of your own, you should share 10-12 links to others’ work. (More on this later.)

If you follow these two rules you are ensuring that people realize that you are there to help them (and that is what they care about) and that you produce great work (because they are essentially getting a sample of what should be your best stuff).

If you have an upcoming event you can promote it on Twitter. You can do this by posting updates as the event grows near, announcing speakers of the event, and engaging others in content relevant to your event.

Let’s say I was one of the people in charge of the Princeton Sports Symposium. Here are some things I would definitely consider tweeting about:

a.) Announce the date, time and location of the event
b.) The keynote speaker and a link to a bio
c.) Announce a different topic to be discussed at the conference each day leading up to the conference with a link to a relevant discussion or blog post.
d.) Have a poll over twitter and give away a free ticket to one of the people that participates in the poll.
e.) Ask who is going to be in attendance and make plans to attend an after party, lunch the next day, meet up in the airport, etc.

These are just a couple of examples; be rest assured that I did not even scratch the surface as there are probably hundreds of other things you could do to promote an event using Twitter.

One of the most compelling things about people, companies and brands is the stories that we identify with, the stories that define a company and what it means to us as consumers. Twitter is a very humanizing tool in that it allows you to participate in the stories being told about your company. It makes your company more approachable and connected, and if you are using it correctly it can give you an authentic and transparent voice.

I could care less (and so will everyone else) if your PR team has a twitter account under your company’s name is shilling everything you do and produce. But if you are a real person and let us see into your company it becomes easier to identify with you and your company. By now, most of you know that Shaq is on Twitter. It is easy, if you are at all familiar with Shaq, to realize that it is really him. He’s incredibly authentic and funny; Twitter is providing a new way to connect with a mega superstar. Be unique and transparent and your story, your company immediately becomes more interesting.

I saved this one for last because it is the one that is most important to me, and the one that most people and companies mess up. In fact, I would not promote any of my own stuff until I had promoted the work of others, especially in the sports community. Why is this?

First and foremost you need to show your followers that you value what they want to read, and certainly sometimes this is your content, but it is ridiculous to think your content is always more valuable than the thousands and thousands of other blogs out there. Most of the time someone has already said it better than you ever could, in which case you should link to them.

Also, if our goal as sports marketers and networkers is to increase adoption of social media and web 2.0 in the sports industry we should be advocating this change and shift collectively as a whole. It means more business, more connections, more shared knowledge, more innovation, and so forth and so on for all of us within the sports world.

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1.) If you are a blogger you have to have a unique niche, perspective, etc. in the same way that a muscian needs a unique sound.
There’s thousands of blogs out there about social media marketing. There’s thousands of blogs about sports. There’s thousands about losing weight, training your pet, making money, talking about celebrities, etc. But there’s only one Chris Brogan, Deadspin and Perez Hilton.

When you start a blog you need a unique niche, perspective, approach, etc. Either that or do something better than anyone else can (and sometimes the best aren’t the most popular). Lil Wayne’s sound is very unique. Colbie Caillat blew up MySpace because she had a different sound. Brian Clark writes about how Kurt Cobain was entrepreneurial in creating his own sound.

I don’t know what there is more of, blogs or muscians, but what I do know is that to become successful is starts by being different (and maybe that means better), in which case you still have to be found.

2.) It’s very tough at first, unless you’ve already established yourself.
Just like muscians, there are very few brand new blogs that just come out of nowhere. You might think that new band you just heard on 94.5 is brand new, but chances are they have been playing dive bars, frat parties, and other gigs for a few years hustling their asses off to get on the radio.

The same goes for new blogs. If a brand new blog rises quickly to stardom chances are it is an established blogger’s newest project. If you are just starting a blog you cannot anticipate having 100 subscribers within a couple of weeks any more than a band could anticipate selling out shows days after starting the band. The point is be patient and be persistent. Keep grinding, and take marketing into your own hands.

Some bands might go around their local community putting up flyers and doing small gigs for free hoping to get the word out. As a new blogger do the same. Reach out to other bloggers, and offer to do a guest post or something that adds value to their tribe. In return you might get a couple of new readers. Often times if you stick around long enough to get the ball rolling, it will gather steam, especially if you are doing the next item on the list.

3.) You have to provide great content in order to get evangelists, and you need evangelists.
You need people that are passionate about what your write, the same way a band needs people to be passionate about their music. These people, the ones that really embrace what you’re doing, the people that you are providing immense value to their lives, chances are they will become your advocates and endorse you, helping your blog to spread.

