The industrious Peter Kim recently compiled a list of 159 social media marketing examples. I added to this 35+ examples of corporate social media posted to Mashable by Aaron Uhrmacher. I looked at the members list over at the Blog Council. Perused the invaluable NewPR Wiki list of corporate blogs. And cross referenced the 58 entries on the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki. A few more lists (see here and here).  Then I sifted through to create this list of 67-plus Big Brand* corporate blogs. I also included some large association, governmental and…

A visitor to my site recently asked for some advice on how to start blogging. "I have never blogged, so this is completely new to me," he wrote. I have to say that it's wonderfully refreshing to get this kind of question in late 2008. It's easy to think that everybody is steeped in the use of social media, whether it's Facebook, Twitter or blogging. They're not. Here's the 30-second stripped-down answer. You might also find useful this updated Blogging 101:

Where to Start

Start your blog on TypePad (US…

In an article on the front page of today’s Washington Post Business section, reporter Sarah Halzack notes, several years belatedly, that Marketing Moves to the Blogosphere. She rounds up a few of the local suspects to comment on their corporate blogs, including Bill Marriott, Honest Tea and Viget Labs, the Web firm that created my new site/blog. What’s remarkable about the article is that somehow the good folks at The Wash Post appear to have been oblivious to the explosion of social media and blogging as a new way of doing business here in town.…

I missed this when it aired several weeks ago. Nothing new but fun to see it on network TV. Marriott tells the reporter that Bill Marriott's CEO blog is responsible for $4 million in bookings on the main site. That's not a huge amount given Marriott's sales, which are in the billions. But not bad for a little spare change from blogging.

For many companies and executives, the hardest thing to swallow about blogging or any form of social media is the unpredictability. The fear is that you might be opening a pandora's box. What will spur negative feedback? What will spark a controversy? Prompt a lawsuit? What if... you get no response at all?

Experimenting with blogs and wikis and online communities often means stepping outside your comfort zone. Luckily, there are more and more examples (here are 35) we can point to as proof that major brands know how to play in this space.

The ROI…

I'm an Olympics junkie and confess to watching hours of coverage. Yes, on TV. So retro.

I'm also a China fan, having had the opportunity to visit Beijing and Shanghai recently.

All by way of saying that I watched the remarkable spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies and was struck, like so many others, by the perfectly synchronized choregraphy of several thousand artists, dancers, drummers, percussionists, etc. (image from The Boston Globe).

Harmony. Collaboration. Many as one. The power of the group vs. the individual. China couldn't have demonstrated the…