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The beauty of Web 2.0 is that anyone with the ability to click a mouse and a great imagination can start their own business, raise plenty of VC money and drive fancy cars. Advancing this myth is a great little exercise to prototype your dream.

Start with a company name and click your way to fame and fortune! You’ll be able to raise money, hire AJAX coders, Flash designers and even spend some money on a Super Bowl ad.

Sim Web 2.0 Simulator

Good luck!

Jay Berkowitz, CEO of Ten Golden Rules, an Internet marketing agency based in Boca Raton, Florida offers up a recommended reading list to understand how Web-site design, search technology and other online technologies and trends affect business.

Two of my favorites:

Seth Godin’s Blog www.sethgodin.typepad.com
Seth Godin, author of several best-selling marketing books, is always on top of the trends that matter. He recetnly described the power of choice in marketing — “Unlike most other functions in the organization, you get to choose where and how you do what you do,” but adds that the bad choices are the easiest mistakes to avoid: “If you have colleagues that love to discuss everything out loud, don’t choose a campaign that will fail if the market senses internal discussion and disagreement,” or “If you have an organization that is slow and deliberative, don’t enter a market that rewards the fleet of foot.”

Eric Lander from Search Engine Journal provides a overview of Google Webmaster Tools: A Comprehensive Guide.

Web site owners and marketers have always craved more information with regards to how Google sees their site. Google Webmaster Tools address these and other needs as they provide support for those looking to diagnose errors, improve a site’s visibility and declare preferences on how to handle web site listings.

There are Statistics features available to make any web site marketer salivate. They include top search queries, how others link to you, PageRank values, links from page to page and domain to domain, and much more. Seeing your web site with the same lens that GoogleBot uses will supply you the necessary information to build an effective website for your visitors.

Nonprofit marketing expert Nancy E. Schwartz has written an article that non-profits should read: Six Steps to Finding the Right Web Site Development Firm for Your Nonprofit.

Choosing the right Web site development firm can be a difficult decision – especially in today’s changing world, where there are many firms promising to meet or exceed your nonprofit’s goals through Web site design and programming. Since your resources are limited and you want to get the most from them, it’s vital that you find the best match.

Take these six steps to find the site development firm that’s the best long-term partner for your organization:

You may have seen the following YouTube videos regarding Web 2.0. In my conversations with some high schoolers, they are seeing these videos for the first time in a classroom setting. Beyond MySpace pages and purchase of ringtones, there is concern that a broader perspective and use of the Web could create a digital divide amongst economic and social lines.

I forwarded the share link back to my email and recieved the following message (in full) from Michael Wesch – Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University who produced the video…

xxx

“I’m trying to think, but nothing happens.” – Curly

Crib notes, quick guides, Cliff Notes, cheat sheets – whatever you choose to call them, they come in handy when the web developer brain goes ___________ .

The guys at Smashing Magazine (we smash you with the information that will make your life easier. really.) have provided probably over 100 cheat sheets from Ajax to CCS, MySQL to XML. One could print them all out and fill several notebooks full of cheat sheets, but that’s not being environmentally green (unless you’re really green.)

Nicholas Holland, President and CEO of CentreSource Inc. (www.centresource.com), Nashville’s leading custom web design and web application development firm, was named a Nashville Emerging Leader Awards Winner in the Technology field.

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the 20/20 Leadership Alliance hosted the Inaugural Nashville Emerging Leaders Awards (NELAs) Ceremony at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center September 6, 2007. The NELAs recognizes young professionals in 12 industry classifications who are excelling in their careers and making a difference in the Nashville community.

Twelve winners from a field of thirty-six local young professionals in a dozen fields were chosen based on their professional accomplishments, strong leadership and community service.

“Winning this award means a lot to me,” said Nicholas Holland. “So many people devoted their time to making the NELA’s a wonderful event and a significant award. I’ve been told that each industry team put a lot of thought into evaluating each candidate. To be selected as the winner in Technology is a great honor and I’m proud that our city recognizes young leaders. Everyone who put the NELAs together deserves recognition for starting something great!”

CentreSource extends congratulations to all of the finalists and winners in the respective fields for their professional accomplishments and community service.

At lunch today, my friend and I witnessed from across the street a group of college young folks giving out free hugs. Of all the days to leave the camera at home…

Witnessing random acts of kindness is always a good thing whether handing out free bottles of water or feeding expired parking meters with dimes.

It turns out that yesterday, September 10, 2007 was International Free Hugs Day expressed in over sixty language groups including Pig Latin: Eefray Ugshay and Braille: ⠠⠋⠗⠑⠑ ⠠⠓⠥⠛⠎

The Internet is often credited with enabling the planet we live on to be much smaller and accessible. Donella Meadows, adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, published a State of the Village Report in 1990. Reducing the world population to a village of 1000 people was intended to more easily grasp numerical relationships.

Great web design can and should inspire a call to action. In the web design process, we often think in terms of marketing or eCommerce framed in a visual package to stimulate a response to act.

What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?

One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.

BLOGGERS TO UNITE ON BLOG ACTION DAY

All Blogs Invited to Take Part in Joining Voices to Help Environment

An international initiative of bloggers known as “Blog Action Day” launched today, with the aim of uniting thousands of blogging voices, talking about one issue for one day. This year on Blog Action Day, which is slated for Oct. 15, 2007, bloggers will be discussing the environment.