Good morning, All,

Ok, so first came the announcement that Larry Page was stepping in as CEO of Google come April (http://read.bi/hQGNRe), and the announcement was all over twitter, pretty much to the exclusion of all else but our favorite was tweet from Eric Schmidt himself: “Day-to-day adult supervision no longer needed!”

Next came the Crunchies and Twitter won for Best Overall Product or Startup, and for being anindispensable part of social communication and a key ingredient in the fabric of the web.

Best for last: Just want to call attention to a new feature at Startup One Stop: live tweets.  Our friends at Movable Ink are powering the section below. This email will update with the latest tweets from SOSlist throughout the day.  We’ll use it to call attention to breaking news, new events, and things we simply find interesting. Try it out by re-opening this email tomorrow. Warning: we like to tweet ‘em as we see ‘em, but we’ll do our best to keep those tweets coming in.

powered by Movable Ink

Also, our congrats to Brad and Matt for getting General Assembly officially going: General Assembly Aims to Gather New York Techies http://nyti.ms/dGWlHi. Cool space and hope to do an event there soon!

Deadlines coming up:

NYC BigApps Competition - January 26 is the deadline for entry
The NYC BigApps Competition will reward the developers of the most creative, best implemented, and impactful applications for delivering information from the City of New York’s NYC.gov Data Mine to interested users. Software developers will compete for $20,000 in cash, wide exposure for their work, and a meeting with the Mayor. Submissions may be any kind of software application, be it for the web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, SMS, or any software platform broadly available to the public. For more information and to enter: http://nycbigapps.com/challenges/81/

TechStars #Boston now accepting applications for class of Spring 2011 http://www.TechStars.org/schedule. Deadline for all applications is January 31.

The $15,000 Gwallet Old Navy Developers Challenge: This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for developers to show off their games and creative talents with the possibility of winning money and fame. Developers must register by January 31 on the gWallet website to confirm they want to participate. Starting February 1, developers have nine days to create an integration mockup and submit it to gWallet. gWallet and Old Navy will select the three best developers to launch their integrations live within their game (targeted only to U.S. users), starting on February 18 and running for two weeks. Later in March these developers will distribute an Old Navy offer that rewards users with virtual currency, thereby driving revenue for the developers’ businesses.

At the event: with approximately 200 attendees including game developers, conference goers, advertisers, press, etc. in San Francisco during the week of GDC, these three developers will demonstrate their brand integrations and user metrics. A panel of judges will determine the grand prize winner and present that person or company with a $15,000 check. For more information: http://bit.ly/ikiRDo To enter: http://bit.ly/fDSUdP

Registration is open for Social Media Week cities all across the world. In total there are nine cities participating in Social Media Week (Feb 7-11) including New York, London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Toronto, San Francisco and Sao Paulo. To register, simply visit socialmediaweek.org, pick a city and click on schedule.  Please note that more events will be added over the coming weeks.

Ok, since last week was that kind of week, the pieces we’d like to call to your attention:

The 48 Laws of Power If you’re too busy to read Sun Tsu (The Art of War), a lot of good stuff in here, including #1 on the list (and speaking of the doings at Google last week): Never Outshine the Master. http://bit.ly/clwHMQ
Right up there with the above – and just for fun: Always Pay Your Web Developers: http://bit.ly/fwsgrT
What Are The Questions Entrepreneurs Should Be Asking VCs. Takes two to tango, and you’d better make sure you have the right dance partner, so Roger lays some of the groundwork. So to speak. http://bit.ly/g1HEIM
Ten Life Lessons We Can Learn From Our Pets. Variations on a theme, and remember: They’ve all found some dumb human who’ll cater to their every need: http://bit.ly/fuoWTh
Since it is a twitter kind of week: Four Tools to Better Time Your Twitter Updates: http://bit.ly/gpEVPU
Seven work habits of effective entrepreneurs, including shorter meetings, more computer screens, and our favorite: just say no. http://bit.ly/hx8ntb

Finally, mark your calendars: the next Find-A-Cofounder will be in late February. Details next week. And we leave you, not with a chuckle this time, but with a fascinating little ditty – the history of the alphabet: http://i.imgur.com/CCNSs.gif And with that, yes, help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and our thanks to British Airways for making it possible. Yes, we are one of the winners of the BA Face-to-Face Competition, which is bringing American entrepreneurs to London to meet with the British business community, so let’s use this opportunity to meet, London-based members!

Arrival Date: February 4. Meetings: February 5. February 6: happy to plan an SOS gathering, so let me know if you’re in, and let’s get together at some pub or other. Open to suggestions. We love to put faces to email addresses and always happy say hello, no matter where in the world you happen to be.

