Create Business Growth hasn’t done it in a while, but Who Said That? is back. Every Friday, I will feature five new blogs or sites that readers should feel free to check out. If you’re interested in having your site featured to our readers, let us know by sending an email to javfire [at] yahoo [dot] com. That being said, here are some awesome sites that are definitely worth checking out:

1. Life Optimizer- Written by Donald Latumahina, this blog deals with all sorts of self-improvement issues and focuses on “living your life to the fullest”. In the business world, maximizing your potential is key. Through his blog posts, Latumahina discusses various ways of improving yourself as well as the relationships you keep with others around you. You can grab his RSS feed here.
2. Zen Habits- Founded by Leo Babauta, Zen Habits currently has over 69,000 subscribed readers and covers such topics as: achieving goals, productivity, staying organized, eating healthy, financial advice and self motivation. You can grab his RSS feed here.
3. Dosh Dosh- Founded back in 2001, Dosh Dosh is fantastic for providing Internet marketing, blogging advice and social media strategies/information. You can grab the RSS feed here.
4. Techipedia- written by Tamar Weinberg, Techipedia deals all things SEO- from social media to Internet marketing. Weinberg is an avid social media enthusiast and posts well-written blogs. Check her out sometime by grabbing her RSS feed here.
5. Online Marketing Banter-written by James Duthi, Online Marketing Banter deals with such subjects as web analytics, social networking and generating traffic as well as communications strategies. It has an enjoyable design and is well-written..definitely worth checking out. Feel free to grab the RSS feed here.

For more information about organic Internet marketing or to write a guest post, visit Create Business Growth today!

According to Wikipedia, social media

…is the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings.

But what this really means in layman’s terms: Social media is about socializing; it’s about finding various ways to connect with other people for the sole purpose of sharing information and building lasting relationships.

You’re Probably Using it Without Even Knowing it…

If you’re a subscribed reader to Create Business Growth, you may already know what social media entails and are perhaps an avid participant. However, for those of you who are just getting started and may not know or are a little unsure about what social media looks like, chances are that you have seen it and are probably using it without even knowing it! When it comes to social media, there is a plethora of information, programs and sites that are available at no more than just the click of a button.

Some of the more popular social media networking sites include:

• Facebook | social networking site where friends can connect & reunite; also used for sharing photos and videos
• Myspace | originally started as a way to discover new music; now a place where you can reunite with old friends as well as make new ones
• Digg | social bookmarking site where users can submit their favorite web sites and rate it by giving it “diggs”; The more diggs a site has, the better ranked it is
• StumbleUpon | popular social bookmarking site similar to Digg where users can “thumb up” or “thumb down” sites that other users submit or sites that are discovered.
• Flickr | photo sharing site where users submit original photography for others users to view and comment on

The Changing Face of Social Media

If you’re just beginning to get your feet wet with social media, all of the information out there can seem overwhelming. Just take a deep breath and take things one step at a time. For starters, it helps to remember what the three W’s of the World Wide Web are:

1. Who is your target audience? What is your niche?
   
2. What is it you are trying to draw readers’ attention to? Are you selling a product or service? Are you just looking for feedback?
3. Where are the best places or social media areas to focus on building relationships?

Social media is constantly changing and evolving. And while the primary goal of social media still focuses on connecting and building lasting relationships with other people, it seems to have shifted slightly. Social media is no longer just about talking to your best friends on Myspace and Facebook. It goes far beyond that. Today, social media is more centered around making connections with others in order to promote your own ideas (or services) with the hopes that someone else will find it useful. As you may have already seen, social media can and will continue to be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, tools for driving traffic to websites and blogs.

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When thinking about business, careers, self-improvement and the Internet, there are several sites that I personally enjoy perusing through on a daily basis which I thought I might share with you:

9 Blog Sites We Like:

1. TechCrunch: written by Michael Arrington, Techcrunch provides the latest news as well as profiles of companies, products and events as they relate to the Internet world. Today, there are over 20k subscribers!
2. Copyblogger: founded by Brian Clark in 2006, Copyblogger currently has over 40,000 subscribers and over 100,000 visitors to its site monthly. The site deals with issues related to online marketing strategies and techniques for businesses.
3. SEOmoz: founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig, SEOmoz provides tools and educational resources for people and companies involved in Internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
4. Work Happy Now: written by Karl Staib, this site provides great information, advice and posts dealing with happiness and the workplace. We all strive for careers where we can be happy doing whatever it is we do for a living. Karl’s site is a great resource and definitely bookmark-worthy.
5. ProBlogger: written by Darren Rowse, ProBlogger is a site dedicated to helping other bloggers acquire the skills necessary for successful blogging. The site currently has over 47k readers and is definitely worth checking out.
6. PickTheBrain: founded by John Wesley in 2006, PickTheBrain talks about issues pertaining to self improvement such as: personal productivity, motivation, self education, psychology and philosophy. Self-improvement is always tied into the workplace, and this is a site definitely worth reading through.
7. Marc and Angel Hack Life: Great site that shares practical advice and ideas on life, careers, productivity, health and self improvement.
8. The Positivity Blog: founded by Henrik Edberg in 2006, The Positivity Blog is focused on exploring new ways and possibilities of improving your life. The site averages over 10k subscribed readers and over 100k unique monthly visitors.
9. The Illuminated Mind: written by Jonathan Mead, this is a great site that deals with personal development and self improvement.

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