Gladwell has his critics though. Many of his detractors focus on the fact that his stories in both “Blink” and “The Tipping Point” are enjoyable (though maybe stretching credibility), but overall not actionable or useful for marketers. Tales of speed dating, the rise of Hush Puppies, and sizing up presidential candidates don’t lend themselves to serious use. Gladwell’s next book, “Outliers: The Story of Success,” promises to provide just that level of seriousness in scrutinizing the “Boot strap” mantra of the American Dream.

“Outliers” will go further than Gladwell’s previous books, starting with research morphed into dazzling story, then adding on prescriptions to issues that plague our modern society. Why do some people reach extraordinary heights in life, while others simply get by?  Of course Gladwell includes some more trivial questions like why do Asian children seem more adept at math or why are more hockey players born in January? But why not look into some of the most extraordinary people like Bill Gates or The Beatles? Can you show that star individuals like these would never have reached their astronomical heights without strings of amazing opportunities and open doors? Gladwell proposes to do just that, opening up a new perspective on the hidden truths behind patterns of success and privilege.

Does your success arise from your own hard work? Or is the sum of many unique opportunities and factors outside your control responsible for your rising rank?

It initially seemed silly, not entirely useful and certainly not relevant to my professional or personal social life or networking goals. Over the course of several months this spring, however, I gradually began to realize how much insight could be garnered from the now virtually mainstream micro-blogging service—be it information on the next Forrester Wave Report, who at the WSJ is now covering the consumer technology beat or where to find the best cup of coffee in downtown San Francisco. Twitter went from being a curious annoyance to a friendly ally, but the process was slow, onerous and when things get particularly hectic I’ve been known to go weeks without checking in with the Twitter-sphere through even a single “tweet.”

Yammer, on the other hand, was an easy sell—and the speed with which we as an office have adopted the service has been startling, speaking to both the company’s unique value and ultimately the pure ease of implementation.

Yammer officially debuted at the TechCrunch 50 conference in September 2008, taking home the top prize and associated unbridled publicity. Transforming Twitter’s “What are you doing?” to “What are you working on?”, Yammer introduced a new mode of office communication, reducing internal emails and providing a fresh breeding ground for sharing information, articles, thoughts and questions, from requests for dentist recommendations to insight into hot new companies.

Within a couple of days, every LaunchSquad employee had registered with the service, downloaded the Yammer widget and sent his or her first “yam.” New hires are now introduced to the service within their first few hours on the job, and as Claire Cain Miller wrote for the NYT, it continues to provide an exceedingly valuable “new way to do a lot of stuff we already do at work.”

The larger story behind Yammer’s rapid infiltration of our office, however, comes back to how painfully simple it is to get started. All you need is a company e-mail address—no IT department is required to step in, no permission from higher-ups, no cost, no product evaluation—essentially, zero adoption curve. All it takes is a few people and use of the service gradually, naturally begins to spread. It quite simply could not be easier, and the company’s success (thus far) can hopefully be seen as a sign of things to come as increasingly more businesses look to decrease the adoption curve on their services while providing huge business value.

If there’s anything Yammer’s rapid rise has taught me it’s to be careful when you decide to take a week off for vacation—you just may come back to find an entirely new communication channel—don’t be left in the dust.

Those last two were the cause of a great amount of conflict over the summer when I was deciding which smart phone to buy. Being an Apple enthusiast and fan of all things cool, the iPhone was the natural choice … but, my contract with T-Mobile that doesn’t end until mid-2010 said otherwise. So, I decided to go with the G1, Google Android-powered phone from T-Mobile.

This was no small task, mind you. We’re huge Apple advocates here at the Squad, and I also have been one my whole computer using life. There’s really nothing I don’t like about Apple, so leaving the flock for another farm was mildly unsettling. And there were problems – I had a major software meltdown and weird battery issue within one week that made me want to throw my shiny, new Android (which I’ve named Marvin) against the wall.

But aside from some usability issues that stemmed mostly from my predilection toward how Macs work, I actually think Google’s Android outclasses the Apple’s iPhone. While there are few differences in the phone’s performance with features users have come to expect – Internet, e-mail, GPS, mapping functions – where Google pulls ahead is the open operating system and basically unlimited possibilities for app development. The iPhone has a lot of really cool apps, but the operating system is basically a take-it-or-leave it proposition. Annoying bugs in the system, or a core application that makes your iPhone tough to use? Well, until Apple decides to deal with it, too bad. On Android, somebody simply has to develop a patch or new piece of software that can replace the core application. With Apple, that’s a big no-no.

A lot of people feel that Apple has been getting too big for its britches lately and acting in increasingly Microsoftian fashion. While I don’t know that I’d go that far, Android is a huge leap forward from the iPhone in promoting the open, collective approach to software and device development that is clearly the future of technology. Make a cool platform, open it up and let everyone else do the work to perfect it.