Look at what advocates have done for Apple. How do you get these evangelists? You write great content, you play great music, you put on a kick ass show. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of not writing their best stuff at the beginning of their blog because they know they do not have an audience yet. They want to save their best stuff for when they attain more readers. That’s a mistake.

Do you think bands play medicore music hoping they get some fans so they can play the really awesome stuff ? Start writing your best content from day one, you can always re-visit it. It is important because those first posts show someone casually stumbling by that you have a lot of potential. Maybe they do not remember you until they stumble by again and say, “Oh yeah, he wrote that cool post about how starting a blog is like starting a band.” Now you’re two for two in their book and you might have a loyal reader.

4.) The more relevant places you are the better.
If a band never goes on tour, their fans have trouble relating to them. If you are a blogger and you never leave your blog, people will think the sole reason you are blogging is for yourself, and while you should be passionate about what you blog about, your content needs to impact other people, and you have to care about the people your content impacts. Go to where they are, whether that’s Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, etc.

Most great bloggers attend conferences, they connect with other great bloggers, and they connect with their fans. When people meet you in person, or you take the time to answer and e-mail or chat with subscribers on Skype, they start to see the real person behind the blog, and chances are you will resonate with them a lot more.

Here’s a secret too. If everywhere I go online I see you, whether or not you’re creating great content or contributing to the conversation, I still think to myself that you must be working hard. Dan Schawbel and Ricardo Bueno are two people that seem to be in every mybloglog widget of every page I visit during the day. It’s absurd, and I know for a fact both of those guys are always hustling. I can relate a lot more to a band that tours all over, gives frequent interviews, shows up in publications, etc.

When you are a big shot you can do your own thing, until then, be where your fans are. Make an effort to connect and let them see the real you.

5.) You have to care about your fans.
One of my favorite musicians, is Randy Rogers. To this day my favorite concert ever, if you want to call it that, featured Randy sitting on a stool, his fiddler on a stool next to him playing songs for a crowd of about 150 people. They were taking song requests, drinking a few beers and having the time of their lives. In the crowd that night, Cody Canada (lead singer of Cross Canadian Ragweed) and Wade Bowen. They both went up and played a song each as well.

All three of these musicians have come a long way since then. They make a lot more money now and all get solid airplay, at least in Texas. (Both Randy and Cross Canadian Ragweed get plenty of national airplay as well). I bet if you asked them, they might say there most fun times were those first concerts as well. The point is, they were having a great time, but they were there for us, playing songs we were requesting. They cared about their fans, and you have to as well if you want your new blog to succeed. You have to listen to your tribe and provide the content THEY WANT to read. You have to add value to THEIR lives.

My goals with this blog are to provide a unique voice to social media marketing, relationship marketing, and how these two impact generation Y, and the sports industry (sometimes). I don’t have a ton of subscribers, and I’m not on any big important lists, but I’m going to remain patient and persistent, keep writing the best content I can, go where all of you are in an effort to connect, and most importantly give a shit about you.

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In the meantime, here’s some great work from some people that I highly respect:

[Just a reminder: These are blogs that I enjoyed reading, for whatever reason. Perhaps they were valuable for me, merely entertaining, thought provoking, were about something I’m interested in (i.e. social media) or potentially something I thought my tribe would enjoy. As always, I would love feedback. Did you catch these posts during October? Did any of these resonate with you? What are some of your most recent favorite reads? Even better, what’s your favorite thing YOU wrote during October? Share it with me in the comments section.]

10 Prolific Bloggers Share Tips on Generating Conversation Blogs - Darren Rowse (ProBlogger)
The title is pretty self-explanatory, but if you’re like me and you’re looking for ways to have a more active comments section then why not get tips from guys like Leo Babauta, Liz Strauss, Jason Falls and other great conversational bloggers.

13 Tips on How to Have Great Conversations on Your Blog - Darren Rowse (Problogger)
Great conversation adds depth to your posts and builds community and reader loyalty. Chances are if you’re blogging you want both of these things, and Darren provides 13 tips that take you deeper into growing conversations (not just getting comments).

Social Media for Business – Who’s Doing it Well and How - Lidija Davis (ReadWriteWeb)
Even if you don’t read this post, click on the link and watch the great video showing disconnect between advertisers and customers. This post covers a lot of bases including how marketing is changing, discussions on companies that use the social web well, and then how you can get started.

