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Two years ago, I ran a series of posts about Top Bloggers’ Share Their Essential Research Tools. Since then, information overload has become information tsunami and multi-tasking 24/7 had become as natural as breathing for a lot of knowledge junkies like me and my Twitter community. (Follow me at twitter.com/whatsnext )
Yet some top bloggers find ways not only to keep up, but to keep on top of information, trends, sources, and news. I thought it was time to revisit the question, with some of the bloggers who answered previously, and some who’ve since become prominent on my radar.
viral_garden.pngMack Collier, publisher of The Viral Garden, is a social media consultant, and creator of the weekly Top 25 Marketing Blogs List.
Here are Collier’s essential research tools.
1 – What are the top four or five information tools or sites you use to keep track of information about your business?

For tracking, I have several Google searches for my name, my blog, links to my blog, etc., saved as RSS feeds, and I collect those in Bloglines. I also use Technorati of course, but for me it’s better to gauge which of my blog posts are ‘hot right now’. I also have another Google blog search for ‘@MackCollier’ (my Twitter username) saved, so I know if another blogger mentions something I said on Twitter, in one of their posts.

2 – Do you still subscribe to email newsletters? How many?

The only ones that I am subscribed to are the few that I got when I opened an account and I am too lazy to unsubscribe to them ;)

3 – How many publications in your RSS reader and how often do you read the feeds?

I just checked and I currently am subscribed to 111 feeds, and about 90 of those are blogs. I’m finding that now most of the feeds I add are the blogs of my Twitter friends.

4 – Are you active in social networks? Which ones? How often? Why?

The only socnet [besides Twitter] I am currently active on is Facebook, and I probably visit the site a couple of times a week. I use it to keep up with what my friends and contacts are up to, events they are attending, etc. I also scan the groups occasionally. The only other social networking site I use would be LinkedIn, and I check it about 3-5 times a month. Really Twitter is eating into a lot of my non-blogging time these days as virtually everyone I know online is there.

I plan to run about a dozen interviews, and would love to hear about the tools you are using to keep avoid from drowning in information. Posted by B.L. Ochman