Ground Hog Day 2011

Happy Ground Hog Day 2011!

Are you feeling like peeking your head out at Gobbler's Knob, or are you compelled to stay inside, safe and warm?

For those excited about this fine Wednesday, Punxsutawney Phil and the Club were present at Globbler's Knob for Phil's 125th birthday. Quite the historic event -- you could even watch it LIVE! (Hopefully they'll offer playback). The famous ground hog announced that the Steeler's will go to the superbowl before declaring we'll see an early Spring. Hard to believe as the snow comes down here in Ohio!

If you couldn't make it to Pennsylvania, New Yorkers can always rely on Staten Island Chuck - He teams up with NYC Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and makes his prediction from the Staten Island Zoo.

If you are in many parts of the United States, you probably won't feel much like going out.

You've either been experiencing lots of snow or ice, and for many the winds are even 50 miles per hour! Up to 80,000 people in Kettering, Ohio (near Dayton) have been without power due to the storm. At present, 55,000 are still waiting.

Near Sydney, Australia, a catastrophic cyclone could be the most life-threatening in Australian history. Winds there are about 185 miles per hour. Yikes! Our prayers should be with our friends down under.

Despite all the outdoor elements, some enthused about blogging and social media attended Blogging Success Summit 2011 yesterday evening. Sponsored by Social Media Examiner and BlogWorld, the opening address, "State of the Blogosphere," given by Richard Jalichandra of Technorati, kicked off the web's largest blogging conference.

Blogging Success Summit sessions will continue all this month!

Mr. Jalichandra gave some excellent insight from a large report - Here are some highlights:

There are 1.5 million registered bloggers on Technorati!
YouTube, LinkedIn and Flickr are among the top social media tools for bloggers.
24% of bloggers blog from a smartphone or tablet.
81% of bloggers use Facebook to promote their blogs.
46% of consumers trust traditional media less than 5 years ago.
29% of consumers say Facebook is being taken more seriously as a source of information.
65% agree that blogs are being taken more seriously.
An estimated 48% of people will get their news from blogs in 3 to 5 years.
37% of consumers say newspapers will not survive in 10 years.

In summary, many bloggers are professionals interested in professional interaction. Also, "the Internet is a link economy," says Richard Jalichandra. His advice is to "Blog well, blog often, and be passionate."

I, for one, will be tuned in to Blogging Success Summit 2011 all month long.

Not attending but still curious? Follow me on Twitter, and look for the #bss11 signaling important summit details!

There's a lot of information blowin' around above. Surely we could all use a smile! Just for you...short clips from the movie, "Ground Hog Day."

Enjoy!