• I don’t believe in burnout: Some career lessons from Google’s Marissa Mayer. I have an enormous amount of respect for her, so this is a pretty interesting read.  It’s all about finding what matters to you and your own rhythm.
• Condescend to 900 Job Applicants With a 3,000-Word Rejection Letter: The only thing worse than a rejection letter is a condescending rejection letter mailed to 900 different people.  This one really takes the fail cake.
• Tracking Down a Mysterious Mountain Man from the Yellowstone Archives: The story is cool, the pictures are awesome.
• Phonedeck puts your Android in the cloud: Because using your phone while on your actual phone is so 2010. I actually like all the data this can give you about your phone usage and who you talk to most often, for how long. A whole new way to charge clients? ;)
• What inspires Michael J. Fox: Brian Harnish sent this to me and I absolutely fell in love with it. Michael J. Fox talks about his life with Parkinson’s and how it has, and has not, changed his life.
• 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy:  Something for all of us to work on.
• Bill Murray slides into home plate: Don’t lie, if given the chance, you’d do the exact same thing. Only my slide would have been far more ridiculous.
• Cat opens freezer: This little piece of horror was sent to me by @Netmeg. Blame her.

That’s it. Any interesting finds you want to share with us today? Now’s your chance. Otherwise, catch ya next week. :)

Ready?

• ‘A test you need to fail’: A teacher’s open letter to her 8th grade class: When education fails to deliver on the promise it makes to young people.
• Go the F**k Home:  This is Pam Selle’s Ignite Philly talk where she tells whiny business people to shut up and go the f**k home.  I especially like the point she makes about managers leading through action. If you stay til 7, you’re teaching your team to stay til 7:30pm and that’s not healthy for any of you. Just go the f**k home and find yourself some hobbies.
• Making big decisions about money: I fully admit to being money-stupid so I like the way Seth breaks it down here.  It’s not a $500 car stereo, it’s about comparing one version of your dream with another version.
• The importance of sleep in a startup: Productivity doesn’t come in hours, it comes with the energy you have every day.  I like that.
• I found my boyfriend’s face on a dating website: A girl discovers that images of her boyfriend, and herself, are being used in ads for online dating sites and goes on an investigation into the stock photo industry. Pretty awesome stuff. 
• First ever 1080 landed by 12-year-old skateboarder:  This is one badass kid. 
• 100 greatest cooking tips of all time: And no one has turned this into an infographic yet? SHAME ON YOU, INTERNET!
• Celebrities that found success despite looking like camels: What? Don’t look at me like that.
• Dog keeps young girl alive by carrying her oxygen: Dogs are pretty much the awesome creatures on Earth.

That’s it from me. Have an amazing weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday for some LinkLove liveblogging courtesy of Michelle.

Oh, and before I send you away – don’t forget to tune into the blog on Monday to catch Michelle’s LinkLove Boston liveblogging. Just because some people hate liveblogging, doesn’t you can’t still enjoy all of Michelle’s hard work from the comfort of your couch.

Okay! Onto the learning.

Rhea’s Top Link: Innovation Is About Arguing, Not Brainstorming. Here’s How To Argue Productively

Daniel’s process for deliberative discourse stems from his agency, anthropology, and theater background (eerily similar to my agency, primatology, and theater background), but everyone should learn from his experiences. Organizations need to brainstorm and often encounter conflict. This is a natural part of group development. The ability to harness deliberative discourse and develop a system for conflict and communication within your organization, ensures long-term success. There’s a greater return for your clients, as well as, a more personally fulfilling environment where “…work requires intensity, thoughtfulness, and rigor.” This post really highlights something that we inherently feel as professionals, but sometimes have difficulty acting on.

Danika’s Top Link: Living Differentation

There’s no denying the importance of a strong brand and a quality product, but is that enough to differentiate?  James Allen argues that the key to differentiation is making improvements to your value chain that seamlessly and flawlessly deliver high quality products and services to your customers.