Smart phones are in their absolute infancy, and the fully-capable phone of two years from now will be light years ahead of the G1s and iPhones we know now, but Google clearly has their eye on that future, while Apple – innovators that they are - might be a bit too concerned with promoting their brand. Prove me wrong, Apple – I’d absolutely love it.

The company integrates a variety of social media capabilities, including distributing invitations via social networks and sending out invitations to various locations (email, mobile device and Facebook) in one single swoop. Pingg also allows users to create real invitations that it will print and mail out. Or send out via text. With the new partnership, Pingg will run Martha’s content (which includes a variety of digital properties) and also add its capabilities to MarthaStewart.com

evite is probably the most well-known company in this space, but other event-focused tools have definitely tried to make a name for themselves by conceptualizing slicker sites and increased social media cross-functionality. Over the years, evite has proven to be a solid tool for me–from birthday dinners to parties, holiday gatherings, happy hours and even small movie nights, it’s delivered no-fail results. I like the little reminders it sends, telling me not to forget I’m scheduled to make an appearance somewhere the next day. And I particularly enjoy logging in to my own invites and seeing how many times people have viewed my evite (stalkers beware, I am aware!). The idea of having prettier pictures and also bringing in an aspect of integration between my digital universe and the one I actually live in, kind of sounds fun. And we could use a little more fun these days.

There is no doubt that political efforts by candidates and their supporters on sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have rallied thousands or millions of young voters and brought new ones into the fold. There is no doubt about the impact that community and communication through these mediums can have on a massive sector of our population.

This is why the momentum cannot stop now. Social media and social networks have proven their effectiveness to bring people together and engage in a two-way conversation. It’s engagement with politics and politicians like we’ve never seen before. So why stop after the election? These mediums can keep people interested in how our elected officials are leading our country and perhaps one day they will give us a voice in the decisions being made in Washington DC. YouTube can act as both a way to organize the community and as a medium for dissent — truly a democratic platform.

It is my hope that the success of social media in this election will encourage our next president to include it in his communication efforts during his time in office. Simply following the president on Twitter, we could be easily informed that he’s meeting with the prime minister of Japan about climate change, or that he’s talking to the secretary of the treasury about the economy. These are things we should know, and social media is the way to communicate them.

Both candidates talk about change. Policies and plans are one step in that direction, but rallying the American people and getting us involved and informed is perhaps a bigger step, and today, more than ever, we finally have a clear way to make it happen.

UPDATE: Read Write Web posts about a very good first step from the Obama administration-elect, change.gov.

A lot of the talk was about looking beyond areas of green tech that are already saturated, such as solar and wind power, to sectors of clean tech that have actually been under-funded, such as water technologies and manufacturing companies throughout the green tech supply chain.

Amy’s take: I found Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Smith’s interview with Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, a particularly intelligent and enlightening discussion of California’s green initiatives in light of the economic downturn and the federal government’s “don’t call it a bailout” bill. Smith asked if California was at risk of an energy shortage given the efforts to push renewable resources before traditional power, but with a bad economy increasing the chances of green companies not getting the funding they need to meet energy production and growth goals. Peevey asserted that we have every reason to be optimistic about California’s renewable energy future. He’s also confident that government incentives will provide more opportunities for smaller companies (as opposed to getting pushed out by the big utilities) because incentives have been in place for some time and larger energy companies haven’t taken advantage of them to date and are often slow to change.

Given the universal agreement on the need for immediate improvements in energy efficiency, I left the conference feeling even more confident that LaunchSquad client Optimal Technologies is in a unique position to be a leader in the green energy movement with its AEMPFAST platform, which can optimize the electrical grid now. AEMPFAST serves as a central “brain” for the electrical grid, providing unprecedented visibility into all parts of the system and has been proven to improve energy efficiency by at least 10 percent. The technology has the potential to completely eradicate blackouts, significantly reduce costs for energy producers and end-users, create more reliable and efficient power and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The company is funded by Goldman Sachs and I’m looking forward to seeing the impact their technology will make.

Sunshine’s take: What a difference a month makes. Back in September, the mood at another similar conference - West Coast Green - was one of near euphoria. At that event, crowds packed the San Jose Convention Center to rub shoulders with Al Gore, David Suzuki and other luminaries, and there was a sense that, as Al Gore so eloquently told the assembled crowd, “Instead of a financial bailout … we need to bail in renewable energy and green building.”

Yet, by the time the Dow Jones conference came around last week, it was clear that a certain amount of green fatigue had set in as the reality of the financial meltdown started to hit home for clean technology companies. While the federal bailout contains tax credits and other major incentives to help push forward the move toward renewables, there is also a sense that the pipeline of cash from venture investors for start-ups that are in this space is starting to slow–or, at the very least, that valuations will start to decrease.

Still, there is plenty to suggest that the green technology boom (or, if you’re a pessimist, bubble) isn’t going to tank any time soon. Speaking to the assembled crowd, Kaj den Daas, Chairman of Philips Lighting North America, said he believes that the future in his industry belongs to green innovations like energy efficient LEDs, promising that his company is very much on the lookout for companies to acquire.

