It’s no secret that we at ReadWriteWeb have a lot of love for startups that make their homes outside Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. Over the last year, we decided to make a few videos spotlighting some unique, unexpected locations where startups thrive, where tech scenes are vibrant, where cooperation outstrips competition, and where creativity runs rampant. One of the first cities we’d like to introduce you to is home to between 150 and 170 startups as well as a thriving entrepreneurial and creative community. Welcome to Boulder, Colorado. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! With the startup accelerator program at TechStars acting as a lightning rod, this area has grown from an earthy university town to a true hotbed of innovation. In certain parts of downtown, you can’t throw a rock without hitting some startup’s offices, and I could barely walk three blocks without bumping into at least one entrepreneur, developer, or designer working at a company such as Threadless or AOL. We interviewed a couple of local startup advisors and one startup team about the culture and community in Boulder. Watch and listen to what they have to say; there are more than a few reasons tech-minded residents love this gorgeous mountain town. Discuss

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A Startup Movie: Never Mind the Valley, Here’s Boulder

In an ironic twist of fate for 2009, Fox’s IGN Entertainment, a company known for its game reviews of products like Zombie Apocalypse acquired What They Play . The newest member of Fox Interactive is touted as the “family guide to video games” and offers reviews, warnings and suggested products. Under the umbrella company of What They Like , What They Play uses the “Entertainment Software Rating Board” (ESRB) to warn parents of games containing explicit lyrics, cartoon violence and drug references. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! In an age when gross-out sites like goatse are just a click away, a number of services offer parents the information they need to find quality online entertainment. While past generations were raised on unfiltered television and video games, today’s parent take a more active role in the process of media consumption. AOL’s PlaySavvy : PlaySavvy is another site that offers parents a chance to check out age-appropriate kids games. Similar to What They Play, this site lists the ESRB ratings next to games and information is categorized by topic and gaming system. Products for console favorites like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii are often featured on the site. AOL also offers parents daily articles and a section to view the most popular games. Parents’ Choice : Established in 1978, this site is run by the Parents’ Choice Foundation – a nonprofit organization that offers awards to the top children’s media and toys. Some of the award categories include websites, video games, DVDs, software, television programming and toys. This site definitely skews towards narrative-based educational materials. If your kid has a shorter attention span, you might want to visit PBS Kids instead. Common Sense Media : Common Sense media is a nonprofit organizations dedicated to offering parents reviews and suggestions on appropriate content. The group produces movie, website, TV, game, book and music ratings as well as a number of educational tools for classroom use. The site can be personalized for kids between the ages of 2-17 years old and it’s available in English and Spanish. This site tends to weigh the benefits of mainstream media sites. PBS KIDS Island : This site offers parents reading resources, videos and games in English and Spanish. While the majority of the content is best queued up by a parent or teacher, the videos are of particularly high quality and completely commercial free. National Geographic for Kids : This site offers kid-friendly games, videos, stories and activities for nature lovers. The same photography that has made National Geographic a hit with grownups is likely to please kids. Not surprisingly, the video content is equally compelling. Discovery Kids offers a similar experience and is a great site for visual learners. Totlol : Totlol is a parent-moderated version of YouTube. The site offers video options specifically designed for children and even offers “age optimized interfaces” to ensure that kids of different ages get the most appropriate content. In 2008, ReadWriteWeb covered Totlol’s beta launch . As of today the site charges a $3 per month subscription fee or $54 until your child grows up. Photo Credit: Swaminathan Discuss

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ReadWriteWeb’s List of Kid-Friendly Online Resources