Emily’s Top Link: How The iPad Could Destroy Google’s Lucrative Search Business

This isn’t the first time that a disruptive technology is threatening Google, but I find this article particularly fascinating. Perhaps because Danika is a big fan of Siri and I get to hear Siri’s voice on an almost daily basis. Or perhaps because this is the first threat that I can really see being a contender. What do you think…. does Siri really present a threat to the almighty Google?

Michelle’s Top Link: A Visual Guide to Rich Snippets

This infographic from Selena Narayanasamy not only gives you a good intro to rich snippets, it also covers the types of markup formats (like schemas for food bloggers), how to use them, and even how to test them. And if you find content markup intimidating, check out the section on WordPress plugins that do it for you.

If you’re not already using microdata in your content, this will get you on the right track. A lot of people are saying infographics are passé, but this is one you’ll definitely want to bookmark, and maybe even print out and hang next to your desk, especially if you’re a content creator. Besides, who doesn’t love an infographic with a cute dog in it?!

Joe’s Top Link: Branding In Mind

While I don’t need anyone to reaffirm the importance of SEO and ranking well, I do like when I find resources that help do just that. And while there is so much to this branding article that I agree with, from the overall subject itself, the statistics at the end help reaffirm the need for SEO. The statistic goes like this: 50% of sales come from 80% of the people, while the other 50% of sales come from the remaining 20% who seldom think of a brand (if at all, in my opinion). That, to me, speaks volumes for the need, efficacy and ROI possibilities that SEO can bring – driving brands, products and thoughts higher in the search results for the 20% that can account for 50% of sales.

Lisa’s Top Link: How to Optimize Your Business For Local Search and Social Marketing

This topic has been written about ad nauseum but it’s never been covered as in-depth and awesome as it is in this Neil Patel post. If you’re a small business owner, if you work with small business owners, or if you just want to know how to absolutely dominate in local search, then this post is your guide. You probably won’t get through it in one read. You may not even get through it in five, but holy hell is there a lot of potential here and Neil breaks it down in amazing detail.  Read this one. And when you’re done, read it again.

Okay, now it’s your turn. What was YOUR top link find of the month?

Ready to go on an adventure with me?

• “Boy CEO” Mark Zuckerberg’s Two Smartest Projects: Pretty interesting profile on Mark Zuckerberg and his transition from Boy CEO to the billion-dollar mogul we see today. Because when you hit it big at 20, you still have to take some time to find yourself.
• Are bananas much better than cookies: In terms of nutrients? Yes. In terms of the sugar crashing afterward? Nooope.
• Parenting in Five Minutes or Less: I don’t have kids, but even I love these quick parenting tips from Maggie. Let’s face it, kids or not, we could all use some tips on getting more done while also reclaiming our sanity.
• Facebook’s “dark side”: Study finds link to socially aggressive narcissism: Researchers have established a direct link between the number of friends you have on Facebook and the degree to which you are a “socially disruptive” narcissist. In other words, Best. Study. Ever.
• 10 stubborn exercise myths: It feels like everyone I know is in the middle of some sort of weight loss regime lately so…just some important things to know before you hurt yourself.
• Jets and new quarterback Tim Tebow could cash in on NY stardom:  There was a lot of talk earlier this week about whether Tim Tebow’s rockstar personal brand would come in handy with his fate on the trading block.  After being picked up by the New York Jets, all eyes are certainly on the 24 year old. He’ll be able to cash in on his brand…but only if he wins.
• Star rabbit dies when photographer takes wrong step: What was supposed to be this rabbit’s biggest day turned into tragedy when he was stepped on and killed during his media spotlight.  Poor thing. Also? I love that this is on NPR.
• Celebrities read tweets about themselves: Jimmy Kimmel asks celebrities to read tweets sent to them from fans.  It’s pretty awesome. Poor Kristen Bell. She didn’t deserve that.
• America’s 25 Most Hated Foods: I don’t know. I just can’t get on board with this. The 23rd most hated foot is avocado?  Avocado is probably in my top five of FAVORITE foods.  You people are all crazy. Also, you’re WRONG!
• Blonde hilariously explains meaning of “miles per hour”: This is so good I’m pretty sure it has to be staged (especially since  her husband is in marketing), but it’s also so good that I don’t care.