This week’s good news: congrats go to pixable.com, who just launched their photofeed app, which will sort and categorize your Facebook photos. You can read all about it in techcrunch (Pixable’s Photofeed Sorts And Categorizes Your Facebook Photos: http://tcrn.ch/f4R7ob) and/or mashable (Pixable Aims to Change the Way you Browse Facebook Photos: http://on.mash.to/heRZLC)

Speaking of important dates coming up:
InSITEapplication deadline – January 21: http://insiteny.org. InSITE provides early stage companies with pro bono consulting services to help raise Seed or Series A financing. InSITE companies have raised over $215 million in venture funding since 2000. Beyond mentoring services, the program also provides networking opportunities, speaker events, and a final pitch event featuring our affiliated VC and Angel partners. More information can be found on the website.

NYC BigApps Competition – January 26 is the deadline for entry
The NYC BigApps Competition will reward the developers of the most creative, best implemented, and impactful applications for delivering information from the City of New York’s NYC.gov Data Mine to interested users. Software developers will compete for $20,000 in cash, wide exposure for their work, and a meeting with the Mayor. Submissions may be any kind of software application, be it for the web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, SMS, or any software platform broadly available to the public. For more information and to enter: http://nycbigapps.com/challenges/81/

TechStars #Boston now accepting applications for class of Spring 2011 http://www.TechStars.org/schedule. You have until January 13 for the early application deadline. Deadline for all applications is January 31.

Pre-registration is open for select events taking place in Social Media Week cities all across the world. In total there are nine cities participating in Social Media Week (Feb 7-11)–powered globally by headline sponsor Nokia Cities participating: New York, London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Toronto, San Francisco and Sao Paulo. To register, simply visit socialmediaweek.org, pick a city and click on schedule. Please note that more events will be added over the coming weeks.

Call for speakers: The first Geoweb Summit focused on New York LBS startups, geoweb in retail, media and advertising, and location analytics. The second Geoweb Summit, happening May 12th, again at Dumbo Loft in Brooklyn, will explore location technology platforms, digital out-of-home and augmented reality. Already confirmed to speak are founders and CEOs of companies including HopStop, Goby, Gypsii and Stickybits. Watch the video interview with Chris Grayson who will moderate the AR panel. If you are a founder of a geoweb company, you are invited to speak at the Geoweb Spring Summit. Contact geoweb forum at http://geowebforum.com/contact

Pieces we like for this week:
Mark Shuster (Both Sides of the Table: Going to Raise VC? Here’s a Primer on Process, People & Powerpoint Deck http://bit.ly/dILZwE) gives a very quick primer on all the stuff nobody ever tells you about raising venture capital. Of course, all VCs are different and to prove a point, take a look at Bijan Sabet’s take on what a VC is looking for (http://bijansabet.com/post/2711985209/meeting-with-a-vc). Then Shuster cites Bijan in his How to Handle a VC Presentation with No Deck,which, just for the record, he doesn’t recommend. But, hey, we, too, believe in presenting both sides of the table.

Next: Angel Profiling: The Wild and Wooly (and Expanding) Angel Universe from David B. Lerner, always one of our faves. Bubblemap included, along with definitions of the dramatis personae, and always interesting to see where there’s overlap. http://bit.ly/fTRJlW

Here, here! Finally, Vivek Wadhwa’s TechCrunch piece on China’s rush to hold the world’s largest number of patents (taking a page from Silicon Valley’s playbook, of course): Let’s Compete on Innovation Rather Than Patents: http://tcrn.ch/exk10L A lot of good points and suggestions, and couldn’t agree more.

Once again, we leave you with a Chuckle of the Week: The Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising. http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/page/2. Hope you enjoy and do read on, because, as always, help is on the way…

Good morning, All,and so much for the peaceful Year of the Hare. Onward and forward.

Congratulations this week to Campbell McKellar (Founder & CEO, Loosecubes)
Loosecubesraised $1.2M funding and launched global network of shared workspaces that makes it easy to find a place to work, and is one of the Women 2.0 Female Founder Successes of 2010 (http://www.women2.org/2010-female-founder-startup-successes/). Campbell was also featured this week on the startuplist: http://startupli.st/post/2625979706/loosecubes. Great way to start the year!

Appy Awards early bird deadline January 14. Final deadline: January 28. The Appy Awards are all about acknowledging extraordinary Applications, whether they be mobile, social, or Web-based Apps living inside another Web site. The Appys do not discriminate by format, platform or device; instead, they focus on honoring the best Apps in a diverse range of categories, from Games and News, to Health & Fitness, Social Networking, Photography and many others. Enter your winning app today, or check out the complete list of categories to learn more about the Appys.(All entries received on or before 1/14/11 will save up to 20%.) http://bit.ly/fYzxpE

NYC BigApps Competition – January 26 is the deadline for entry
The NYC BigApps Competition will reward the developers of the most creative, best implemented, and impactful applications for delivering information from the City of New York’s NYC.gov Data Mine to interested users. Software developers will compete for $20,000 in cash, wide exposure for their work, and a meeting with the Mayor. Submissions may be any kind of software application, be it for the web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, SMS, or any software platform broadly available to the public. For more information and to enter: http://nycbigapps.com/challenges/81/

And don’t forget those other January deadlines coming up. Fast:
TechStars #Boston now accepting applications for class of Spring 2011 http://www.TechStars.org/schedule. You have until January 13 for the early application deadline. Deadline for all applications is January 31.