Never Lose Alone, Never Win Alone - Dwayne Melancon (Joyful Jubliant Learning)
This is my first time featuring Dwayne on my “best of” lists, but I like finding great new content, I really appreciated both his story, complete with vivid explanations, and his takeways of what he has learned from his blunders. Great advice for those that work in/with teams!

Social Media is Difficult Like Intimacy - Rebecca Thorman (Modite)
If only Rebecca blogged more often (I know the feeling) because I usually love what she writes, and this post is spot on per usual. She discusses the notion that social media is intimate, but that you have to be in the space and it’s because companies are made up of people, not a blacktop of products. The discussion following the post is also great.

Tyler Durden’s 8 Rules of Innovation - Brian Clark (Lateral Action)
You don’t have to have seen Fight Club for this to be a valuable post, but if you have you’ll realize that this is brilliant stuff from Brian Clark. Apparently, Tyler Durden says a lot of things that apply directly to innovative action.

Pixelated – Your New Business Conference Starts Online Now - Mitch Joel (Twist Image)
Pixelated is a an online video mash-up inspired by Brian Eisenberg that is a full-day online conference all from the comfort of your own computer. This is Mitch Joel’s conference that will educate you and motivate you to think differently about your business. Featuring remarkable videos from people like Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, J.J. Abrams (creater of Lost), and one of my favorite speakers Benjamin Zander. Do any of these videos inspire you?

Is Effort a Myth - Seth Godin
Despite what popular media might lead you to believe effort isn’t a myth. Seth explains that effort is directly related to success, and the paradox of effort. At the end of the post, which will most certainly make you think, he provides a few keys to succeeding via effort.

People in the Real World - Chris Brogan
This is a friendly reminder that those of us in the social media space are way ahead of the game, and that the average person has no idea what we are talking about. Chris articulates why we should be the bridge that helps other communities ‘get’ social media. I agree, and as I’m currently experiencing, it’s a lot tougher than you would think.

25 Ways to Build Your Community - Chris Brogan
As your probably realize by now, Chris is phenomenal at providing tangible tips that we as bloggers can go out and put into practice. Many of these are pretty basic and great for a newbie, but there are a couple of hidden gems that even a grizzled blogging veteran might not have thought about.

Twitter is the Ultimate Tease… Does Your Content Tease? - Mitch Joel
One of the things I struggle with is creating good headlines. It’s why I read copywriter’s blogs. In this post, Mitch explains how to create good titles that are bold, provocative, relevant and tease. We’re all busy and looking for quick fixes, that’s why Chris’ post above is so valuable, and with that title you know exactly what you’re getting.

Nine Little Known Traits of Successful Bloggers - Sonia Simone (Copyblogger)
This is a very interesting post that looks into some of traits of successful bloggers that might surprise you. What follows is how being angry, negative or stupid (in the right ways of course) can create breakthrough success on your blog.

Adapting to Change on the Reef - Jeremiah Owyang (Web-Strategist)
Jeremiah provides some valuable advice to companies and people being adversely affected by the current economic conditions. Do companies need to cut off part of their body to stay afloat in the years to come. In addition to a great and relevant quote from Darwin, Jeremiah also offers up some valuable reads with respect to the economy and it’s impact on social media.

The Rapid Growth (And Destruction) and Growth of the Marketing - Seth Godin
On the surface this post was promoting Seth’s new book Tribes, but take a closer look and he’s explaining why mass marketing and yelling at your audience doesn’t work, and how social media reveals a basic human need that we want to be connected, to make a difference and to matter.

Do You Have 16 Boxes? - Seth Godin
This is a must-read if you’re concerned about the health of your personal brand, job, or company during the current economic recession. If one thing is out of sync, don’t let it cause panic, build up the other aspects of your business so that when we come out of this thing, you’re suddenly ahead of the game (and your competitors).

Recommended Web Strategy Reading - Jermiah Owyang (Web Strategist)
Jeremiah graciously assembled some of his best, most visisted, and most commented posts and linked to them all in one blog post. There are some really great and applicable (especially for business) reads about social media in this list. Take the time to read a couple, or bookmark them for future reference.

Would You Like a Job as an Online Community Manager? - Marshal Kirkpatrick
This post covers everything from how to know if your company needs a community manager, what a community managers is, how to prove dissenters wrong, what a community managers does, whether or not it’s worthwhile for a founder/CEO to assume the community manger position, is worth paying for and more.