Well, that’s it from me. Anything you want to share? Do so in the comments.

Happy hunting!

• Kid builds a monster trap: This kid is so bad ass I don’t even have the words.  Watch this. It will make your whole day that kids like this still exist. [hat tip @dr_pete]
• Hey, kids! Anybody here not heard the F-word?:  ”Bully” a documentary about childhood bullying, is in the middle of some controversy as it tries to appeal to the MPAA to change it’s R-rating to PG-13.  Roger Ebert proposes a solution that may side-step the whole MPAA issue altogether.
• The Scale of the Universe: Ready to have your mind blown? Go ahead. Click. I dare you. [hat tip @chriswinfield]
• The stupid things you do with your money (and how to fix them): I guess I’ll continue to do stupid things with my money because I am so not confrontational enough to haggle better deals with my cable company. That’s just not happening ever. Do people really do that?
• The history of bracketology: ‘Tis the season! Who do you have to win it all?
• Not My Job: I try not to post too many business-related posts here, but this one has a good message. Because the writer is correct, it’s not your job unless someone in a higher pay grade thinks it is. So smile and do it anyway. Or get a new job. Those tend to be your options. [hat tip @decillis]
• Maddie on things: At first you’re like, meh, whatever. And then YOU KEEP SCROLLING and Maddie seems more and more bad ass.
• Meanwhile in Russia: Because I’m still a sucker for flash mobs + people getting married.  This includes both and a whole lot of smiling, happy people.  [hat tip @netmeg]
• L.A. Weatherman Sues CBS Stations for Hiring Young, Attractive Women: Because men are pretty too.

That’s it from me. What did you find this week that caught your eye? Leave it in the comments. Oh, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! :)

Ours first:

• How a full-time law student made 50k on the side: We all have the same 24 hours in a day. But some of us seem to get a whole lot more out of it, don’t they?  Here’s how you can too.
• Ending the R-word: Ban it or understand it:  How a word many use without thinking hurts harms those with cognitive impairments.  If you hear someone use it, say something. If you use it, stop it.
• Lin-Glorious Bastard: I really like this post from Chuck Leung about how being Asian makes him self-conscious rooting for Jeremy Lin.  Brutal honesty and reflection.
• Japan tsunami pictures: before and after: In honor of the anniversary of the Japan tsunami, this photo editorial shows what Japan looked like then and how it’s transformed over the past year. Don’t worry, that lump in your throat is totally normal.
• Blue People Look For Genetic Connection To Kentucky Fugates: Totally intrigued. Especially because my fingers occasionally turn blue for no reason.
• Healthy Eating for People Who Hate Cooking: You sit in front of a computer all day and probably aren’t so good at getting your butt to the gym. The least you can do is be kind to your system. Eat smarter.
• Drinkify: While this isn’t a new site, it is new to me. So I’m sharing it. Deal.  The goal of Drinkify is to tell you what your drink of choice is based on the music you’re listening to. Based on the music I listen to, I probably shouldn’t be drinking.
• How Reddit Saved One Man’s Life: Not that most of us should take much stock in diagnoses you get over the Internet but…this is pretty awesome.
• Upset Men and the Happy Women Who Love Them: This kind of just made me laugh. And we wonder why men and women have such a hard time relating to one another.

That’s it from me. Have a fantastic weekend and we’ll see you back here next week. :)

But before I jet off and leave you all for the West Coast, let’s enjoy some weekend coffee links. They’re just what the doctor ordered. 

