The first major round of the NetSquared site redesign is now live, but as you click around the site you might be thinking, "Where's the beef?"

Much of this upgrade was focused behind-the-scenes and not as much on the side of the site you see; though that will flip-flop in the next round in a couple weeks.  Below is a run through of what we've implemented so far that you can see, an overview of the dramatic back-end improvements we've made, and a preview of what is still to come in the first half of December.

It can not be denied that a relatively ample time is spent on the internet, particularly on social networking sites, keeping one engrossed with virtual passive or active interactions. Who, in this techno-savvy times , has not tried a hand on creating his or her own facebook, twitter, multiply,or friendster account? How many of us felt the urge to uncover the essay writer in us through designing and managing our own online journals through sites like blogspot.com, wordpress.com, or livejournal.com? Who has not been tempted to enrol in online tutorial portals for a more convenient and speedy academic aide?

We are working on a redesign of the NetSquared platform.  With feedback from the Community and even from ourselves, we have put together a big list of wishes and needs.  After some great redesign mockups, we are ready to invite the Community back into the conversation to help us continue the process.  (Learn more about the redesign here.)  Today, we're focusing in on the home page!

It is always a bit exiting to start a whole new venture and "The Atheist News" -news service is still somewhat wet behind the ears. It is to be found at address http://atheistnews.blogs.fi

It will be an avenue to publish all the interesting rational and sometimes irritatingly irrational things in the wide world of the computer internet.

I have on already another English blog at http://beinghuman.blogs.fi, but I have long ago decided to keep it as place where I publish my longer and more deeper ponderings, that is to say the essay-class stuff.

Cross-posted at:
happyfrog Evolves from Small Amphibian to Mighty Mammal - Say hello to 3rd Whale

A busy year in the pond

Since launching happyfrog.ca just over a year ago, the small band of eco-minded renegades worked hard to help sustainability-focused businesses and organizations gain valuable exposure on the web, and in close conjunction with this effort, help green-minded consumers find these great biz'es and orgs. Over this year, my colleagues and I attended all sorts of trade shows, conferences, meet-ups, presentations and camps to spread the message of sharing eco-smarts with your community. Indeed, we found great joy in seeing the positive impact we've made on green entrepreneurs and shoppers alike.

Evolution to a swimming mammal

Now, change is upon us. happyfrog has made friends with a pod of whales and announces happyfrog.ca has merged with 3rd Whale. This business merger means happyfrog.ca as we all know it will change significantly. Think of it as an evolution from a small amphibian to a giant mammal (and Darwin celebrates!).

The company will go forward as 3rd Whale with the aim of combining the happyfrog directory and social networking platform with 3rd Whale's mobile application (to be released for iPhone on in November, followed by Android and Blackberry versions) to markets down the West coast of North America, and to the world (and beyond! ;-).

Big Thanks

A quick update from the NetSquared team!

There's been a lot of hard work taking place behind the scenes at NetSquared on a shiny new project submission form!  You'll be able to view and use this new form soon - sometime in early October.  So, if you were looking to submit a project, you just need to a wait a little longer and we'll be set!

Great news for everyone - Thanks!

It's been a little over 2 months since the NetSquared Conference (N2Y3) where the 21 NetSquared Mashup Challenge Featured Projects presented their ideas.  The Conference may have ended, but their work has not. 

I've created a list below of the 21 Projects' web sites, blog feeds, Twitter feeds, news feeds and Facebook groups so that you can follow their work as it progresses. (Note: Many of the proejcts also have e-newletters or mailing lists that you can join through their sites).  If I've missed any feeds or sites, please let me know in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

If you are interested in helping a project out, you can contact them directly, or contact Billy Bicket at bbicket AT compumentor DOT org about joining the NetSquared Innovator Support Network.

A Mashup of 29+ Social Action Platforms -- Social Actions
* Third Place Winner

Project site: http://mashup.socialactions.com/
Supporting org site: http://www.socialactions.com
Blog: http://blog.socialactions.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/socialactions
Social Actions on Facebook

A little about Capitol News Connection:

 Louisville's newspaper, the Courier-Journal, wrote their first full article about Metro Mapper on the front page of the Business section. It's a great distillation of about three hours of interview with the reporter, Bill Wolfe.

Courier-Journal Article 

So far it's generated a lot of interest and traffic for the site, the Your Mapper project, and lots of interest in the NetSquared conference and N2Y3 contest.

Hi everyone,

Latest news headlines from around the world demonstrating the need for Project Bija in America and around the world.

United States: American Institute of Architects chose community for design sustainability project

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080324/NEWS/803240310/1033/NEWS&template=kart

Sri Lanka - Provincial leader states: "Resources must be utilised in a proper way to achieve sustainable development."