Chris Brogan is going to jump all over me.

In a keynote presentation he made recently at Like Minds 2010, he rightfully commented that the chatter about social media in US conferences had become “boring” and, with tongue in cheek, suggested  “I think it should be legal that if someone says “Just join the conversation” that it is legal to punch them in the face“.

OK, Chris, you have a free swing!

I’m suggesting that marketers interested in understanding consumer purchase behaviors and retail “join the conversation” at Retail Wire.

Here’s why….

The information funnel in my offices is getting bigger by the day. I try to narrow my field of vision and manage my time by setting up Google Alerts on my favorite loyalty marketing topics and subscribing to RSS feeds that I can browse in my Google Reader.  Those two sources create an overwhelming volume of information at times and so, I have chosen a very select few reads that are allowed to hit my inbox.

Three current favorites have been on a roll lately.

• Chris Brogan brightened my day with “I Could Totally Do That” and shared an entertaining video that you should see.
• Christopher Penn switched up his interesting stream of information with an inspirational post “Renewing Faith”, also kicking a day off in the right direction.
• Tim Sanders served up “Why I seldom reply to Tweets Publicly” which presented an opposing viewpoint to something Chris had written about earlier.

So what’s this have to do with Retail Wire?

I’ve been reading the site for a while and find they continually pose questions on critical issues, current events, and future trends in retail loyalty, online retail rewards and broader aspects of retailing. And, they share the information in a conversational way, with daily questions posed and members of a Brain Trust Panel chiming in along with anyone else who feels the urge.

I’ve recently joined the Brain Trust and you can find a compilation of my comments on a variety of topics in my Retail Wire Blog here.  I’ve got my favorite industry specific information sources for banking, card marketing, airline, hospitality, as well as a few more for general marketing topics. Beyond the self – promotional aspect of this post, I had to let you know that Retail Wire is my favorite for staying current in this segment.

Join the conversation at Retail Wire.

OK, Chris, you can have your swing now!