Talking about social media feels so apropos since social media was central to my husband’s birthday party. Yahoo has its Big Idea chair photo shoot. We hosted our Favorite Social Media Couch photo booth. The concept was to hold the pillow(s) of the social media that is more important for us between Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

No need to say that I am a part of the social media revolution. If you read this post, you probably are. Social media is not a fad. I recalled last January when we traveled to the United States and my husband told me to turn down the data roaming on your iPhone. What!!! A week without Twitter and my RSS reader on the go. Luckily for me, Rogers added a US data roaming plan the week before so I was able to tweet after all.

We stay connected and share photos with our friends through Facebook and Twitter. You probably noticed that you use less the phone. It is more efficient to send a tweet or a text message. Social media has changed the way we communicate. And I feel it is for the good. And due to social media, I met online and offline new like-minded people; some of which have become good friends.

I want to know which is your favorite social media site or tool?

Social Media Revolution Statistics

If you need data to convince the unconverted ones, look at this video. It highlights key statistics about the growth and the impacts of social media in our everyday life. No need to write them down, Geek in Disguise did it for us.

Thanks to Liberty Post for reminding me about this video this morning. Thanks to Pierre Bellerose for noticing Craftsquatch, the seller of the pillows on etsy and for initiating the photo session. Vive the Social Media Revolution!

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Continue with part 3 about monetarizing a blog.

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In the first part, I highlighted key statistics about women Internet usage.  Learn why and how women use social media. These statistics will help any blogger grasp the extent of the women and mom social media universe.

Continue with part 2

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The Gazette about the latest initiative of Tourisme Montreal to promote the city. They wish to hire on a part-time basis bloggers as ambassador to cover what is happening in Montreal.

This great initiative generated bad comments about bloggers being paid for hiring. Let’s make some facts very clear. The bloggers will not blog on their blog. They will publish their text, photos and videos on their dedicated page on Tourisme Montréal’s website.

I suspect Sid Lee with Tourisme Montreal wanted to reach to bloggers because we know how to write engaging stories. They also expect these ambassadors to talk about it in social media. Basically, they will be do the job of a Community Manager, which as far as I know is a real job position for which people are being paid at companies.

Blogger Recognition

What this initiative by Tourisme Montreal / Sid Lee proves is that the skills of bloggers are being recognized. Bloggers are writers who know how to navigate within social networks.

Most bloggers blogs as an hobby. This means the average bloggers earn their living doing something else. Many will like to make a living out by doing what they basically do when blogging or podcasting. Monetizing is the hottest topic for sessions at the upcoming PodCamp Toronto 2009. And yes, I believe blogging come become a profession (although my business model is based on advertising, not paid content).

But for the moment what Tourisme Montreal is looking for are Community Managers to cover 5 lifestyle scenes. They made the mistake of using the proper job designation. Something it does not work to try to be cool!

To close my argument, I invite you to watch the insightful comment by Todd Lucier.

+ More details on Marketing Mag

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Methodology: I used the ranking shown on each blog’s Technorati page.

Design Blogs in Technorati Top 100 Blogs

# 21. TreeHugger – green living with modern aesthetic. This blog was started by Graham Hill in 2004. At the time, Graham hails from the small town of Sutton, Quebec. This is where we ski. TreeHugger is now the property of Discovery. Graham Hill is still there.

# 53 Apartment Therapy – Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan succeeded in creating several franchises of his New York blog. The mission of AT is helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online. I visited the several city blogs, the kitchn and even if I do not have kids, I enjoy discovering the cool baby stuff at ohdeedoh

# 61 Design*Sponge – Since 2004, Brooklyn-based writer Grace Bonney talks about home and product design. She also features some craft projects. Design*Sponge was the winner of The Homies 2008 in the home design blog category. If you remember, this is the blog award that turned sour due to troll comments.

# 72 Yanko Design features modern international design news, covering from industrial design, concepts, technology, architecture, exhibition and fashion.

# 79 Behance Network provides a platform for creative portfolios, projects, and collaborations.

# 75 Inhabitat, a blog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future. I visited it more in the past.

Cooking Blogs in Technorati Top 100 Blogs

# 28 Epicurious – I often referred to it but strangely, I never thought of it as a blog.

#38  Slashfood – I have to admit that I do not follow it. It lacks a twist on gourmet food to grab my attention.

An unexpected find at # 59 is Geekdad Wired Blog, a blog about parenting in the digital age, and raising our kids in our own geeky image. The writers are all geeks and dads who have fun sharing their experiences.

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Many persons express the view that it is reducing the role of the women. But I think they are missing the point. Elle France/WIKIO determines the influencers based on their scope of interest. You do not browse Elle France to read about a blogger who writes about how big corporations plan their Web strategy. This is about niche market.

The Other Side of the Medal

No one get offended when none of the top women and moms bloggers appear on the top 50 women bloggers of the Web. These lists do not specify that they only considered female consultants working on politics, tech products or brand marketing.

I see plenty of Top Women Blogger Lists with names of the list that seem to me (because I do not know them) less popular or influential than the top bloggers in our community. Having said that does not mean that the recipients do not deserve to be on the list.

In fact, most lists do not include women and moms blogs because the authors were not aware of their existence; they are even less able to assess their true power. At the end of the day, you can also only judge what you know.

The point I wish to make is that the Elle France/WIKIO compilation and any similar awards have nothing to do with the role of women in society. Each Top list is representative of who influence a person or a group. And this is based on the scope of interest of the publication.

Update Dec. 19, 2008: I found a Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers for 2008. Some Best Blogger lists are detailed on their scope after all.

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