Chase is diligently working on getting our new Vizit up and running!

Kyle getting the breaking news on the Conduit/Zynga deal.

Cheryl hard at work across the office in the secluded corner…good thing for zoom!

Austin’s desk is lonely he is traveling back from Colorado today.

Kevin is not exactly thrilled with me, seeing as I am supposed to be testing new features and well, I am taking photos of the yadda squad instead.

AND last but certainly not least a caption contest for our wonderful readers. Please give us your best thoughts in the comments section.

So it got me thinking about just how much coverage Favre is getting in the media. Well, we ran a few number’s from Pinyadda‘s index and here is what we found:

End of the season until end of July, Favre took down 2% of all NFL content:

First two days of August, Favre took down 8% of all NFL content:

Last but not least, 23% of all Favre related content from February occurred in the last 3 days.

Considering there are 1,696 total NFL players, I’d say Brett Favre is the most popular in the media by a long shot.

Challenge: Post a comment and tell me why you think he won’t be playing next year, because I guarantee we will see him under the center on opening night. Just to show you how confident I am, I’ll bet a Pinyadda t-shirt. If he plays I win and I get the t-shirt, but if he does in fact retire, the person with the best reasons in the comments section will get a fresh Yadda tee.

Even though it’s normal and healthy to take breaks during the day from your job, where is the balance? Do bosses frown when they see you surfing the internet or socializing? Is there an online resource that companies would actually encourage the use of? What qualities would a resource have to possess to get the employers OK?

Of course the first few sites that come to mind when talking about socializing on the web are MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. And just as obvious a statement is the fact that 1 out of every 2 companies block those sites. That’s right, even though these social networking sites can sometimes provide value to the user in the form of content sharing, 54 percent of U.S. companies say they’ve banned these sites.

The next thing I want you to think about is how many emails you get during the day to your work account (because we know your personal email is probably already blocked). If you’re like me the number is well over 100. With 100 work emails flying through my inbox, how am I going to find time or even find those email chains from my friends that I actually love answering every day? There is no good answer to that question; just simply reply email jail.

So, let’s take Pinyadda into the workplace and count the top 10 reasons why you need Pinyadda at work:

1. It’s not blocked, has a sharp UI and doesn’t look sleazy like most social networking sites. That’s right, just let your boss know you’re using a new tool that helps you monitor everything that’s happening in your industry.
2. Get served ALL of your news in one place. Instead of wasting the time to go to 10 different sites everyday as you’re drinking your morning coffee, you can get it served to you personal-assistant style on Pinyadda, and all in one place
3. Get trusted news. All of the content on Pinyadda is from trusted sources and does not contain any spam or bit.ly links you might find on Twitter or other social sites.
4. You can socialize! Pinyadda’s community is incredibly intelligent, humorous and witty.
5. Stay on top of info. Need to research a topic for boss? Google just won’t cut it anymore, as it’ll spit out a bazillion different keyword matches. What’s a trusted article and what’s not? Follow the specific topic and get real real-time news.
6. Carry on your private email chains inside of Pinyadda. Forget sifting through email, share articles with friends directly on Pinyadda, and stop fretting that someone will notice the Gmail or Yahoo! logo on your screen.
7. Be ahead of the curve and invite your co-workers. Perhaps pinning an article to your boss with an insightful comment will get you a raise (no guarantees on that one). At the least, you’ve shown your boss how on top of innovation and ahead of the curve you are by introducing him to Pinyadda.
8. Be the most informed worker at the water cooler. How else are you going to stay up on current events other than aimlessly sifting through the internet? Now you can transform Pinyadda’s digital water cooler to the physical water cooler at work.
9. Mentor new employees. Throw the new guy or intern a bone by sharing some awesome work related content.
10. Instantly cure boredom and actually become smarter at the same time! Just visit the All People feed and see what people are discussing.

Well there it is, I challenge a 10 point response on why Pinyadda is not for the workplace.