In 2009, when Ray Ozzie stepped into the ring with the news that Microsoft was launching a full-on social lab, it was clear that the Enterprise 2.0 movement was moving into a new phase. Now comes the question of what effect Microsoft will have on the way Enterprise 2.0 evolves and what roles the players that are early to the game will play in its future. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! Ozzie is Microsoft’s chief architect and one of the most respected people in tech circles. Lillian Cheng will lead the Future Social Experiences (FUSE) Labs and report to Ozzie. Cheng is a luminary in her own right, leading a number of research efforts for Microsoft, including the Vista UI. FUSE will combine three labs: The Creative Systems Group, which has been led by Cheng, and the Rich Media Labs and Startup Labs, now commandeered by Ray Ozzie. In an email to Microsoft employees this week, the message was pretty clear about the direction the company will take with its technology development. In essence, the tea leaves say that pretty much every product at Microsoft will include social or sharing features. FUSE will serve as a resource for the product groups. In Ozzie’s words: Myriad scenarios involving the notion of ‘social’ have now gone far beyond communications and collaboration and are transforming experiences that are key to our customers and key to our business, in leisure & entertainment; productivity & teamwork; experiences extending how we use the OS itself. The three groups being combined have concrete skills and code in areas where ‘social’ meets sharing; where ‘social’ meets real-time; where ‘social’ meets media; where ‘social’ meets search; where ‘social’ meets the cloud plus three screens and a world of devices. FUSE Labs will bring more coherence and capability to those advanced development projects where they’re already actively collaborating with product groups to help them succeed with ‘leapfrog’ efforts. Working closely with (Microsoft Research) and across our divisions, the lab will prioritize efforts where its capabilities can be applied to areas where the company’s extant missions, structures, tempo or risk might otherwise cause us to miss a material threat or opportunity. Microsoft’s apparent deep commitment will create a rising tide for the Enterprise 2.0 movement, which is already in full swing. A number of best-in-breed applications are being used by business people. Microsoft’s high-profile commitment will further fuel interest in these applications. Part of this is just the natural order that is taking place. Corporations have historically relied on document-based systems such as Sharepoint. Web pages reflect the next extension, but they, too, are essentially a form of a document. Enterprise 2.0 is forcing a change by fitting social layers that surface information from traditional data silos. That shows no sign of slowing down. FUSE will push the effort forward in its work with the product groups. It will be a wholly different kind of approach that has its roots in IT more than in the business departments. A Different Development Burden Microsoft faces a different developmental burden than what faces the young best-of-breed companies that are building social applications for their business customers.These companies are building products from scratch that they can quickly change without worrying about software upgrades. Their products will continue to fill a gap for the business manager. This means that the Enterprise 2.0 movement will see a dual form of growth, both from business and IT departments. How Will The Customer Fare? Perhaps more interesting will be the changing dynamics for Microsoft customers. I spoke with Tim Young, CEO of Socialcast about this topic. The advantage of social technologies is their ease of use and how they fit into a line of business. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools can be treated as an expense. They perform a service. Business users like that model. The applications are easy to use and affordable. They do not require an IT team to put in place. Business users have been free to use these technologies at will. They have been pretty much ignored by the IT Department. But recently, Microsoft has been pressuring their IT contacts to upgrade to Sharepoint 2010. People we speak to say that IT is now starting to ask business users about the social technologies they are using. IT is skeptical to some extent. They have relationships with Microsoft that are important to maintain. But unlike in the past, business users are the early technology adopters and hold a bit of power. They have started using social technologies and are not looking back. They have crossed the chasm and are looking to employ these applications even more. The news from Microsoft just proves that the social enterprise is here to stay. Microsoft is not in such a bad space. Companies are still heavily reliant on spreadsheets and email. Documents remain the crown jewels of the organization. Their social offering only stands to improve with FUSE now in place. Several companies, like Jive Software , are integrating their products with Sharepoint, providing an edge they previously did not have. We expect Microsoft will play a heavy hand in how Enterprise 2.0 evolves. But the foundation has already been established to some extent without them. They have their own allies in the enterprise. Now it’s just a question of how fast the culture shifts. Discuss

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Ray Ozzie’s New Social Lab: What It Means For Enterprise 2.0