In Defense of Raising Money: A Manifesto for Non-Profit CEOs - Sasha Dichter
Sasha is sick and tired of apologizing for being in charge of raising money. This is his manifesto. This is a must-read if you work in a non-profit industry. It really is brilliant.

We’re All in Customer Service - Valeria Maltoni (Conversation Agent)
This is something I’ve learned within the last year or so as I’ve developed my online business, but there are countless others that don’t realize yet. Valeria explores how technology and the social web allows us to communicate and collaborate more effectively and across a wide variety of mediums. As communicators, marketers, and leaders we’re all in customer service.

How to Use Social Media to Improve Organizational Performance - Chris Ferdinandi (Manager’s Sandbox)
Chris provides a very thorough look into ways in which we can use various types of social media tools to benefit us in the workplace. He discusses how to use social media effectively and mentions some free (and reasonably priced) social media tools worth checking out.

Job Search is to _____ as Career Management is to ____ : Follow Up - Jason Alba (JibberJabber)
A very short, very fun post from Jason on some great analogies for job search and career management. He also provides some of the funniest responses he got from his readers doing the same exercise. Keep in mind that both the job search and career management are important, just that they are different.

No, but seriously, don’t leave this blog post without doing one of the following:
a.) Telling me which of these posts you found most valuable and/or your favorite read.
b.) Telling me what you wrote that you were most proud of in October.
c.) Connecting with me on Twitter or LinkedIn
d.) Finally, if you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to receive future updates.

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL MY READERS FOR THEIR KINDNESS AND SUPPORT!

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The third post in our series of 25 Way to Get a New, Better or Different Job involves developing your own personal branding toolkit. This idea comes from Dan Schawbel, who is not only a trusted career advisor, but also one of the premiere go-to people with respect to personal branding.

Dan is the leading personal branding expert for generation Y, and the author of a brand new book, “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, April 2009). But this post isn’t about Dan; it’s about you, so make sure you read each of his posts about the tools you need in your personal branding toolkit.

Your personal branding toolkit should include:
1.)Business Cards
2.)Portfolios
3.)Resumes
4.)Cover Letters

Are you equipped with these personal branding tools? Do you have any additional tools that you have found to be extremely helpful in your job search? Please share in the comments section.

Previous installments of this series are included here for your convenience:
Watch Gary V’s NYC Keynote
Read Never Eat Alone

If you find this series to be helpful in your job search, please consider subscribing to ensure that you get all 25 actionable posts.

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Just because an article is long doesn’t mean there’s more value. Just because an article is short doesn’t mean that it’s shallow. Sometimes long articles are long merely for the sake of it. Sometimes short articles are jam packed with great information and resources. Seth Godin writes short riffs, yet his content makes me think more than any other marketer. Perhaps it is a gift for some, but for the rest of us here are three ways to spice up your shallow content.

1.) Take a similar approach to Valeria Maltoni of Conversation Agent and start your conversation on Sunday/Monday and let it progress throughout the week, adding something different each time. You may have some shorter posts, but they build off each other, explain one big idea, and culminate at the end of the week.

Along these same lines, break large posts into a couple of segments just because sometimes long posts, even those with phenomenal content, can be a bit daunting.

2.) Mix in feature length posts. If the majority of your posts are short (and perhaps a
bit shallow), but then periodically when you have a really long feature-length post your readers will probably realize that it is longer for a reason, and that is has additional depth.

3.) Add valuable linkbait and resources to your post. Some bloggers are scared that if they send their readers elsewhere, that they won’t come back. In my experience I’ve found that they realize you valued their time to send them to somewhere that could further enhance their experience. This helps gain their trust (which is invaluable) and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Bonus: One thing I’m trying to teach myself is that you don’t have to cram everything you’ve researched and brainstormed into the post. Sometimes being a bit vague enables your readers to draw their own conclusions or extend the conversation in the comments section.

For example, I have a few more additions I could add to this post, but then you wouldn’t have to think for yourselves. You would not have to really engage the content. (Not that you have to anyway.) Humor me though, and leave your comments.

What are other ways you can spice up shallow content on your blog? What about you, do you think most blog content is too shallow? Do you even read long posts? What kind of posts do you typically do on your own blog?

If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing via RSS feed. Also, if you’re reading I would love to get to know you. Feel free to connect with me via Twitter (@ryanstephens) or LinkedIn.

