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With Social Media Week is long over, many of us are still buzzing with excitement from the fascinating people that we met, the events we attended and the information overload. I on the other hand have finally just found the time to share this blog post; my recap on the event – hey we still want to know what some of the top bloggers think about the development of social media in 2011 don’t we?

Just to recap, at LBi we hosted eight of the 100 events that were carried out as part of Social Media Week London. These included social surgeries, openshows and the closing party as well as a Tweet of the Week competition to win one of two internships at our offices. Meet the Bloggers was one of my favourite events, hosted by Eva Keogan LBi’s head of social media and leading lifestyle and UK mummy blogger, folks in the audience had the chance to meet and ask questions to a panel of amazing social evangelists.  In less than two hours a flurry of 60 questions were asked and answered coming in from Eva, the audience and our @LBiLondon Twitter feed. Below I have summarised their thoughts on the biggest development in social media in 2011.

But first, what is the significance of bloggers?

“Bloggers are influential independent individuals with highly engaged and strong digital followings who are able to change and mould not just opinions but the habits and lifestyles of their followings, whether they be in niche or mainstream audiences.  They are not journalists, most of them have day jobs, a lot of them have families but what they all have is a passion for what they post about and as their blogs have evolved, they’ve got pretty techy too and learned the ins and outs of digital marketing in this new social space.  This knowledge is something that many people crave and these bloggers have spent hours honing their skills and learning how to produce digital content.” Eva Keogan

Key developments in social media in 2011

Krista Madden from blogging agency @handpickedmedia and top lifesytle and beauty blog @beautyanddirt

This year the industry will be a lot more targeted in their approach to bloggers. Blogging agencies will add value to this as they help to show greater transparency. When doing blogger outreach it’s difficult to gauge how a blogger is doing, so a very effective way is through a blogging agency like Handpickedmedia – it provides an objective review of the blog and provides solid metric and stats on blogs.

@scform – blogger at Skincareformen, a leading lifestyle blog for men on everyday life questions men want to know

The best blogggers realise that a product that doesn’t work for me may work for others so they will always share a balanced perspective while giving their own opinion.

Take lessons from the US , they are more advanced. Brands will continue to take blogging more seriously, there will be a movement away from blanket coverage.

@scaredcrows – tweeter, early adopter, editorial consultant and innovation stategist at Handpicked Media and writer at Beautyandthedirt

It’s easy to forget that because things are online there is a certain aspect of remoteness yet it is important to have offline contact.

Events are key – moving the online relationship offline too. Bloggers generally want to help things work, they like to meet other bloggers as it creates a greater sense of community.

Bloggers will get braver with content, they will go cross platform and use more rich media.

@lizscarff – multimedia journalist and digital media consultant from Debate your Plate – a food and environment blog, giving food the grassroots treatment

Brands will make it easier for their audiences to connect with their stories. Hoping to see more bloggers taking the initiative to get involved, look at Egypt as an example of how this event has been shared online.

@mummytips – CyberMummy founder and blogger spealising in nursery products whose blog took off when she moved away from reviews and started blogging about life

Over the last 6-8 months brands and PR agencies are starting to get things right, they have stopped sending so many press releases. Brands that are successful are starting to work with a smaller and more selected number of bloggers and form close relationships.

Bloggers aren’t journalists, journalists look at things differently and more professionally.

For the mummy community, Cyber Mummy is going to be huge in 2011 with 450 bloggers and Sarah Brown as key note speaker.

@jhowze, Formerly the Times’s Alpha Mummy blogger, CyberMummy founder, freelance writer and British Mummy Bloggers partner

We see Bloggers getting more involved in cross platforms, we are seeing more video, bloggers are getting more creative and having fun. It’s quite interesting the idea of an individual’s own network with their influence being built up. We’ll see more brands, agencies etc. seeing the value in tighter networks.

Blogging has become more mainstream, people starting blogs now are already thinking about their approach – personal vs. working with brands. Three years ago, people used to start to ask themselves this questions only after they got followers.

@AModernMother – Founder of CyberMummy Conferences and the British Mummy Bloggers social network

Bloggers are quite social people, they like to meet each other and appreciate community.

Three years ago people were finding their feet, now they have found their voice, we’ve had the chance to learn from the US and their lessons such as disclosure. The new bloggers have a different learning curve these days. New interest groups are also forming.

Treat bloggers and journalists differently, especially mummy bloggers – their time is precious, they may have only six hours in the day to themselves, time revolves around the kids and school run. When thinking about holding events consider the bloggers’ schedule.

Twitter parties such as #secretbreads trended in the UK, mums got online and shared great ideas on how to get secret goodness into your kids. This conversation sponsored by Kingsmill, raised a dialogue that was branded and meaningful.

Video is on the rise as well as photography – there will be a whole new rise of bloggers as video emerges, we’ll see movement away from YouTube, going to other platforms.

Brands will formalise partnerships with bloggers and work out how to work with them.

So there you have it, some of the thoughts on the direction of social media in 2011. Please drop me a comment if you have anything to add to this, what do you see as some of the major developments for social media in 2011?

Tags: 2011, bloggers, lifestyle bloggers, Meet the Bloggers, mummy bloggers, Social media, social media developments 2011, Social Media Week