These days, everyone is talking about social media and discussing what services and tools to use, how to use them, why you should use them, etc. In fact, if you listened to all the advice out there, you would probably think that no matter who you are, whether an individual wanting to build a personal brand, or a large multinational corporation intent on communicating with customers, you should be using social media. But is social media for everyone? Are there times when you shouldn’t be using it at all? Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! According to B&B, a magazine for marketing strategists, there are definitely some scenarios when social media should be avoided. In a recent article , they listed what these were: You’re in a high-ticket business:

Over the last week we ran a series of posts outlining the five biggest Internet trends of this year: Structured Data , Real-Time Web , Personalization , Mobile Web / Augmented Reality , Internet of Things . Effectively this was ReadWriteWeb’s State of the Web 2009 . We’ve now compiled the main points into a single presentation, available on Slideshare and embedded below. You can view the presentation in full screen by clicking the “full” button at the bottom of the presentation. You can also download the presentation as a Powerpoint file. All of the links in the presentation are clickable, should you wish to explore a certain topic more. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! Structured Data The Real-Time Web Personalization Mobile Web & Augmented Reality Internet of Things Discuss

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ReadWriteWeb’s Top 5 Web Trends of 2009

A study released earlier this year by Anderson Analytics looked into the demographics and psychographics of social networking users on Facebook , MySpace , Twitter , and LinkedIn with a goal of providing marketers with information about users’ interests and buying habits as related to their network of choice. The end result is a detailed look at the profiles and habits of social networking users on the web today. Some of the study’s findings echo things we’ve already heard. For example, Facebook users tend to be old, white, and rich. MySpace users are young…and fleeing. Other info is new: Twitterers are more likely to have a part-time job, LinkedIn users like to exercise and own more gadgets. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! The Anderson study sampled over 11,000 GreenfieldOnline panelists (an online survey community) over an 11 month period to understand social networking services’ (SNS) reach and overlap among the U.S. Online Population. In May, the company surveyed an additional 5,000 panelists of which over 1,250 participated in an in-depth attitude and usage survey. They then grouped the participants into two categories: those who use social networks and those who don’t. To be considered a social network user, the participant had to use one of the sites in question in the past 30 days. Of course, not everyone is devoted to one social network alone. The study found that there is some overlap between sites, as shown in the chart below. Social Networkers, in General Out of the 110 million Americans (or 60% of the online population) who use social networks, the average social networking user logs on to these sites quite a bit. They go to social networking sites 5 days per week and check in 4 times a day for a total of an hour per day. Nine percent of that group stay logged in all day long and are “constantly checking what’s new.” Interacting with Brands When it comes to brands online, the study found that: 52% of social networkers had friended or become a fan of at least one brand, 17% felt positive when seeing a brand on a social network, 19% felt negative when seeing a brand on a social network, 64% were neutral or didn’t care about brands on social networks, 20% would like to see more communication from brands online, 35% would not like to see more communication, 45% were neutral or didn’t care. Social Networking Myths Shot Down A couple of interesting things that came out of the study included the debunking of some social networking myths. Social networkers are not as interested in friending strangers or creating “fake” friends to boost their ego. Out of the group, 45% connect only to family and friends and another 18% will connect only to people they’ve met in person. In other words, two-thirds are connecting to people they actually know. Only 10% of those surveyed said they will friend anyone. Also interesting is that only 15% of social networkers say they log on at work, thus debunking another myth about how prevalent social network use is at the workplace. Non-Social Networkers The study revealed the reasons why some online users aren’t into social networks. Surprisingly, it’s not because they hate technology – they spent just as much time on the web as the networkers do. Instead, they don’t use social media because either they don’t have the time, they don’t think it’s secure, or they think it’s stupid. Yet even out of the time-starved group, 22% report they’ll start using social media in 3 months and 27% said they’ll start using it in a year. Continue to Part 2 for details on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Discuss

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Who Uses Social Networks and What Are They Like? (Part 1)

