Happy Holidays to all

In our family we celebrate Christmas.   As a Canadian, one of our great opportunities is to share in many of the ethnic customs and traditions that are apart of this time of year.  The joys of learning about Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa and how Christians around the world celebrate Christmas has been eye opening, fun and joyful.  As our thoughts turn to our loved ones, the Christmas spirit only supports how much more similar we are than different, as peoples.  


One of our traditions is my favourite piece of Christmas music.  It dates back to 1977, David Bowie and Bing Crosby's "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth."  What is amazing for me is the blending of these wonderful voices and that the piece that David Bowie is singing was written on the spot - together it brings a powerful message and hope for the future for us all. 


From our family to yours, all the very best of the season, no matter how you celebrate. 


Enjoy!


Gordon, Joan, Spencer and our puppies; Buddy and Lucy too!

Geseende Kersfees; Milad Majid; Feliz Natal; Feliz Navidad; Glaedelig Jul; Zalig Kerstfeast; Mele Kalikimaka; Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay; Wesolych Swait, Bozego Narodzenia and Merry Christmas.  Greetings courtesy of:

http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas

10 Favourite Social Media Reads of 2011

Listed below are my favourite reads about Social Media from 2011 (The list is alphabetical by author) .  All of these authors have shaped the way I view and practice social media.  For the social media junkie on your Christmas list, any or all of these titles will be valuable additions to their collection.

Social media is evolving consistently; witness the new platforms for Twitter, Facebook, the launch of Google+, the evolution of Instagram and so much more and these titles will help you stay relatively up to date.  A couple of the titles  on this list focus not only on the mechanics of each of these tools, but how to select the best/right platform for your needs.  Whether you're a Fortune 500 company; a Mompreneur, a solo-practitioner or just a social animal connecting with your tribe, the advise, guidance and information in these volumes is worth the investment of time to read - in fact, like me you'll find yourself revisiting them often.

Enjoy.  Please share with me any that you feel I've missed and are must reads.

1.  Inbound Marketing, Get Found  ....  Halligan, Brian and Shah, Dharmesh

2. Duct Tape Marketing, .... Jantsch, John 

3. The Social Media Business Equation .... Orsburn, Eve Mayer

4. The Tao of Twitter ....  Schaefer, Mark W. 

5. Maximizing Linkedin .... Schaffer, Neal 

6. The New Relationship Marketing .... Smith, Mari 

7. Engage, Revised and Updated .... Solis, Brian

8. The End of Business as Usual .... Solis Brian

9. Social Media Analytics .... Sponder, Marshall

10. The Facebook Marketing Book .... Zarrella, Alison and Zarrella, Dan

Bonus Reads:  One that was published prior to this year but is a fundamental read and the other that as Chris Brogan stated in his recommendation; "Blanchard is demanding.  He won't allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave.  If you're in, you're going to have to invest to get your rewards."  Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

1. Social Media ROI .... Blanchard, Olivier 

2. The New Rules of Marketing and PR .... Meerman Scott, David

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

To get these titles in Canada:
20% Off Kobo eBooks with code "June20off"

This offer is valid until December 31, 2011

My Virtual Mentors

As the Director of New Business Development for TDG Marketing Inc., www.tdgmarketing.com, one of the greatest challenges is keeping abreast of the ever evolving channels to help deliver powerful integrated marketing programs for our clients.


I've been fortunate to have found many great virtual and written mentors, leaders in Social Media marketing for business.  My top ten marketing guru's + 1 are (alphabetical order):


Andres Silva Arancibia (SmmMarketing Magazine) @andressilvaa


Ann Handley (co-author "Content Rules") @MarketingProfs


C.C. Chapman (co-author "Content Rules") @cc_chapman


Chris Brogan (co-author "Trusted Agents") @chrisbrogan


Dan Zarrella (author "The social media marketing book") @danzarrella


David Meerman Scott (author "The new rules of Marketing and PR") @dmscott


Eve Mayer Orsburn (author "Social media for the CEO") @LinkedInQueen


Laura Fitton (author "Twitter for Dummies") @pistachio 


Mari Smith (author "The new relationship marketing") @MariSmith


Neal Schaffer (author "Maximizing Linkedin for sales and social media marketing) @nealschaffer


Susan Gunelius (author "30 Minute social media marketing") @susangunelius


To all of these very generous leaders, I owe thanks.  This is not an exhaustive list but I wanted to share my appreciation for those that have helped to direct my activities, expand my knowledge and improve my efforts to help clients, colleagues, community members, and friends make an emotional connection with their key stakeholders.


More to come, thanks for reading
Gordon


To find out more about the above you'll find them all at www.twitter.com