Playing the role of Internet DJ, here are four great blog posts worth reading.

1.) Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says that social media is a bright spot in the challenged world economy. “This is about growth, jobs and empowering people.” App makers, advertisers, small businesses and civic groups are all using Facebook to promote their work and connect with people. And Facebook is the number two driver of web traffic (guess who’s #1).

2.) Author and friend John Morgan offers 10 reasons we won’t support your business. So much of it seems like common sense, but alas, it is not. See numbers 2, 7 and 10.

3.) Mitch Joel is thinking smarter. He asks us to think about where our learning is taking place. The digital generation (which I just barely squeaked into!) is learning on their iPhones and iPads. As Joel writes, “Every day, new content comes online that can and will make you smarter.” For example, if you want to know how to start a t-shirt company, you can ask me “How did you start your t-shirt company?” Or you can thoroughly research the subject via Google and ask me the very specific left-over questions you have. Technology has made it possible to “set your own curriculum,” Joel says. Do that!

4.) Chris Brogan gives a fantastic list: 97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Platform. I read this from a personal branding perspective. Your personal brand is being more heavily weighted by employers every day. There will come a day (we’re close) when CPA firms will hire junior auditors and consider their social graph when doing so. If I’m hiring, I want to know about your valuable platform and how you plan on using it to help me advance my business agenda. It’s less about being a clock-watching cog in the wheel and more about being a team member. For me, this piece is another “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony” post from Brogan. Read it twice.

I had the great pleasure of interviewing John Morgan, author of the new book Brand Against the Machine: How to Build Your Brand, Cut Through the Marketing Noise, and Stand Out from the Competition (Amazon affiliate link). I got to know John through Twitter, and he was gracious enough to send me a pre-release copy of the book.

As I admit in the video, I am only about halfway through the book (I suck at finding time to read). However, just like Rework (affiliate link again), you can pick this book up and grab awesome nuggets of information without having to wade through 20-page chapters. It’s written in my kind of style: short to-the-point chapters that don’t ramble on.

In this interview, John reveals the road traveled from teenager with confidence issues to author and public speaker, what it took to get a book deal, and why companies need to think of branding in a much different way.

Thank you John for giving me an hour of your Sunday, and for being so open and honest during this interview. I hope this book goes huge for you. Finally, thank you for the advice you gave me. I hope to repeat your great success.

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