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The only thing I might be more passionate about other than my family and friends is sports. I also have a niche group of people who follow this blog that consistently ask me about my experience working with sports brands so I have been wanting to put together a list of ways to use social media in sports. Periodically I would like to update this list with new ideas so that it can become a great resource for those thinking of using social media for their sports’ brands. Please help me in the comments section by adding additional ideas, and I’ll be sure and add them to the list. Now, without further ado:

25 Ways to Use Social Media in Sports

1.) Utilize Ballhype to keep an eye on the top stories in sports.
2.) Interact and debate with other passionate sports fans on fannation
3.) Read professional athlete’s blogs on Yardbarker
4.) Tweet live updates during events/games
5.) Promote your upcoming event using Twitter
6.) Interview athletes and post the videos on your blog or Youtube
7.) Subscribe to great sports blogs (i.e. Deadspin, The Big Lead
8.) Compile some of the ‘top,’ ‘best,’ etc. sports videos somewhere
9.) Create a squidoo page highlighting your sports organization
10.) Create a forum for your specific sports niche
11.) Start a podcast or vlog about the hottest issues in sports
12.) Use Flickr to raise awareness for your sporting event
13.) Start a community group on facebook or Ning for your favorite team, player, league, etc.
14.) Start a community group for alums of your university sports team
15.) Organize an online newsletter, blog about current news for your university sports team.
16.) Highlight things about an athlete people that don’t know them personally might not know. Share this information on a Squidoo page or blog.
17.) Ask for reactions to a game on Twitter. Post these reactions somewhere. Continue the conversation.
18.) Have a contest for your fans. Who can create the coolest fan art? Who can make the best highlight video for the current season?
19.) Create a blog network compiling all the significant blogs about your team into one place.
20.) Create an athlete bio for yourself to help you get recruited
21.) Build an interactive calendar around your teams’ events, both on the court and off.
22.) Are you an athlete? Build your brand by actively communicating with your fans where they’re at: twitter, blogs, forums, etc.
23.) Start blog dedicated to the parents of athletes? What stories can they share? What sacrifices did they make? What’s it like being a hockey mom?
24.) Turn complaints into marketing opportunities, like EASports did here.
25.) Start your own baseball card show. Gary V says it will work!

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[Just a reminder: These are blogs that I enjoyed reading, for whatever reason. Perhaps they were valuable for me, merely entertaining, thought provoking, were about something I’m interested in (i.e. social media) or potentially something I thought my tribe would enjoy. As always, I would love feedback. Did you catch these posts during September? Did any of these resonate with you? What are some of your most recent favorite reads? Even better, what’s your favorite thing you wrote during August? Share it with me in the comments section.]

The Rules of Money for Gen Y - Andrew Dumais (Your Money Mogul)
With the current state of the economy, money is on everyone’s mind. The Money Mogul explains why there are new money rules for Generation Y. We need to learn to turn earned income into portfolio and passive income.

Free Ebook on Personal Branding - Chris Brogan
I think it is safe to say that Chris’ posts have been featured on my favorite lists more than any other blogger. It is probably because he keeps providing great (and actionable) advice that really adds value to people’s lives. His free ebook, “Personal Branding for the Business Professional,” is certainly proof of that.

Real Life 101: Ten Things You Must do After College - Dan (Newly Corporate)
Here’s a great post that should resonate with many of my Gen Y readers from Dan at Newly Corporate. The list offers some great tips including starting a Roth IRA, keep renting, and building your network.

50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level - Chris Brogan
With all the blogs out there, it’s often very tough to stand out. The fact that this post has over 160+ comments speaks volumes about the value provided. If you’re trying to get over the hump with your blog (most of us are right?) then these 50 ways, sorted by goals, design, content, promotion and business is a great place to start.

List of Social Media Marketing Awards - Jeremiah Owyang (Web Strategist)
These lists of social media marketing awards are a great resource to learn from the successes of companies doing social media the right way. Some of the past winners include Schwab, Chevy, Nike, Avenue A Razorfish, and Dell.

The Basics - Chris Brogan
This post showcases eight basics that you (your business) must be capable of, because this is what people are expecting, when you’re working in/with social media.

Set Your Blog on Fire - Chris Brogan
Read Chris’ ‘50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level’ post and still looking to get over the hump? Trying to turn readers into participants? This post provides great tips on how to both enhance and promote your content.