Sometimes, it feels like terms we thought had some meaning really don’t apply as much anymore. Take the term “social media,” as an example. It’s like every SEO marketer decided that “social media,” was the ticket to a sweet consulting gig. Just look at Twitter. You find a lot of social media experts with tens of thousands of followers. Kind of feels like you are looking down a street filled with hucksters. Sponsor Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! Social media once served as a term to help people understand the concepts that have risen over the past several years. It helped people understand the tools that can be used to gain a web presence. But the term took too broad of a meaning. At some point, a nervous rush ensued. Everyone needed a social media strategy. In the process, the term and the rush for “social media” adoption became ripe for satire: A More Holistic Approach But that’s only part of the story. The other, more accurate story, reflects a trend toward a more holistic approach in the enterprise. Social media may only represent the tools we use but social computing reflects a deeper view of how the enterprise will adopt this new generation of lightweight technologies. We disagree that executives will continue to shun the term “social.” If they continue to do so, they will be swept out by a generation of far more modern managers. Still, companies lack the capabilities and the discipline to develop operations that integrate lightweight applications into the enterprise. They need help. They use the new tools available but lack the experience for implementation. There is a need for more community managers who can help with the overall approach. These people are not “social media” managers. They use social media tools to help join a culture that is fragmented in part due to the “data silo” approach that has become predominant in the enterprise. We spoke with the people behind two consulting companies about their approach to social computing in the enterprise: Pragmatic Enterprise 2.0 and the Dachis Group . Pragmatic Enterprise 2.0 Pragmatic Enterprise 2.0 is a new consulting company started by Dion Hinchcliffe and Michael Krigsman . The enterprise, in their view, is still wary of social computing. They are primarily concerned about risk, control and trust. To succeed with social computing, the enterprise has to work toward three major goals: Address key business concerns Demonstrate business value Acquire social computing competency Both Krigsman and Hinchcliffe are respected members of the Enterprise 2.0 community. Hinchliffe is the founder of Hinchliffe and Associates. Krigsman leads Asuret, a company that focuses on project intelligence and risk navigation. They work exclusively with Socialtext, led by Ross Mayfield. Socialtext predates the Enterprise 2.0 movement. Their approach is a combination of Hinchliffe’s 20 years of experience as an enterprise architect and Krigsman’s long time work examining IT failure. Socialtext is their de-facto technology environment, which they chose after a review of about 70 companies. The company begins its project by gathering intelligence, followed by tool integration, community management development and a degree of project intelligence to define the risks involved. “We gather strategic intelligence to avoid the downsides and reduce project waste,” Krigsman said in an interview. “We leverage best of breed social tools and build social computing competency.” Here’s a full look at their approach: Pragmatic Enterprise 2.0 Overview View more documents from Dion Hinchcliffe . Dachis Group Dachis sees the enterprise going through an age-old transformation. Traditional software is essentially adapting to a new age. They call their approach: “Social Business Design.” Social Business Design, as they view it, is the process of creating socially calibrated and dynamic business systems, process and culture. That’s a mouth full but it reflects the enterprise demand for measured systems that show people are being productive and getting the work done. Unlike Pragmatic Enterprise 2.0, Dachis is technology agnostic, partnering with vendors when it makes sense. The Dachis approach puts a large emphasis on the need to focus on process, culture and technology. This means creating a plan for systems architecture, helping companies adapt to the cultural changes involved and all the aspects of the enterprise that need to be taken into consideration. This means understanding issues about governance and having a pretty keyed in measurement strategy. Here’s their slide deck. It’s a long one but it moves along. Pretty good, overall: Social Business Design: The Enterprise is Dead. Long Live the Enterprise! View more presentations from Jeffreydachis . Last Words About Social Media Social media is still a term we use. But it has become so cliche that it is somewhat of a turn off. It’s important to distinguish that the people who have championed the cause for social computing are often deeply involved with the “social media” community. They are important people in the enterprise who should be sought for leadership in bringing the world of social computing to the ways we conduct business. Social media sounds too much like buzz hype. We need to get down to business. Social computing is a good thing. But even better is the proof that these practices work so we may use tools that help get the work done. Discuss

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Let’s Move Away From Social Media and Get Down to Business