Regardless of the size of your organization or the nature of your business, if you’re not on board the social media train, you’ll be left standing at the station as your competitors travel into the future.
From sole proprietors to non-profits, for-profits, cities, counties, and even school booster clubs– organizations are taking advantage of the many social media tools available to communicate their organization’s value to followers, members, customers, and others.

Social Media is really on my mind this week because I’m gearing up for the Social Media Marketing Made Simple workshop Social Media Expert Shelley Roth and I are hosting next week, on Oct. 27.

Although we’ll cover a lot of ground in this half-day workshop, Social Media is a huge subject and is ever changing. Therefore, I thought I’d pass along this list of top social media blogs for those of you who want to delve further into the latest in Social Media.

This list (and the rest of this blog entry) comes from Social Media Examiner’s competition for the Top 10 Social Medial Blogs for 2011.

Social media is a big subject. If you’re looking for some reliable places to go for the best tips and social media tactics, look no further!

Our second-annual contest generated more than 300 nominations. Our panel of social media experts carefully reviewed the nominees and finalists, analyzing the quality of their content, the frequency of posts and reader involvement (among other things).

The following are the winners of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media Blogs for 2011.

If you’re looking to master all that social media has to offer, these rich blogs need to be at the top of your reading list.

1. Brian Solis: The grand master of social media, Brian is one of the web’s leading social media evangelists and his blog is required reading for businesses.

2. TopRank: This popular blog, the brainchild of Lee Odden, provides exceptional social media advice and should be one of your daily destinations.

3. Convince & Convert: Jay Baer’s Convince & Convert provides outstanding content for businesses seeking to embrace social media. This is the second year Jay has made our list.

4. Six Pixels of Separation: Mitch Joel offers consistent and thought-provoking content delivered with personality.

5. Social Media Explorer: This blog, from Jason Falls , provides excellent perspective on the current state of social media and should be a regular stop for serious social media marketers. This is the second year Jason has made our list.

6. Brand Builder: For businesses looking to dive deep into social media discussion, check out Olivier Blanchard’s rich insights. This is the second year Olivier has made our list.

7. Spin Sucks: Gini Dietrich’s blog takes a look at social media from a PR perspective. Check her site out!

8. Danny Brown: Danny Brown’s blog examines the human side of social media with rich content and insights.

9. The Anti-Social Media: For something completely different, check out Jay Dolan’s satirical blog on the state of social media.

10. BrandSavant: This unique blog from Tom Webster combines a great intellect with common sense, giving it an edge.