• Scifi Author Spoils His Entire Books For Terminally Ill Fan: An author sends a terminally ill fan an advanced copy of his next book and agrees to spoil the entire series in a phone call or face to face.  Sometimes you have to really love people.  And the Internet.  Start your weekend off with this video.
• I’d Like to Thank My Twitter Followers: Understanding that social media drives engagement, this year’s Oscars (happening Sunday) will be chock full of tweets, hashtags, and snarky commentary broadcasted to the masses.
• Does God Get Thanked More Than Oprah?: Slate crunches the numbers on 10 years of Oscar acceptance speeches and then makes the data interactive. There’s nothing sexier than interactive data.
• The Myth of the Eight Hour Sleep: Suddenly everything you thought you knew about sleep is wrong.  If you have issues with sleep it may be because you’re trying to force your body to do something that’s unnatural. Me? I sleep like a baby for a solid nine hours. I’m clearly easy to train.
• Court Orders Man To Apologize To Estranged Wife on Facebook: A judge ruled that a comment Mark Byron made on Facebook violated a restraining order put in effect to prevent him from causing his ex-wife or their child physical and/or mental abuse, harassment, annoyance or bodily injury.  As such, he was forced to go back on Facebook to apologize and leave it there for at least 30 days to make sure everyone saw it.  Suddenly, we’re all back in kindergarten.
• Reward Value, Not Face Time:  I like posts that I feel put the focus on the right aspect of work-place life. This is a good one.
• How Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret Fixed My Procrastination Problem:  Those of you with OCD will find this particularly  helpful.  Must Not. Break. The Chain.

And that’s it? Have a link you want to share with our readers? Drop it in the comments.

But that’s next week. Today the Outspoken Media staff is sharing with you their favorite link finds of the month. We’ll go first and then maybe you’ll be so kind as to share your own favorites with us in the comment. And yes, you can pimp yourself. We don’t care who the content’s from, just that it’s awesome.

Rhea’s Top Link: The Time For Content Marketing Is Now

While speaking at Distilled’s SearchLove New York conference back in October, I got to see Tom Critchlow discuss the need for a Chief Content Officer. That really struck a chord with the whole Outspoken Media team. We’ve always valued content, but we didn’t have a name for it. To Tom’s point, the SEO and the content marketing industries rarely speak. The truth is, we’re a content marketing agency who uses this content to strategically produce backlinks, engagement or to build a positive brand. Sure, we do other SEO-y things, too, but at the core, we love and build content. His presentation and subsequent article, with GREAT links (read all of them), gave me a lot to think about and I hope it sparks the same in you. This is the future of online marketing. Are you a publisher?

Danika’s Top Link: 5 C’s of Building an Awesome Community

I’m not going to lie. I love Jason Sadler. Not only do I think his company, IWearYourShirt.com, is a great idea, but it’s apparent that the guy knows a thing or two about building a community. His article for the Young Entrepreneur Council ties in 5 elements to keep in mind when building your community, both on- and offline.

Emily’s Top Link: Early Success Stories: Timeline Apps and Open Graph

Some popular websites are seeing major traffic from a new wave of Facebook timeline apps that focus on share-ability. Saw a recipe you’d like to cook tonight? Share it on your timeline with all your friends. Saw some cute shoes you want to buy? Share those too. Is there ever such a thing as sharing too much? Apparently these app users don’t think so.

Michelle’s Top Link: How ‘Grammar Girl’ Turned A Single Hobby Podcast Into A Growing Media Network

I have to admit to a little bias in choosing this article because Mignon Fogarty is my grammar hero. But the writer also used the term “SEO utopia,” so I couldn’t pass it up! I agree spelling and grammar are still important, despite some arguments that the rules should be tossed aside to accommodate txtspk (it hurts me to type that) and the immediacy of the Internet. And I believe good grammar and SEO copywriting go hand in hand. But this is also a great article because it shows you can be successful if you follow your passion, even when that passion seems as mundane or nerdy as using proper grammar. Go Grammar Girl!

Joe’s Top Link: The New SEO Process

When you’re dealing with someone new to SEO, one of the first things they mention is finding keywords and adding them to the site/content. This is especially true when being introduced to potential new clients. For the sake of SEO success, it is vital to convey the various processes that have evolved with SEO. SEO practices and processes have changed and become more reliant on the many facets outlined here by Mike King. For the sake of your campaign’s success, read every word and evolve with SEO.

