CU: The only product I would buy was the toaster. Any discretionary income I have would go to family or charity, but not novelty products (that's just me). The exercise is of course kind of fun

You wouldn't buy any of the concepts? I'm shocked. The clear toaster was brilliant.

But the real benefit is looking at the same thing in a new way. A useful exercise for any copywriter.

Hi Copyywriter Underground;

Thanks for stopping in!

Cool blogs. I find the Kancept strange because it simply asks if I would "buy this?" If most people are honest, they would not buy most of those concepts. Cool site though!

Mike

A lot of great blogs have already been covered, and since many of the blogs that interest me most are not strictly marketing oriented, I'll throw a few in the ring.

I find Fresh Creation interesting because great design (products, ads, whatever) is inspirational.

http://www.freshcreation.nl/

In a related vein is Kancept, a designer blog where design concepts (products mostly) are submitted and viewers can vote. Again, not truly marketing, but inspiring and original.

http://www.kancept.com/

Communities Dominate Brands hosts a lot of interesting ideas about engagement marketing (though the posts need some editing). I like the thoughts, hate the writing.

http://communities-dominate.bl...

Good topic! I "bloglined" a few sites I'd missed...

Gavin;

Thanks for stopping in!

Checked out your blog. What was the inspiration behind "Servant of Chaos?"

BTW, love your header graphic.

Mike

Hi Michael ... great discussion! As David says, check the blogrolls of the sites listed above. My faves (not including those listed above) include:
http://www.ownyourbrand.com/
http://www.ck-blog.com/
http://heehawmarketing.typepad...
Enjoy!

OK, I will. But first let me say that I like how you are moderating comments this way. It's very conversational. Nicely done.

So, my blog is Logic + Emotion. Where do I start? Eight months ago nobody new who I was. Now, it seems that most people who I run into have heard of the blog. It simply blows me away and I feel pretty undeserving of such good fortune.

That said my blog is about all things related to creativity, innovation and design. I do these visuals that people seem to like (and share). Basically my theory is that we live in complex times and I use my knowledge of infomation design to help simplify through the use of visuals.

Actually, a nice way to get a snapshpot of my blog is to flip through the presentation here:
http://darmano.typepad.com/log...

And here is my canned statement:
Logic+Emotion exists at the intersection of Marketing 2.0, Brand Engagement and Experience Design—where passive consumers are transformed into active participants.

Hope that helps. Nice blog you have here too.

David - Thanks for stopping by and for your contribution! Tell me about your blog? - Mike

Hey, great post. The Marketing Profs blog is terrific. It's like an all you can eat buffet (but in a good way) :)

Here's a few of my faves:
http://servantofchaos.typepad....
http://russelldavies.typepad.c...
http://www.experiencecurve.com...
http://thebrandbuilder.blogspo...

So many good ones. So hard to choose.... I also recommend checking out the blogrolls of the blogs we are linking to here. That is a great way to find some keepers.

Ann - Thanks for the Laura Ries site, I like that one! - Mike

Of course Mario -- how could I forget good old Seth! Great contributions! - Mike

More great blogs to read...great now my productivity is going to falter even more! Good thing I fully use Google Reader now, and have become better at scanning. ok, here's my contribution:

http://agelessmarketing.typepa...
http://www.ducttapemarketing.c...
http://www.micropersuasion.com...
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Great list, all.... I hadn't seen Kristin's Revenue Journal...nice!

I also like Laura Ries, The Origin of Brands
http://theoriginofbrands.com/

Dianna - Thanks! There are some good ones in there. For example, I did not know that Kristin Zhivago had a blog. - Mike

Michael,

I enjoy reading the following blogs:

Sales Leads Insights by Mac McIntosh -- Mac always has "practical tactical" information you can put to use immediately. http://www.sales-lead-insights...

Kristin Zhivago's Revenue Journal -- Kristin writes thought-provoking articles about marketing and business. http://www.revenuejournal.com/...

Marketing Roadmaps -- Not sure how I found this one, but I enjoy reading her pithy comments. http://getgood.typepad.com/get...

Ann - Thanks so much for stopping by! What are some of your favorites? - Mike

Thanks for highlighting the Daily Fix, Michael! I also second all of Nathan's choices, especially Logic+Emotion.

Other than those, there are many other writers I read and like which are too numerous to list here. But as a general rule, I love reading blogs penned by real practioners -- many of whom don't have a large audience but have real-world experience and an interesting perspective. So I encourage your readers to seek out the smaller fish in the sea, as well.

Nathan - Thanks! Those are some good ones! - Mike

Good one Tammy! Thanks!

Church of the Customer always has good insights, although posting has been slow lately.

Creating Passionate Users, although it comes from a software perspective, really gets into how to connect your product with your customers, regardless of your business.

David Armano's Logic+Emotion is a must-read, if only because he has the best graphics to explain social media and marketing, hands down.

Wow... there are so many good ones...

Michael, I'm a fan of the two you listed and also like The Marketing Mix blog. They focus on the basics and doing them well, and their writing is concise, relevant, even entertaining.