If this post made you wonder how Pinyadda might be used as an enterprise product, learn more of our thoughts here.

Top 10 sites with the most pins this week:

Looks like a healthy dose of big sites made the top 10 for pinned items this week.  Interesting to see Psychology Today on the list at #9.

Top sites that were recently followed this week:

Love seeing BostInnovation coming in at 4 place again. And it must have been a hot week for tech news with Mashable, TechCrunch, and RRW all making the top 10.

Top topics that were recently followed this week:

Aside from Fashion, this weeks major topic follows were all social media/internet focused.

And just for fun, here are some all-time comparisons:

Sites with the most amount of followers:

Topics with the most amount of followers:

Before we dive in, the biggest takeaway from this post is that content drives the internet. If you produce compelling real content, your blog will sell itself and in no time will gain an army of supporters. People want to read stories that help them connect with the author, so let your personality shine in every story and always remember to write content that YOU want to read. If you want to read it, chances are so does everyone else.

Here’s are the top sites you should follow to learn how to become a better blogger, and someday a weblebrity like me:

CopyBlogger

This site is a great introduction to the blogging word, and provides awesome content around copywriting, SEO and online marketing.

Famous Bloggers

First take a page out of their book and increase your velocity of content. REWARD your readers by giving them more to read. Best articles on their site are around comments and commenting tips.

ProBlogger

The name pretty much sums it up here. Blog tips on writing content, finding readers, building community and using social media to grow your blog

Daily Blog Tips

Their left hand categories list is phenomenal. And the last post deserves it’s own shout out: 4 Tips to Help You Stay Focused on Your Blog.

Kikolani

The name might throw you off here, but this site tells it like it is, when it comes to blogging tips, the art of blogging and social media.

Search Engine Journal

You do want your content to get found don’t you?

ViperChill

By far the coolest name, sounds like an old school western cocktail. Awesome tips for monetizing your blog!

Quick Online Tips

There’s definitely some nonsense mixed in here, but make sure you check the How To and Blogging sections.

Think Traffic

Increase your traffic today. Seriously!

HubSpot Blog

They don’t need an introduction.

So now that you’ve got some killer blogging resources, check out the Inbound Marketing Guide, and start spreading the good word.

Do you have a personal blog? Get it up on Pinyadda and start pinning content to our awesome community!

Topics

If the microwave is your current go to cooking vessel then you can start here by following these topics; Food and Dining. You will not be able to mess this one up I promise, it’s that easy. And no meal is complete without the perfect beverage, so if you can’t remember whether it is white wine that goes with chicken, or when to serve a Cabernet, we have you covered as well.  Check these out, and you’ll look like a pro: Beer, Alcohol, and Wine.

Sites

On to the next top chefs, if you think you can hang with me in the kitchen, check these out. I will also accept any culinary battle that comes my way.

• Apartment Therapy – A blog about home design whose mission is to help people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.
• Serious Eats – A blog for the ultimate foodie. Amazing recipes, fun quizzes, and the secret scoop on all the right places to eat in your city. A must read for anyone who considers himself (or herself) a food junkie.
• Epicurious – For people who love to eat.
• A Spoonful of Sugar – Spreading the love for my sister’s blog (aww). She slacks a bit, but her recipes are to die for.
• Food Gawker – A gallery where food bloggers can showcase their food and photography skills. It’s a place for you to discover new sites, dishes, recipes and ingredients to inspire your own cooking.
• Simply Recipes – Couldn’t think of anything clever to put here other than the name of the site, pretty much sums it up.
• Kitt’s Kittchen – Rounding out the list with a superstar Pinyadda user’s blog Kitt Squire. This blog is entertaining and will teach you a few things around the kitchen.

People

Lastly, here are a few folks who ‘appear’ that they know their way around the kitchen, and what they are into. *I only use appear because no one was brought any of their favorites meals to the Yadda office.

