Four Fellows I Follow

One of the best things I’ve done for myself since trying to become educated about Social Media Marketing is to follow the big names.  My attention has been drawn to many of the current gurus by browsing at the marketing section in Chapters and of course plain old web-browsing.  I’m highlighting four fellas in particular today because they have given me so much to think about while reading.  You may already know them but in case you don’t, here they are in no particular order:

1.  @chrisbrogan @broganmedia

   He’s probably the biggest Social Media Marketing rock star out there right now but I never heard of him six months ago so he’s a big deal to me.  He co-authored the book “Trust Agents” which is well worth the read.  I like Chris because he writes in a personal style and just seems like a super nice guy. That’s it!  Read his blog or pick up one of his books – you just can’t help but like this guy. He responds to tweets, returns comments and makes digital media marketing seem like a party that you just can’t wait to be invited to.  He hangs with Mitch Joel.  It looks like Chris’ blog post inspired Mitch’s post on how he blogs.    

2.  @Mitch Joel

  Mitch’s post Watching Me Blog is a current meme in which he invited other notable bloggers to describe how they do it including Jason Falls (my next main man listed below).  Mitch is a bit like Chris Brogan – very likeable.  His blog tends to have a lot of references so if you are doing research it can point you to many different places you may want to investigate.  So far I’ve read only select passages from his book “Six Pixels of Separation” but what I did read gave me great ideas and plans for future activity in the digital world.  I just started following him on Twitter.

3.  @Jason Falls

   Author of “No Shit Social Media“.  I really like Jason and follow him on Twitter too.  I liked him immediately while  watching a video posted in my Algonquin College Social Media course where he  interviewed Katie Paine and exposed the honest reality of Social Media’s ROI.  The conversation felt so authentic that it was like I was sitting right beside them and wished I could chime in and ask questions.  Now we can ask Jason questions:  recently I have found Jason’s online service Exploring Social Media created to answer your questions about the use of social media.  This is a paid service so I won’t be subscribing any time soon. I wish Jason would give us a trial period.  I imagine it to be a terrific service and would like to see it reviewed by my social media friends (yes that’s YOU – please  comment).  Jason was also infected with the Watching Me Blog Bug here  in his blog Social Media Explorer.  Oh yes, and I also like Jason’s cute accent!

4.  Pete Cashmore – @mashable

    Mashable is an absolute must read for anyone who wants to stay on top of current trends in social networks, digital media and technology.  I follow the founder of Mashable, Pete Cashmore, on Twitter but he doesn’t really tweet everything since there is a constant stream.  There is a staff at Mashable that does it for him, but the tweets consistently provide links to excellent content.  I have found so many popular sites and blogs this way that I am overwhelmed by the firehose nature of the feed.  I cannot take just a sip from this hose – it drowns me.  And I can’t turn the hose off because I don’t want to miss anything! Anyone know how to drownproof?

Does anyone else follow any of these four?  What do you like about them?  I have more digital media professionals I would like to highlight but please let me know if you want me to add someone to my list!