How to Grow Your Personal Brand - Jason Falls (Social Media Explorer)
A great one-year anniversary post in which Jason adds value for his readers instead of tooting his blog’s horn. Jason’s post features 5-6 actionable tips to help build your personal brand in any industry (not just blogging). But the bottom line, as Jason points out, is to focus on good content and networking.

10 Timeless Business Tips from 10 Millionaires - Neil Patel (Quicksprout)
I haven’t featured Neil before, but this rather self-explanatory post features some great advice from some very respected entrepreneurs such as Guy Kawasaki, John Reese, Jeremy Shoemaker and others.

Success as an Entrepreneur: Why it’s Not About You - Guest Post by Tim Clark (Get Rich Slowly)
This blog post is one that really resonated with me (and I hope will provide you with a similar ‘a-ha’ moment) because it is genuinely what I believe. Tim Clark delivers a real gem here. My favorite line is: “In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you have to help other people.”

The Fall of 9-5 Work Days and the Rise of ROWE - Dan Schawbel (Personal Branding Blog)
So, I think I’ve done a better job finding content that caters more towards my Gen Y audience this time? What do you think? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking from me (as a member of Gen Y), but there are few jobs (especially in this medium) where I believe a 40 hour work week is more productive than a results only work environment. To the naysayers, I do think this is privilege your earn, not a right by any means.

Social Networks from Traditional Media Titans and Your Personal Brand - Dan Schawbel (Personal Branding Blog)
Business Week, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal and the NY Times have all embraced social networking in the form of their own social networks. All are great places to go to grow your network and extend your personal brand.

13 Gary Vaynerchuk Tips on Building a Profitable Blog - Darren Rowse (Problogger)
This post features 13 snippets and/or quotes from Gary V’s BlogExpo keynote that Darren Rowse thought were worthy of sharing. Considering what Gary’s done of late, and considering Darren thinks his content is worthwhile, you have no reason not to read it.

Top 5 Corporate Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them David Meerman Scott (Web in Know)
This post from David Meerman Scott is one that was particularly interesting to me because I suspect that one day I might be either doing corporate blogging or consulting corporate bloggers. Additionally, most corporate blogs I check out are crap, and somebody’s wasting their time; this post gets at why this happens.

10 Reasons Lenovo’s Olympic Marketing Program Won Gold - Rohit Bhargava (Influential Marketing Blog)
This is a relatively long blog post, but it highlights one of the best social media marketing campaigns to date. What follows are 10 ingredients for anybody trying to come up with a successful marketing campaign. Definitely a must-read for social media marketing types.

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My answer was essentially that with something I do not know very much about someone that filters and shares great content is just as valuable as someone creating something new. Though, if I know a lot about it, certainly I want something new, innovative, useful and actionable.

Anyway, the moral of the story is there are some great lists, compilations, etc. out there that filters and shares great content. It’s essentially what I’m trying to do with my Top Posts of… blogs, it’s what Jeremiah Owyang does with his Weekly Digest of the Social Networking space, and it’s what Mack Collier (Top 25 Mktg & Social Media Blogs) and Todd and Charlie (AdAge’s Power 150) do with with their respective lists.

When I interned with Seth this summer and joined the Brazen Careerist network, I wanted to learn more about Gen Y Bloggers and Gen Y targeted blogs. As a result, Jess Neil and I created our own little list. You can find the entire list, the opportunity to vote for your favorite Gen Y blog, blog ranking criteria, other influential Gen Y blogs, and much more on our official squidoo page, but in the meantime I also want to showcase all of our hardwork in this space. I hope you find it valuable.

If you’re a member of generation Y and looking for career development via personal branding, look no further.

2. Hard Knox Life (NR)
It gets tougher each update to stay on this list, especially with phenomenal blogs like this one making such a high debut. We’re big on earning your stripes, but if you deserve it, you deserve it, and Dave’s blog has earned this spot. [Or maybe we’re just attracted to shiny new blogs we were previously unfamiliar with.]

The blog is a brand manager’s view at the crossroads of marketing, media and technology. A good chunk of what he writes about pertains directly to things that influence Gen Y, will influence Gen Y, etc. With lots of real life experience in marketing to Gen Y and digital marketing, I suspect Dave’s blog will continue to be very relevant.