• Kitt Squire – No info
• Marissa Parmenter – No info (really Riss?)
• Amber Marrama – Dance, Dance, Dance- training like an athlete, discipline, cooking and swimming.
• Sarah McCulley – No info
• Erin Campbell – No info
• Kipp Visi – No info (really dude?)
• Allison Ciummei – Web. Tech. Psych. Vacation. Gadgets. Food. Entertainment
• Stephanie Springer – No info
• Lindsey Dupont – celebrity trashiness, new hampshire, boston sports, the legal world, politics, music, and i’m currently learning how to cook. All that says is, I’m pretty random.
• Ben Webb – chicks

What are your favorite recipes? Who are the best people to follow for foodie advice?

1. Import your contacts (E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) – Forget having to continually look up email address, and post links into Facebook to share to a friend. Once your contacts are imported you can see which of them have already signed up for Pinyadda, and can share to them by simply typing the first few letters of their email/username in the Pin It box.  –> Your Add People page is your starting point.
2. Take some time to ‘chief’ in the All People feed – I am always looking for new people to follow and engage in conversation with on the site. I am also selective, I like to follow people who provide value, in the All People feed you can see interactions without following anyone.
   –> Your home, All People feed is your starting point.
3. Mention people in your comments – Really looking to provoke some convo? Mention some users who might not know each other but are real passionate about the same topic. You can play cupid of the information highway.
   –> Learn how to mention people here (note: you must follow someone to mention them).
4. Don’t be afraid of the Inbox – Sometimes you just have to let it all out, there is no better place than to rant and rave with some friends in the privacy of your Inbox.
   –> Learn about how to use your inbox here.
5. Newsstand recommendations – Like a topic? Find other people who are into the same things and some of the best sites related to it. You can find great stuff you’re into, in a really fun and easy way.
   –> Check out the Newsstand and have fun (warning: it’s freaking awesome.)

These are only a few ways in which I try to get the most out of the Yadda. Hope you enjoy and tune in later for some other yadda squad insights.

Topics

The Boston Red Sox topic is the easiest way to stay on top of our boys. You can title surf in one spot all day be immersed in thousands of articles from hundreds of sources. I would also recommend keeping an eye on these guys as well, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees as you should always keep your enemies close.

Sites

If you are looking to build out your sites feed, here are the top notch Sox sites on the web:

• Boston Dirt Dogs – The most visited Sox fan site on the web!
• The Soxaholix – “Part Doonesbury, part Bill James, part graduate seminar in literature, The Soxaholix chronicles the schizoid emotions that govern Boston fans like the tides.”
• Red Sox Reality Check – Because everybody needs a reality check.
• Red Socks Diaries – Red Socks Diaries is a production of Narragansett Pictures, and features the talking comic strip Baseball-tawk
• Joy of Sox – They do it everyday so you don’t have to.
• NESN – No description needed.
• Sox Prospects – Do you have what it takes?

People

Want to talk Sox? Take it up with these sluggers:

• Roy Smith – No info (lame)
• Andrew Tenaglia – No info (lame)
• Link Reynolds – Beating the Pinyadda until the brain candy falls out.
• Brad Reynolds – I GET NICE on the regs.
• Ryan Shores – No info (lame)

Where do you get your Sox info?

Moving on.

The World Cup is a huge water cooler opportunity for employees. The corporate world is chalk full of soccer hooligans, and what better way to connect with your boss, than discussing an injury time goal, and the odds the U.S takes it home. Problem is, you don’t have a clue on what’s happening with the World Cup. Look no further, first was Inbound Marketing, NBA Finals, Happy Hour, and now the World Cup. I’m trying to save uninformed awkward conversations one current event at a time. By the way, you can also unlock some sweet World Cup badges as you get in the know about the games.

Topics

First things first, the Soccer topic and World Cup topic will solve your problems immediately. Hundreds of sites are constantly pumping those two topic feeds with the most up to date World Cup coverage.

