SLOBs

In honor of those who provide informed, accurate, and opionated commentary on important issues, bizhack proudly announces the SLOB awards:

Startlingly Loquacious and Outstanding Bloggers!
(Inspired by Liz Straus’ SOB program - details.)

Four criteria for SLOBishness

Startling
You have something unique to say.
Loquacious
You say it frequently.
Outstanding
You say it really, really well.
Blogger
Umm … yes … you have to be a blogger.

Are you SLOBworthy?
Want to submit your blog for consideration? Email me!

The SLOB hall of fame

SLOB award for May 23, 2007

Orbit Now!
Troy is a great blogger that I’ve exchanged links with on and off over the past couple of years … but somehow neglected to put in the SLOB hall of fame. Sorry, Troy … that has now been rectified. I particularly like this post of his on Coach Wooden.

SLOB award for January 22, 2006

Director Tom
Director, blogger, all-round interesting guy: Tom is a major SLOB. Here’s what he says about himself: “I write about branding organizations, transforming and empowering individuals through remarkable storytelling and authentic documentaries.” Cool. Very cool.

SLOB awards for December 4
I have been a very, very bad boy (but also very busy). I’ll have to make a New Year’s resolution or something … I’ll start with one and work my way back up.

Angela Randall
What can you say - her tagline is “Get off your arse and get on with it!” Automatic slam dunk. Enterprise, business, entrepreneurship, initiative … she’s got it cover. Cool!

SLOB awards for October 29, 2006

A Media Circus
(Umm … thanks for this post on Sloodle - a combination of Moodle and Second Life.)
DigitalPhocus
What, indeed, should Yahoo! do? There’s too much there not to work. Yahoo’s achilles heel is a less-efficient pay-per-click monetization engine than Google’s AdSense. Fix it and good things will start to happen.
donloeb.com
The tagline is killer: “rss, blogs, and my kid.” Unspeakably great.
nomadic_audio
Sci-fi and technology: unbeatable combination.
Carve Consulting
Brits and whilst and bespoke and all that … plus a very interesting career consulting mash-up.
Kim Bach
Open source and Danish - a double whammy.
Awakened Voice
Love that blog title … we need more of that stuff.
Make the logo bigger
This blog gets in on name alone (although the blog is good too!) This guy must have heard the “I love it but …” song from clients once or twice.
Splashcast
Very, very interesting - aggregation on steroid? Check it out.

SLOB awards for October 10, 2006

The Carolynn Blog
Carolynn just emailed me a couple of days ago about her blog, which is the best thing about the SLOB awards that I started just a few months ago: new blogs coming to my attention that I might never have seen before. Carolynn is both a marathoner and a business student. I particularly like it when people post excellent, succinct reviews of business books … since that gives me enough information to decide if I should read it or not.
Charlene Li’s Blog
Wow. This is a treasure-trove of blogging for business information, including this post on blogging ROI. I’m not crazy about the women-only blogroll, but the content is great and I understand (I think) some of the reasons behind that decision. Definitely SLOBworthy.

SLOB awards for October 2, 2006

Service Untitled
I love the great names people give their blogs. This one lives up to to its name with great, focused posts on customer service.
JibberJobber Blog
Wonderful resource for people who are (actively or passively) seeking jobs. This is the companion blog to the free (but with paid premium service levels) tool JibberJobber: networking and “career toolset” web app. Very worthy a read!

SLOB awards for September 19, 2006
A couple good ones that came to my attention - couldn’t wait!

Blawg IT
Internet, patent, trademark, and copyright issues - straight from a patent attorney. One of the most interesting things about this blog is how it has helped Brett Trout achieve great SEO results … naturally, without having to resort to paid placement. Nice!
Life in Suzhou China Blog
Perhaps because a buddy of mine went to Korea to teach English for a year, and perhaps because I kinda long for that sort of adventure myself, I’m drawn to the blogs of people who have left their own cultures and moved to a foreign country. The pics at the top of this blog are worth the price of admission all by themselves … never mind great posts like the foreign people zoo.
Strategic Name Development Blog
Exploring wonderful branding and naming intricacies … I particularly liked the post on Reef’s “where’s my free prize” flip flops with built-in beer bottle openers. Nice!

SLOB awards for September 14, 2006
A little late on the list … apologies, but it’s been busy!

Web Strategy by Jeremiah
A Bay Area web strategist who focuses on helping companies connect with clients via social media.
Beyond Madison Avenue
I guess the name says it all.
Small Business Marketing and Branding
I’ve been getting Yaro Stark’s emails for a while now, and while some of them are focused on the newbie, I have found them valuable for more technical and web-savvy bloggers as well.
Singapore Entrepreneurs
Very informative and practical entrepreneurship resource!
Forward Blog
Forward thinking, forward moving … forward reading.
Media Guerrilla
Great site, great posts, and (most importantly, of course) great name!
Narrowcasting
OK, so there’s a soft spot in my heart for Dutch blogs because I’m of Dutch ancestry … but guess what? You’ll even find some English there!
Podcasting Underground
So you wanna podcast? Find out how, here.
Branding & Marketing
The title pretty much says it all: branding and marketing. Worth a read!
And a bonus blog: fiLi’s World
An Israeli living in Asia and blogging about China, Taiwan, and Asian issues … you don’t see this every day. Cool!