3. Employee Evolution (6)
The knock on these guys is that with both Ryan’s focusing much of their attention on Brazeen Careerist the updates haven’t been as frequent. This is potentially what keeps them from challenging Dan for the top spot. The blog is a hot bed of great information for Millennials making the transition from school to the workplace.

It’s also probably targets Generation Y better than any other blog on this list. Don’t miss some of the real gems in the “Top Articles” section of their side bar.

4. Driven Leaders (NR)
And here’s another blog with a ridiculously high debut. [Is it sustainable guys?]

Anthony’s about says it better than I could so here you go:
“Driven leaders is a blog devoted to personal and professional development for the emerging leaders of tomorrow. The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. As Gen-Y continues to become an increasing force in the workplace, the need to develop the necessary skills to be a successful leader grows ever more important.”

5. Newly Corporate (4)
Newly Corporate is a blog for young professionals by young professionals. Its six contributors each bring a distinct style and background to the blog, which enables it to have various dimensions of personality.

One of the best things about the blog is the fact that it does not take itself too seriously, and that lends itself well to its Millennial audience. With an efficient design that is conducive to the sharing of some great information, NC remains in the top 5 this month in spite of a drop in post frequency. Like, Employee Evolution, it benefits from having content that is very Gen Y oriented.

6. Ben Casnocha (3)
Considering Ben established his own software company at age 14, it is safe to say that he understands the nuances of being an entrepreneur. One look at the “Best of Ben” posts and you will understand why he was #1 on our first two versions of this list.

Ben’s blog covers a wide variety of topics, and his deep-thinking approach makes it a stimulating read whether the commentary involves business or ping-pong.

Ben’s blog has been falling a few spots the last couple of updates after debuting on the inagural list as the #1 blog. There’s no question that Ben’s blog is one of the best on this list, and while it’s certainly a valuable read for Gen Y, it’s not necessarily targeted that way.

The next two blogs on this list are similar in that fashion.

7. Brazen Careerist: Penelope Trunk (5)
Penelope’s blog is in your face authentic with posts such as “Plastic Surgery is the Next Must Have Career Tool. Maybe,” and check out the end of “Start Up Skill,” where she’s discussing an interaction between her and new partner Ryan Healy. Nothing is off limits, and her perfect meshing of work and life makes for an intriguing and beneficial read to the Gen Y demographic.

8. I Will Teach You To Be Rich (NR)
Ramit knows his finance. Like both Ben’s and Penelope’s blog his aim isn’t directly at Gen Y, but they could certainly benefit from his blog on personal finance (banking, saving, budgeting and investing) and personal entrepreneurship.

9. PR Interactive (8)
Meg Roberts does a great job interjecting her own personality with some very valuable insight into PR industry. As a current Millennial just starting her ‘official’ career, we are confident that her most interesting posts are in front of her as she negotiates one of life’s big transitions.

Fortunately for Meg, much of her hiatus during her internship, move, etc. was also during our inability to find time to update this list. That’s fine with us, because we feel she deserves to be here!

10. Guru Gilbert (10)
Adam’s blog is another blog that might not be as targeted to Gen Y as some of the others, but his passion for entrepreneurship and helping people shines through and makes his blog well worth the read, particularly for Millennials. And keeping things well rounded, he also posts about questioning the status quo, happiness, and the meaning of life, which always keeps us on our toes!

Adam is featured in the book Millennial leaders, which is actually in our Amazon queue below.

His continuing ability to obtain votes from readers (whether his or ours) enables him to hang onto the 10th spot, instead of relenquishing to one of the other great blogs that just missed this weeks list.

*NOTE - If you are the author of one of these blogs and want something re-worded, added, etc. let us know and we would be happy to accomodate your request provided that it is synonymous with our own goals and objectives. — Ryan

Blogs that Just Missed The List

Young and Frugal
Perhaps the only thing keeping Daniel off the list this week was the fact that he hasn’t had a chance to update in some time. He’s got some great content targeted directly to Gen Y. He’s REALLY improved the aesthetic of his blog, and provided he can find the time to make more frequent updates I envision him back on the top 10 in no time.

Work.Love.Life.
The best way to describe Holly’s blog is honest(possibly to a fault) and authentic. The blog covers any number of issues that bombard Millennials including commentary on corporate and start up life with her own infusion of life and love.

Y Pulse
A great site that is very informative, and a great resource for marketers trying to reach this demographic. Though the focus is on Gen Y, it is more on teens and tweens than the young professionals that this site considers its target demographic.

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