Wow. The summer is flying by. My virtual internship with Seth Godin has more or less wrapped up, though I will still be helping out/participating with another Squidoo project aligned with the upcoming election, and Triiibes, which corresponds with the release of his new book in October. 

I still have another two weeks or so with my other internship, and we leave the 5th headed to Orlando, New York and Washington DC, and won’t return until the 16th. That means I’m looking for some guest bloggers/contributions, interested? Drop me a line!

July has seen me attempt to grow as a blogger. My subscriber count has doubled, so have my unique hits. Most importantly I have made a lot of new friends. July has also seen the amount of the blogs in RSS reader multiply exponentially so with the conclusion of July, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite posts from this month. I’m striving to get my finger on the pulse of my “tribe,” so if this is something you appreciated let me know, and I’ll try and make it an every month thing.

[Note: This wasn’t something I had planned on doing, so these posts are blog posts that I have starred throughout the month, printed out, etc. They’re posts that have really interested me (at least this month, my tastes change frequently), and have lasting value for me. If you want me to do this again, I’ll try to have a better balance of different topics (social media takes the case this month), and different bloggers (both well known and up and coming).]

Taking Your Blog to a Community – ProBlogger Blog Tips
This is a post from Connie Benson that was featured on Darren’s blog. The post is chock full of content on how to find new communities, how to reach out to them, and also includes tools and strategies for reaching out to the new communities.

The Future of the Corporate Website Involves People – Web Strategy by Jeremiah
Jeremiah hosted a contest, and asked readers to answer the question, “What is the future of the corporate website in 5 years?” The following post features two phenomenal answers that really gave me something to think about not only for my own website, but if I want to have a future profession in social media.

An NSFW Explanation of Social Media – PR Squared
A slide show explaining social media that is great and should be shared with anyone who wants to learn about why we should care about social media and the way we communicate with consumers.

A Sample Blogging Workflow – Chris Brogan
Chris has probably emerged as one of my top 3 bloggers since I found him this month. (Where have I been?) This is a great post for me when I can’t think of a blog topic, or if I just want to remind myself how to be semi-interesting.

What Social Media Does Best – Chris Brogan
Like the slideshow from above, this post is a great resource if you need to explain to other people what social media does and why it’s becoming an important aspect of marketing.

How to Give a Presentation to Change the World – Conversation Agent
This is a brilliant post and compilation of some great presentations from Valeria. The Benjamin Zander presentation was brilliant. I especially liked this quote, “Remember that there is a difference between a person’s competence and a person’s effectiveness based on their ability to communicate verbally. If you are a good presenter, more action will be taken on your recommendations.”

50 Ways Marketers Can Use Social Media to Improve their Marketing – Chris Brogan
With plenty of big companies starting to use social media, here’s fifty, yes fifty ways to use social media. These are just the start of the conversation, but I suspect out of fifty ways, there will be a few that will resonate; with your blog, with your company?

21 Ways to Make Your Blog or Website Sticky – ProBlogger Blog Tips
This is probably my most favorite post of July. I need to print it out and go through it, like a checklist, and ensure that my blog does most of these things. Consider doing the same.

How Does a Company Dip it’s Toes in the Conversation – Conversation Agent
Having conversations about things that make marketing better is important to me. The notion that social media is important to marketing is important to me. This post is about the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web and the surrounding implications for the professionals that deal with it. How do you get started?

Essential Skills of a Community Manager – Chris Brogan
Virtually everything I read about community managers leads me to believe I’d be a really good one. Here are 6 really important skills that I think I have a good grasp on, but that I want to continue practicing and being conscious of, hence the importance of this post, at least for me.

New Communication Theory and the New Roles for the New World of Marketing – PR 2.0
Long post, very valuable, read it. “…the future of your business hinges on the ability for champions to arise, implement, and justify the socialization of your company’s ability to listen, empathize, respond, advise, and evolve based on the online discussions that are currently taking place with or without you.” Wouldn’t you rather it be with you?

50 Steps to Establish a Consistent Social Media Practice – Chris Brogan
Are you tired of Chris Brogan yet? I’m not. I can seriously go back and read posts like this (specifically the posts in his Social Media 100 quest) nearly every day and get something new out of them. Do yourself a favor and don’t skip this one.

Community Manager Responsibilities and Goals – Connie Benson
Another post from Connie, and another post about being a community manager. Again, being a community manager is something I am definitely interested in, and Connie puts together a great list of things to think about with respect to community management.