Adweb 3.0 San Francisco takes place on April 11, 2011 at 600 Townsend Ave., but early registration discount ($100 off the $299 rate) ends January 15. This includes all sessions, meals, the Awards and reception. (http://adweb30.com/register.html). Maxim Group Publisher Ben Madden (http://maxim.com) will keynote, as will Scott Kurnit, About.com founder and Chairman, CEO and founder of AdKeeper (http://adkeeper.com). For more information: http://adweb30.com

The Adobe/Motorola Video Contest. Motorola and Adobe are seeking original, inventive ideas to convey the exciting possibilities made possible with full web browsing on new mobile devices like the DROID smartphones by Motorola with Adobe® Flash® Player. There are two contests available with different briefs – one for an ad and another for a short film. So get your creative juices working and get filming. You can enter both contests with as many different videos as you like. Grand Prize: A trip to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress. There will also be four runners-up prizes, and the deadline for entry is January 31. For more information: http://bit.ly/dLJQbO.

InSITE application deadline – January 21: http://insiteny.org. InSITE provides early stage companies with pro bono consulting services to help raise Seed or Series A financing. InSITE companies have raised over $215 million in venture funding since 2000. Beyond mentoring services, the program also provides networking opportunities, speaker events, and a final pitch event featuring our affiliated VC and Angel partners. More information can be found on the website.

Heads up, cofounder-seekers. For those of you who are looking for business/MBA cofounders, Digital Media MBAs will be getting together January 24 at Solas (232 East 9th) at 6.30. Yes, it is a networking event (as well) and we’ve heard from a number of you that you’re looking for business cofounders, so this promises to be a good opportunity for you and we will make as many personal introductions as time allows. Although it goes until 10pm, so we’ll find time. If possible. It’s free and register here: http://bit.ly/fJnGRN.

For those of you looking for technical cofounders, we haven’t forgotten you: the next Find A Cofounder will be in late February, and we will be inviting the Digital Media MBAs as well, so it promises to be something for everyone! We do try.

Now, a few of the articles we found that might be a good read for you this week:
Management Flubs Made by Rookie Bosses Entrepreneurs tend to start their own businesses in part to escape bad bosses, not to become one. That’s not always the case, according to this article, which shows some of the landmines to watch for. http://on.wsj.com/hUYX5Q

The Perils of Nice. Variations on a theme, this time taking a look at the non-profit sector, where people tend to be nice – but not competent. Lessons to be learned here, too, whether you’re a non-profit or not. http://bit.ly/bV0PmI

How Committed Are Your Investors? We all know how important it is to have the right people/advocates on your team. The super angel phenomenon is great for entrepreneurs as it gives them more choice and plugs them into investors with huge networks and data points because of all the deals they do. And I think it’s great for Limited Partners (the folks that give super angels their capital), because the super angels are building a well diversified portfolio with exposure to many companies, sectors, and in some cases geographies. But, what happens when things go wrong? Who’s got your back – and your bank account? http://bit.ly/hdF2GW

Grow revenues before seeking VC funding, or To VC or not to VC. A lot of good advice here, startups. And just things to keep in mind. http://reut.rs/gnMZ5M

Huh? What Exactly Is A Business Model (http://tcrn.ch/ec8f3D) from entrepreneur turned academic Vivek Wadhwa. Seven good points, although it’s more ‘how to build a model business,’ rather than a business model. Academics! Or is that semantics…Tomato, tomahto.

This site should also be on your radar: http://greatstartups.com/ – a good place to submit your startup and get some proverbial ink.

Just for laughs – and while there was nothing particularly funny in the feeds this past week, we remembered that it was time once again for the Annual Stella Awards. These are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S., named after Stella Liebeck. In1992, Stella, then 79, spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee onto her lap – while driving – and burning herself. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages, but that’s not the whole story. More information at stellaawards.com. But here are some top contenders for 2011: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/8344 Huh?

And speaking of people who need some help, yes, happy to report that help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and hope you had a fabulous start to the new year. And we’re referring to the weather here in NYC, nothing more (that we’re aware of) – freezing and 19” of snow to end the year; 50 degrees and balmy on New Year’s Day, which we will take as a good portent.

