Some new features to my blog for 2009

This blog focuses on b2b marketing (my formal definition of what b2b marketing is or should be is coming shortly) and where social media fits into the scheme of things. The primary purpose of this blog is to share, learn and collaborate on this often misunderstood and evolving discipline.

The secondary purpose is for me to experiment with this collaboration tool and push it to the limit!

With that in mind I'm adding a few new "features" to my blog:

1) Fun and Funny Posts - I'll share things that are funny, nostalgic but still up to my blog tagline: "A blog about marketing and social media that matters from a b2b perspective". An example is a retro ad from Intel featuring our friend Homer Simpson. I hope you enjoy these posts and they make you smile and think. If you have any funny b2b oriented ads let me know and I may post them.

2) Group Tweet Feeds or Listening Posts - Twitter is great but as you follow more people you'll lose track of who they are, what they do and where they work. You may want to group followers based on where they live/work, what they do..etc. I've done that for CxOs.

I've taken Paul Dunay's list of C Level Tweeters and grouped them using Friend Feed and Google Reader. The result is a consolidated feed from all CEOs, CMOs and CIOs/CTOs who are using Twitter. Sometimes you'll find out that they are stuck in traffic or going pheasant hunting (Chief Development Officer from Kodak by the way) but that's ok and kinda cool.

Please note that these are not prospecting lists. They are "listening lists". These folks, just like you and me, have little time and don't want to be sold. They are choosing to share their thoughts, ideas and what they are doing with their followers. Don't abuse this privilege by using it as a channel to blatently sell. UPDATE: Here's an example of what not to do.

3) Blook Reports - this stands for Blog Book Report (ya, a bit hokey but best I could come up with and I like sqwords). I'm going to bring a book to life using this blog. I'm a huge reader of business books and love to learn and share.

I've come up with the idea of doing a blook report that will provide you (and me, because it will become my reference guide) with an overview of a book I'm reading. I'm working out the details on how I'll do this; but it will include providing key findings/notes that I think are important, use videos, images and case studies that will give more meaning to the words in the book. It could be used as a study aid.

Blook reports are not meant to stop you from buying the book. It's meant to encourage you to buy the book and use the blook report to follow along with what you're reading. My first blook report will be on Groundswell. I recommend you buy this book. For those of you who have read it feel free to share your thoughts and contribute to the blook report once I start posting.

Update: Groundswell Blook Report now underway.

Stay tuned. Seasons Greetings to everyone.