Sites

Now for the intermediate users. Here is the hottest World Cup sites on the internet. Forget searching google for results and wondering what’s trusted, here it is.

1. World Cup Teams Blogs – Follow every team’s blog as they compete for the World Cup.
2. World Cup Buzz – A leading web site covering the latest 2010 World Cup soccer news.
3. Goal.com – Score to live!
4. Sports Illustrated – Oldie but goodie
5. World Cup Blog – World Cup Blog is part of the world’s largest English Language Soccer/Football network in the world.
6. Premier League – The official website of the Barclays Premier League
7. Bleacher Report – They sure are bias. Go USA!

People

For the opinionated crowd who like to share their views, follow these fine World Cup liaisons. Also, included is what they are into, because sometimes it is just hilarious.

1. Greg Rogan – Tottenham Hotspur, World Football, Business, Start-Ups
2. Anthony Tripicchio – “Pinyadda.com Full of the Good Stuff”
3. Joey Buttitta – I’m into the SJ Sharks, Manchester United, the World Cup, and Cars.
4. Benoit Brocard – No Info (lame)
5. Topher Breedlove – No Info (lame)
6. Del Fernandez – No Info (lame)
7. Pat Suarez – No Info (lame)
8. Kevin Owens – No Info (lame)
9. Amber Marrama – Dance, Dance, Dance- training like an athlete, discipline, cooking and swimming.
10. Chris Ercoli – Energy, Renewables, Carbon Management, Sustainability, Startups, Social Media, Inbound Marketing, Forex, Business Strategy, Running Fanatic, Soccer Nut, and don’t even get me started on Non-profits
11. Lindsey Dupont – celebrity trashiness, new hampshire, boston sports, the legal world, politics, music, and i’m currently learning how to cook. All that says is, I’m pretty random.

Who do you want to win the World Cup?

Trick Question…USA

Topics

The easiest way to get your fix electronically is to follow these topics; Beer, Alcohol, and Wine. If you so dare, you can also follow Party, and signal to all of your followers on Pinyadda that you can hang. On a lighter note, the topics Food and Dining will also keep you informed on the hottest spots to meet after work.

Sites

For the more advanced crowd here are the must follow sites:

• Boston Restaurant Talk – A journal on the Boston, MA, restaurant scene as well as restaurants around the country
• Hidden Boston Blog – A blog within the site of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants that includes random thoughts on the Boston and New England restaurant scene.
• Wine Enthusiast – Title says enough.
• Drink Nectar – Drink Nectar reviews Spokane wine and coffee bars, wines, coffees and more.
• The Second Glass Blog – Rumor has it, you can now unlock their badges on Pinyadda!
• Beer News – The Craft Beer News Leader
• Narragansett Beer Blog – Who doesn’t like a cold ‘Gansett tall boy?
• Aleheads – The Session Drinker’s Blog
• 2 Beers Guys Blog – Drink craft beer.  You’ve earned it!
• Bros Icing Bros – Take a knee and chug!

People

Last but not least, here are a few people to follow (and what they are into) you might see at happy hour.

• Ben Webb – chicks
• Kip Visi – No info
• Lauren Foye – Tech, Mobile Internet Devices, Vizit, Mobile, Start-ups, Isabella Products, Social Meida, Publishing, Books, eReaders, Boston, Red Sox, and great sites to recommend folks
• Brianne Barrett – public relations, marketing, social media, start-ups, beauty, fashion, fitness, consumer products, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, Boston
• Adam Fullerton – No info
• Max Silver – Social, mobile, advertising, movies, sports, sports, and more sports
• Stephanie Springer – No info
• Ashley McGrath – Learning about everything
• Justin Unger -No info
• Jon Frisch – startups/all things emerging tech/helping nonprofits fight the good fight/sports/live music

What’s your favorite drink and after work spot?