Lorna Li

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t discover an insightful blog post about social media or Internet marketing written by someone I’ve never heard of. How many people out there are blogging these topics? I checked our media research database, and found profiles for more than 300 such bloggers. Who has time to keep up with 300 blogs? A group like that can turn your RSS reader into a part-time job. So, I wondered whose blogs are the most influential. Web metrics nerd that I am, I gathered some data and ranked them. - Lorna Li

In the rain forests of Central America grows the nutrient-rich Maya nut. The marble-sized seed can be prepared to taste like mashed potatoes, chocolate or coffee. To those who stumble upon the nuts on the ground, they're free for the taking. Erika Vohman's Equilibrium Fund teaches women how to reap the benefits of the Maya nut. Erika Vohman's Equilibrium Fund teaches women how to reap the benefits of the Maya nut. Click to view previous image 1 of 2 Click to view next image The problem, however, is that many people living in areas where the Maya nut grows abundantly don't know about it. Erika Vohman is trying to change that -- and improve rain forest conservation and women's status in the process. - Lorna Li

For 25 years, Chelsea Green has been the publishing leader for books on the politics and practice of sustainable living. We are a founding member of the Green Press Initiative and have been printing books on recycled paper since 1985, when our first list of books appeared. We lead the industry both in terms of content—foundational books on renewable energy, green building, organic agriculture, eco-cuisine, and ethical business—and in terms of environmental practice, printing 95 percent of our books on recycled paper with a minimum 30 percent post-consumer waste and aiming for 100 percent whenever possible. This approach is a perfect example of what is called a ”triple bottom line“ practice, one that benefits people, planet, and profit, and the emerging new model for sustainable business in the 21st century. - Lorna Li

After learning about the best green blogs, eco tools and applications and environment focused social media sites and forums, get involved and sign up with one of the following green organizations. This list is certainly not comprehensive but does offer a well-rounded snapshot of some of the prominent, active, dynamic and notable environmental organizations currently working for many green causes, including wildlife preservation, land conservation and climate change prevention. - Lorna Li

The green web is growing faster than over-fertilized bamboo and many websites have cropped up to fill the ever-growing green movement. This guide will help you navigate the vast array of environmental websites starting with the best green blogs, tools, applications and resources and ending with forums, social media sites, environmental agencies and organizations. The former will provide a window to green information and ways to go green and the latter will help connect you with others interested and involved in today’s top environmental issues as well as green design, sustainable living and environmental oddities of the world. - Lorna Li

GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that connects you to the causes and countries you care about. You select the projects you want to support, make a tax-deductible contribution, and get regular progress updates - so you can see your impact. - Lorna Li

Green is not a spectator sport. It’s all about getting involved. Forums may not be as flashy as the latest social network, but their value and long-term popularity remains. Coupled with the advent of social media (or the slightly older term many prefer, social bookmarking), opportunities to connect with like-minded people online – whether for business, education, or simply doing good deeds – are everywhere. The challenge with forums is that while they are often strong and vibrant, they do not always have the exposure of blogs or prominent social news sites. But the dedicated and curious greenie can glean a lot from participation in niche environmental forums. And voting and sharing on green social news sites is a terrific way to fill out your green social web experience. This list of social media sites and forums will hopefully help to guide the way. - Lorna Li

From the green browser to great green blogs, helpful widgets to handy directories, the “green web” is growing fast and anyone interested in gleaning green information online can find a wealth of eco-friendly websites, databases and applications. Start with these 25 green tools, applications and resources but don’t stop here – this is just the beginning. Feel free to add more links in the comments! - Lorna Li

that empowering people to leverage their influence online can create positive impact for themselves, their brands, and their communities. Our site allows you to Get Sponsored by your favorite brands on your social profiles while earning points for the reward of your choice. We believe that making a real difference is possible without making a real difference to your bank account. So we've built just the tool to allow you to earn the donation instead of giving one. The tool is called The Badge and we know it has the power to make real world change, for you or for others. - Lorna Li

Welcome to a green web series featuring the best in green blogs, forums, tools and social media. Part 1 begins with the best of the green blogosphere. - Lorna Li

An easy hCard creator that will convert your address into an hCard. - Lorna Li

All about creating hCard microformats. Create an hCard with your local business address for better indexing in local search results. - Lorna Li

Google continues to force more and more search categories to local search results. I realize ‘forcing’ may seem a bit strong, but Google’s recent addition of the ‘Looking for local results’ prompt has the net effect of pushing geographic searches to the top of the results page vis a vis the ‘10 Pack Map’ and A thru J listings. While this is groundbreaking for local companies trying to get to the top of Page 1 on Google, it poses an interesting challenge for companies that rely on national search results. - Lorna Li

Well not quite every search, but as Mike Blumenthal just told me, the 10 Pack is now appearing in a number of broad, non-geo phrase searches. - Lorna Li

David Mihm’s 2nd annual survey of my esteemed colleagues in the local seo world is now up. It’s a fantastic report and probably will do as much for the economy as the Stimulus and perhaps even more than TARP. For those of you with ADD, here’s a summary of the top 20 factors on a scale of 5 to -5 where 5 means the factor has the strongest effect and -5 not so good: - Lorna Li