SLOB winners for September 4, 2006

Peterme
I happened to see a link to Peter Merholz’s blog this week, and thought I’d honor him in this week’s SLOB hall. Peter, after all, is the person who coined the word “blog,” and the cool thing for me is that I was “there” as this piece of history happened … I read his post the very next day, and ever since then, we who write online have been “blogging.”
Violet Eclipse
Errr … this cool: an English teacher in China. I have a soft spot for this sort of thing, because a buddy of mine just came back from a similar post in Korea, and it sounds like such a great way of seeing a totally different part of the world. And blogging about it, as Meg does, lets us all come along. Thanks!
Middle Zone Musings
Robert Hruzek doesn’t ask for much, he says. Just a bit of your brain every now and then. Sounds like a good deal? It probably is … because Middle Zone Musings has great posts like this one on making a million and funny ones like Out of the Box. It’s a crying shame this blog is not higher in the Technorati listings … and hopefully this will help it gain a little bit more exposure.

SLOB winners for August 27, 2006
This week I’m focusing on social media … here are nine SLOBworthy winners:

Confused of Calcutta
From the why-I-blog page: “And that’s why I care about the internet and about connectivity. About intellectual property rights and digital rights management. About opensource software, technologies and platforms. About identity and confidentiality and privacy. About avoiding path pollution and avoiding device and vendor lock-in.
If we get them right, more people will have affordable access to information, more people will be enfranchised to participate in the world.” ‘Nuff said.
ALLIED
Incestuous tech conferences? You bet: “We need to get out of our own way, our own heads, and our own networks to be truly social.”
Communication Overtones
Do you get it? Do it get it? Get what? The top five PR blogger cliches …
Dead 2.0
The tagline says “Anti-hyping Web 2.0 since 2006!” Anyone so contrarian deserves a SLOBbie.
CAMP ON THIS
Sheesh, social media is not just the new new thing … it’s been around for thousands of years. From the site: “proclaiming the treasure of the gospel.” (Only thing: fix up the title in your HTML head, buddy. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, look at your site in Firefox or Flock).)
OpenBusiness
Oooh la la. This is a bit risque: the tagline is “Let’s share business models.” Hrm, so much for the NDA.
Web Metrics Guru
This is a reverse SLOBbie … if such a thing exists. SLOB for the great content … but it’s tough to find. As this article says: “Low information density.”
The Viral Garden
Smart marketing … including these reasons why the recent Snakes on a Plane marketing was so bang on.
Beyond Madison Avenue
The title says it all … and this post even better: “How much is your company paying to get your message to 50,000-60,000 people? It won’t cost Nettwerk a penny. Think about that the next time a blogger emails you to discuss your company, and you reach for the ‘Delete’ button.”

August 20, 2006

Client Service Insights (CSI)
Leo Bottary blogs on client service and PR at Hill & Knowlton, the PR agency. Well worth a weekly visit, which is what I’ve been doing lately. I love, love, love to see the people in ‘traditional PR’ getting into blogging. Not just because it’s blogging, but because it’s a sign that they get it: a sea change has/is occuring in how businesses communicate with clients. My favorite so far: how to find the best talent. (Sorry for the delay in posting this, Leo!)
Pajama Market Small Business Blog of the Day
Umm … isn’t the name good enough for a SLOBby already? Pajama market? Wonderful! But even better are the mini case studies of small business blogs. Brian Brown interviews bloggers, and then (sometimes) points out very innovative, smart things they are doing, as well as ways they could improve. Very worth of a visit.
ExperienceCurve
Marketing, social media, technology: this is right down my personal strike zone. Plus the fact that the author, Karl Long, is not going to see Snakes on a Plane … instant winner!
WitSterblog
It’s not exactly my usual fare, but this deserves MUCH wider attention. Biting satire, such as the latest piece on new terrorism prevention regulations at airports: “On disrobing, each person will be digitally photographed and that photo will be run through our Google-based internet server to look for terrorist matches. And, under contract with Google-Images, each photo will be added to Google’s database of images.” Priceless. (What’s terrifying, however, is that you can almost imagine it happening, given the nuttiness going on these days.)
Make it Great
I don’t know why, but there are a TON of great blogs on Typepad. (Must be a good service.) Make it Great (which is on TypePad) gets a SLOBby simple by virtue of the crossed-out Have a Nice Day button at the top of page. Love it … kill the insipid and replace it with something more passionate.
Blogs with a face
Is this cool or what - a collage at the top of each page full of faces of people with blogs. The content is about everything and nothing, so don’t go if you don’t like potpourri. (But do go if you like a little bit of everything!)
Escape From Cubicle Nation
Dynamite. Absolute raw primed ready-to-blow dynamite. You must read this article: “My main purpose in life is to take your best, your brightest, most creative, hard-working and passionate employees and sneak them out the hallways of your large corporation …” Subversive!
Build a Better Blog
Focused on helping professionals and businesses build better blogs, this is right up my alley lately, as I’ve been focusing on breaking through the fear and helping very corporate types open up to blogging.
A Hockey Journalist’s Blog
OK, so I’m Canadian and I like hockey. So there. At least I hardly ever drink beer, so I don’t totally fit the stereotype. But, in any case, this is a great blog - I think it’s going in my bloglines account.