Lisa’s Top Link: Monitor Which Social Networks Your Visitors Are Logged Into With Google Analytics

This was pretty much impossible for me this month. I had three ALL-STAR links that I really wanted to include. In the end I went with Tom Anthony’s post about how to decipher what social networks your visitors are logged into. This type of data is crucial when trying to decide what networks are worth your time, how much of your audience spends time where, what social buttons to display on your site, etc. The more data-driven decision you can build into your marketing campaigns, the better.

Okay, now it’s your turn. What was YOUR top link find of the month?

Hop into these link favorites and then let us know what caught YOUR eye this week.

• You didn’t thank me for punching you in the face:  Tired of people telling her young daughter that boys push her because they like her, this mom rants back.  I’m not exactly sure I agree with the tone, but there’s a valid message here underneath the anger.  Should we really be teaching young girls to equate physical violence/pushing with love? I think most of us would agree we shouldn’t.
• A Brother and Sister Get Married (And Later, Their Son Tweets It):  A gorgeously sweet story. And don’t worry.  The couple wasn’t related, they were religious.
• How 1-minute intervals can improve your health:  Twenty minutes of exercise a day is all you need to feel better. Twenty minutes.  Everyone has time for that. Even you, Mr. Busy Person.
• Look to weaknesses to find your leadership strengths:  Whether you have an actual disability or a weakness in some other area, it could be just the thing to make you an excellent leader and person. This article helps you explore it.
• F*ck the latte!: Makes the argument that if you want to save $5 a dollar day you should do so by making five dollars MORE a day, not sacrificing your morning latte.
• How Target figured out a teen girl was pregnant before her father did:  This is an awesome article that everyone involved in online marketing should read. Just because you KNOW something about someone…doesn’t mean it’s not in your best interest to play dumb every once in awhile.  The first date analogy used is pretty on point.
• How to identify and address your burnout problem: I’m trying not to take it personally that their list of “burnout symptoms” is basically an aggregation of all my normal personality traits. I’m a bad person.
• 9 essential skills kids should learn: I love this post.  Leo Babauta outlines nine things that parents should be teaching their kids that most probably aren’t.  Numbers 6 and 9 are biggies for me.   If you like this post, I’d also recommend this post called What I’ve Learned About Smart People.
• Potty training a sloth baby:  As the woman says, you can lead a sloth to the poop hole, but you can’t make him poop.
• How to make tiny taco bowls: You may not be at all interested in this but it kind of blew my mind.  I know what I’m having for dinner next week. Yes. All. Week!

And that’s it from us. What’d you read this week that was pretty awesome? Let us know and we’ll meet you back here next week.

Ready? It’ll be okay. It will all be okay.

• More Damaging Evidence On Open Plan Offices: It’s interesting to see research like this continue to come out. You put your employees in an open environment thinking it’s whats best for them, and then you learn you may actually be killing their productivity by 66 percent.  We’ve had many conversations about this here in the office and change is on the way.
• Startup dudes: Cut the sexist crap: Sigh.
• A year of Friday:  It’s been a year since that awful Rebecca Black song hit the Internet.  This post charts the viral hit that now has more than 22 million views.
• Facebook more addictive than cigarettes: I wonder if they make a patch for that? Google’s probably working on it. It’ll come with the official Google bar code.
• How to change your life: Julien tells you how to break out of patterns, handle fear and put yourself on the path you want to be on. Also? I love Julien.
• Chipotle is Apple: How Chipotle is doing to the burrito what Apple did to the cell phone.  Aaaand just like that you want a burrito, right?  Me too.
• Unromantic places around the world: Valentine’s Day is a few days away. Here are the places you DON’T want to go. Got it?
• Is Costco really worth it? Some comparison shopping before you head out and get your grocery’s for next week.  What’s cheaper to buy where?
• Siri thinks you’re dateless: Maybe it’s because I’m kind of ON EDGE right now, but this made me giggle an embarrassing amount. I mean, I’m still giggle.  I’m not proud.

That’s it from me. See you Monday. I’m gonna go stare at a wall or something.