Some very interesting answers to the other questions here.

Technorati – one of the web’s biggest directories of blogs. Use it to search blogs, or visit Technorati’s own blog for top-level stats.

Debbie Weil is a copywriter from the USA who went from traditional copywriting to specialising in email and now blogs. She’s writing a book about corporate blogging.

Adrants is about advertising and marketing generally, but being a blog itself, it often looks at the role of blogs in the marketing mix. Quite funny sometimes too.

Creating Customer Evangelists is about what it sounds like it’s about: creating customers who love your brand and do the work of salespeople solely because they want to. Blogging often comes up as a subject because it’s one of the new  outlets for the voice of the empowered customer. I interviewed these guys for my blogging article in Marketing Magazine last year; they had some really great stuff to say.

There’s heaps more on my blogroll at the Leadership Issues blog.

I also promised some NZ business blogs. Here they are:

Chris Price is NZ’s answer to Seth Godin. His blog looks at all forms of online marketing.

Beyond Branding isn’t technically New Zealand, as its contributors come from all over the world. However, Wellington-based magazine publisher and branding consultant Jack Yan definitely is based in NZ, and often comments on NZ branding issues.

Inside Out – a NZ business growth consultant.

The NZ Business Blog, run for graduates of Natcoll’s Media Design course. But helpful for anyone!

NZ Creative Circle – as quoted in AdMedia. At it’s best, a source of information about NZ’s creative and ad industries. At it’s worst, an exclusive circle of anonymous people making in-jokes.

Mediacom’s Marketing Digest – the bloggified version of their email newsletter.

TOUCH/CAST’s blog – an experiential marketing agency from Wellington. Not updated very often!

And of course there are my other blogs:

Oh God, I think I’m a fundamentalist, which I guess is my cat blog.

DIY Film School, where I’m teaching myself about story crafting and creative writing. And get in touch with the outdoors.

Books

The books I quoted from yesterday:

Who’s There by Seth Godin (free download)

The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors And Closing Deals Online by David Teten and Scott Allen

Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel (free while it’s being written, I guess!)

The Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger. (Available online for free!)

I think that’s everything. Happy publishing, and please get in touch if you’d like to ask any questions about how your organisation – or you personally – could begin blogging.

It was mostly stuff that I’ve learnt myself in researching for my upcoming session at the Media Relations Conference next week (next week!), but what was most valuable was Rachel and Regan’s first-hand accounts of blog life.

Issues that would crop up for any “unofficial site”, like being looked upon with suspicion by TVNZ as a competitor rather than another form of media, one that in fact does a great deal to promote TVNZ’s product. It’s all about control I guess.

What it seemed to show is that there is an audience out there for things that touch the heart – and the Idol format seems to do that like nothing else, but also the suspenseful storylines of Shortland Street.

What is lacking, in New Zealand at least, is examples of how slightly less exciting industries or topics can be successfully blogged about.

All of which becomes irrelevant if marketers first get the idea of making their brand into a Lovemark, a la Kevin Roberts. Or recently, Tom Peters (sorry, that should be TomPeters). If you can make your dog biscuits … or ball bearings … or monkey wrenches … into a lovemark, then you’ll either be able to start your own blog, or get some fan doing it, overnight.

Least that’s my theory.