Looking for more information on social media? Martin Diano of Dianosphere says as, “A firm believer in lifelong learning, part of the process to keep current about social media is to read just about everything I can about the topic.” Check out his top five books on the topic, and read them for yourself, if you haven’t already.

Rohit Bhargava offers a guide to Flickr use for marketers on his Influential Marketing Blog. Rohit says, “Flickr can be a marketing goldmine for the right project.” However, marketers tend not to target Flickr because, “marketers aren’t yet good at creating the one thing they need to have credibility in Flickr … quality non-marketing images.” Check out his 10 suggestions as to how you can use flicker more effectively.

Whether you are a business blogger or a personal blogger, Sonia Simone says that the most important factor as a blog writer is, “More than admiration, money or attention, you need to earn your audience’s trust.” Sonia offers suggestions on how to do just that on Copybogger. Her suggestions include adding the human element to your blog, taking a position and sticking to your guns, and treating your audience with respect. Sonia says to “never go for short-term gains at the expense of long-term trust.”

How do blogs compare with traditional print media? Arguments against blogs are that journalism wasn’t meant to be a conversation, and that not everyone can write a compelling piece. Denis Hancock of Wikinomics argues that blogs are “simply a new form of publishing tool.” And that blogs receive more editorial freedom, and “are unbounded by word constraints associated with print media.”

Toby Bloomberg conducted a survey of 99 people as “An industry pulse check from the people who are involved in the space.” Toby recaps what was learned about blogger relations, in the fourth of a series of posts. Several of the survey’s major takeaways are that patience, respect and values are important. See the detailed recap on Diva Marketing Blog and check back in the future for the complete series roundup.