Everyone and I mean hundreds, if not thousands, of NetSquared community members as well as folks here on the Net2 team worked their butts off in the last few days, hours and minutes leading up to the big vote on Wednesday.

And you all deserve a good, long rest. Sadly, you aren't going to get it.

Now that the vote is finished and 21 projects are moving on to the Net2 Conference, the real work begins. Those project leaders and their advocates are going to be working hard between now and the end of May, polishing their pitches and honing their ideas.

But they need to be able to count on you: the folks who voted for them. Each of the top 21 projects received between 203 and 580 votes. That's hundreds of community members with expertise, insights, ideas, skills and (dare I say it?) funding to offer. Your assistance could make all the difference between now and the conference.

And not just in terms of whether a project is awarded funding. Money isn't all that this initiative is about and in many ways, it isn't even the main thing. What's really important is the excitement, passion and energy that gather around these projects... every one of which is potentially world-changing in its own unique way.

Which brings me to the other 129 projects that were nominated on this site. Each of them has a team of dedicated people who believe in their idea's transformative power... and each of them received support from the community (between 11 and 200 votes). Wednesday's vote is by no means the final word on whether they'll succeed. (Ask Jennifer Hudson about that. Better yet, ask Jennifer Hudson's Oscar.)

It doesn't matter if a project received a dozen votes or hundreds: if it captured your imagination and inspired you, return the favor. Get in touch and ask how you can help. Keep the conversation going so that these projects continue to find resources and support.

Looking ahead to 2008 for a moment, we've received a lot of feedback in the past few days about the process and how we can make it better next time. We're listening, and there are a lot of great suggestions. (Yours could be one of them; just add it to this thread. And if you're interested in the methodology behind this year's vote, we've documented it here.)

One question we've heard from a few people is whether we'll be releasing vote totals for each project. The answer is: we won't be. We want every project that heads to the conference to come in on a level playing field. No front-runners or favorites; this is about merit and potential.

Which is why I'm so excited about the next few weeks. We have an outstanding crop of brilliant ideas and not just ideas, but teams with the will and skill to turn them into reality. Check them out, lend a hand... and let's make some change.