Congratulations (again) to Emily Lutzker (openinvo.com), who ended the year with a write-up in Techcrunch (this time) and started the new year with paying customers! The piece is here: http://tcrn.ch/hCS6oc and just for the record, we love sharing good news about members, so if you have news, do tell!

January deadline reminders:

Deadline today! The Women in Wireless are putting together a panel for CTIA in Orlando (3/22-3/24). It’s on hot mobile startups with female founders and will be featured in the venture track. So if you’re a female founder of a hot mobile startup – or know of one – and want to participate, contact veronika@doubledutchstudios.com. Now. And thank you!

TechStars #Boston now accepting applications for class of Spring 2011 http://www.TechStars.org/schedule. You have until January 13 for the early application deadline. Deadline for all applications is January 31.

Adweb 3.0 San Francisco takes place on April 11, 2011 at 600 Townsend Ave., but early registration discount ($100 off the $299 rate) ends January 15. This includes all sessions, meals, the Awards and reception. (http://adweb30.com/register.html). Maxim Group Publisher Ben Madden (http://maxim.com) will keynote, as will Scott Kurnit, About.com founder and Chairman, CEO and founder of AdKeeper (http://adkeeper.com). For more information: http://adweb30.com

The Adobe/Motorola Video Contest. Motorola and Adobe are seeking original, inventive ideas to convey the exciting possibilities made possible with full web browsing on new mobile devices like the DROID smartphones by Motorola with Adobe® Flash® Player. There are two contests available with different briefs – one for an ad and another for a short film. So get your creative juices working and get filming. You can enter both contests with as many different videos as you like. Grand Prize: A trip to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress. There will also be four runners-up prizes, and the deadline for entry is January 31. For more information: http://bit.ly/dLJQbO.

Next, InSITE is currently accepting applications for its Spring 2011 cycle at http://insiteny.org. Application deadline is January 21. InSITE provides early stage companies with pro bono consulting services to help raise Seed or Series A financing. InSITE companies have raised over $215 million in venture funding since 2000. Beyond mentoring services, the program also provides networking opportunities, speaker events, and a final pitch event featuring our affiliated VC and Angel partners. More information can be found on the website.

For our North Carolina-based members: 1/11/11 is LaunchBox Digital Demo Day and you gotta love those digits. Join local, regional and national investors at the inaugural Demo Day for LaunchBox Digital. It is the “1″ event you won’t want to miss this year. Seven companies will present their products and vision in some of the most interesting and expansive markets today, including: a) group buying, b) social media, c) wireless healthcare, d) cloud computing and e) social gaming. It’s in Durham, by the way, and register here: http://launchboxdemoday.eventbrite.com/

For your edification, the pieces we like this week:
Interesting piece on the life/work balance: The Myth of the Work-Life Balance Crisis http://bit.ly/h9kMuKand hey, startups:The NFI survey found 78 percent of people in big companies felt most business people were unbalanced, compared to just 63 percent of people in small companies.

The VC Meeting: How to Ask for Money — and Get It (http://www.bnet.com/blog/smb/the-vc-meeting-how-to-ask-for-money-and-get-it/2010). Yes, I know it’s last year’s news, but she gives a few pointers up front that are good to keep in mind.

20 Business Truisms That Can Change Your Life. http://bit.ly/eJeK7A The writer admits that this is part Freud, part Tao and part Ayn Rand. Still, they’re all practical lessons that can help your career … or even change your life and it’s a new year, so thought we’d throw it in.

http://www.12monthstolaunch.com/ is a blog written by SOS member Veronika Sonsev. She’s doing a startup of her own, and so doesn’t have a lot of time to blog, no doubt. Still, her information – and experiences which she shares – are always worth a read. Her latest post is about Developing a Network of Advisors. Building your advisory board should be an ongoing part of your business planning, she suggests, and ain’t it the truth.

Finally, What Start-ups Can Learn from the Big Brands, coincidentally, also written by an SOS member – Howard Greenstein. There, lest we forget the importance of the customer, as they do, seemingly as a rule, at Bloomingdale’s: http://bit.ly/gp9oVk

Oh, and just for fun: 2011: The Year You Weren’t Expecting. Did you know that on July 12, the planet Neptune completes its first full orbit since its discovery on Sept. 23, 1846. Ok, not earth-shattering, but we do have a love for facts and science. For more interesting little tidbits on the year – not tech related – http://bit.ly/eR97AT

So, 2011 is the Year of the Hare (or Rabbit), according to the Chinese calendar, and a placid year, very much welcomed and needed after the ferocious year of the Tiger, according to what we found out about it on line. More good news: Money can be made without too much labor. Or so they say.

Now that we’re all back at work, it’s that time again: the moment you’ve been waiting for and yes, once again, help is on the way…