August 13, 2006

Steve Farber - Extreme Leadership
I think this says it all, better and shorter than I could have: “Wearing baggy pants doesn’t make you a skater, wearing spandex doesn’t make you a cyclist, looking at the world through Oakley shades doesn’t make you a snowboarder, saying, ‘dude’ doesn’t make you a surfer and—in business—printing ‘leader’ on your card doesn’t make you lead.” Wow. Read on … there’s more where that came from.
Trashblog
It’s not business and it’s not (really) technology, but it is something new: flamboyant individualism without an ego to match. Check the Trash manifesto. And from Denmark too … I’ve always had a soft spot for the Danes since I read that when, in WWII, the Germans decreed that Jews needed to wear a Star of David, the king of Denmark wore one. (And said he expected all loyal Danes to do likewise!)
Only the real is unreal
OK, there must be a Danish thing going on today. Here’s another yummy one. Check out this quote: “The reason I like blogging is the disorder it causes to some extent. Yes I am a rebel by heart. I am passionate about it because it’s uncontrollable, and even though it frightens me, I think disorder is what the world needs sometimes.” That’s fairly cool … almost but not quite as cool as the blog title.
Bad Language
I’m not sure why bad language is bad, but the 3-column theme is very, very not-too-much-and-not-too-little cool. Plus this post on how many links it takes to get in the Technorati top 1000 is exactly the answer to something I was wondering. (Just be aware that those number will always be increasing.)
twopointouch
I wanted, wanted, wanted to put an extra ‘t’ in twopoint-noextrat-ouch, but … the site is just too good to change the name to suit my pecadilloes. Interviews, interviews, interviews: Kevin Rose, Tim O’Reilly, Michael Birch, and my favorite, Paul Graham. Great stuff … can’t wait for the book.
Ramblings from a glass half-full
To me, the great thing about blogs is meeting real people speaking real things in a virtual way. (hmmm.) That’s the sense I had checking out Ramblings … especially this post on optimism and realism. My take, Terry: the glass is half-full of water and half-full of air.
IGotNewsForYou
OK, this was a super-easy add to the SLOB hall of fame: the illustration for this post got me before I even read a word. Entrepreneurship, business, even a dose of technology: this was an easy add - and a great read.
BLDGBLOG
An old favorite of mine that I hadn’t visited in probably a year. Architecture, ideas, and the Most Amazing Pictures™ … check out this post.
Michael Totten
OK, it’s not business, marketing, web, or technology. It’s about something much more important: real life. (And death.) See this incredible post about being in the Hezbollah fire zone. Try to get that from our homogenized mainstream media.

August 7, 2006

Chip’s Quips
Wonderfully named! Not just on geeky web 2-ish stuff, but also very well-written (and selected) personal details.
Whispering Crane Institute
In the and-now-for-something-completely-different category. I have to be honest, Rick Anderson won this on his blog tagline ALONE. Wow. Talk about telling people what you do quickly, simply, and in a way that leaves no doubt as to the passion behind your work. Oh, and I love the ponds, and the drawings, and probably need to hire Rick for some landscape work. (But I’m not sure I can afford him!)
Toothless Tiger
In the whoa-that-IS-a-unique-design category. This tiger is all about one of my favorite quasi-geekish topics: pinko marketing, and I really, really like they way they’ve integrated the blog completely into the site itself. Nice!
Carpe Factum
This post about “motivational” crap, which every manager should see, wins a big slobbery SLOB award all by itself. If there’s anything intelligent hard-working people hate, it’s being manipulated - clumsily.
Experiments - Trial by Fire
At the very least, this man is not shy. Harsha Raghavan has goals for the next ten years - public goals. But the cool thing is, if everything’s an experiment, where’s the harm in trying? There’s no such thing as failure! It’s all about trying stuff and seeing what works. Cool.
TED blog
If you want smart perspectives on topical themes by incredible people … look no farther. Case in point: Nicholas Negroponte of OLPC fame.
Away with words
OK, that’s got to be a more excellent blog name than most … especially considering that Nancy Friedman is a writer. That’s near and dear to my heart; I started my career as a writer (well, after 3 months of “research assistant.”) Can she really mean away with words instead of a way with words? I’m not sure. But I love the link to the interview of Paris Hilton by Chaucer. Yum!
Venu’s blog
In a more personal category … it’s always interesting when you see that someone who might be across the world who is using the same technology as you are.
Paul Graham essays
OK, it’s kinda not a blog and it kinda isn’t updated every week. But it kinda says things that are, you know, like, really important. So I kinda couldn’t leave it out. You know?