Even more to the point, there were dozens of start-ups giving presentations to showcase their innovations in just about every area of green technology, from cellulosic sugar to fuel cells to thin film solar to tidal tech. Every seminar room I poked my head into was close to full, with potential investors and acquirers scribbling away on notepads and asking pointed questions. All of which, to me, bodes well for the continued greenification of clean tech.

This post was co-written by Amy Neal and Sunshine Mugrabi and is also posted (with a few edits) on the GreenAmy blog.

Called “Obama 08“, the application is much more than a simple vehicle for Obama propaganda and regular suggestions to Go vote now!! and Tell your friends!! The most impressive feature is the application’s ability to actually identify who in your address book lives in a swing state (by scanning area codes) and then give the user a quick one-step option to call or text them– presumably with strict instructions of who to vote for, when and where.

The application also showcases any upcoming events in your area (based on the iPhone’s geo-tagging and GPS capabilities) and provides basic talking points on Obama’s values and viewpoints for supporters to quickly counter any conservative-leaning friends…

Yet another example of politics entering the Web 2.0 era, and I can only wonder why the McCain campaign hasn’t been turning the wheels on something similar? Regardless of how you feel about receiving political news on your iPhone (is there ever such a thing as too much?) there is no questioning the appeal of reaching voters through new avenues while further empowering active supporters in what looks to be a close election.

Got any friends in Pennsylvania or Ohio? They may find themselves unusually popular in the coming weeks.

The truth is that when we started the company, the name fit like a glove. We were three folks initially, then four when I joined in 2001, and we focused on bringing new companies to market. Today, while we still focus on bringing new companies to market, our name is very much a metaphor for what we do and what fuels us. We are a tight-knit team. We are fast moving. We have a lot of kinetic energy. And we love new ideas. Disruption. Entrepreneurs. Doing new things. In short, a launch squad.

I’ve been at LaunchSquad for almost eight years now, and the second question I almost always get in interviews is: Why do you love your job? My answer, which ironically almost never changes, is “change.” Every day is different. Things are coming at me from a thousand different directions and my job, when I do it well, is to look for the patterns, the ideas, the trends, and figure out where and how our clients’ stories can play a role, hopefully a leading one. In short, I’m looking for that aha moment, where it’s crystal clear that we’re onto a great story.

Our “squad” is in the middle of one of these moments now. We just launched a phenomenal company called Brightstorm. They have an online learning network for teens consisting of a series of video-based courses covering a variety of subjects such as history, geometry and SAT prep; and the team behind the company are all profoundly passionate about what they are doing, which if it all goes as planned, will  massively impact how young people learn.

We’ve been working with Brightstorm for about two months now and have loved every minute of it. My mother was a high school English teacher for 25 years at a public school in Massachusetts, so the art of good teaching is near and dear to me. Brightstorm is trying to bring the best teachers to students everywhere and give millions of learners that aha moment.

With a company like Brightstorm, we have aha moments on top of aha moments. When our team/squad first dug into the Brighstorm story, our own minds began sending out those adrenaline-fueled signals saying: “Great story. Great story. Great story.” And then you dig a little deeper and you realize, here’s a company that’s also trying to change the world. Disrupt current models. Try fundamentally new things. And all at blazingly fast speed. That’s what we live for. That’s why I get excited to come to work every day.

The newest question that keeps coming up in candidate interviews is how will the current economic crisis affect our business. To paraphrase Steve Jobs from Apple’s earnings call this week, your next door neighbor is as likely to forecast the economy as a LaunchSquad executive. But at the core, we believe there is no shortage of aha moments to be had. Downturns and slowdowns can foster and feed innovation as well as hinder it. The economics may change, but the need for good ideas and stories won’t ever go away, and the role of PR as a facilitator and seeker of interesting stories is needed more than ever. Despite all the turmoil surrounding the business world, I feel very good about that.

Yeah, kinda weird. Turns out it was a stunt repeated in cities all over the world, called Park(ing) Day. Pretty cool, actually. It started in San Francisco three years ago as a guerilla project done by REBAR, a local artists group, as a way to draw attention to the need for more public space in cities. The idea flourished and went global. I took the opportunity to interview Jake Gilchrist, a project manager with the Trust for Public Land, who was manning the Mission Street site to find out a bit more about the project:

When the search engine launched earlier this month, my first reaction was to leave work and download it immediately. My second reaction was to acknowledge the reality of the Google ad-monster, and make an effort to avoid the glorified browser.

We all know that Google is ad-supported, but Chrome has taken it to a new level. The browser allows Google to track every URL, partial URL, word or phrase you type into the location bar (even before you officially search).

Google sends your cookie out with every search, then all of this information connects to your main account so ads can sprinkle down on you from all the Google applications.

Lots of folks have objected to this model, including the entire country of Germany. Google has reacted with slight modifications that claim to make the data collected from browsers anonymous within 24 hours. However, security experts say that this development is still entirely insufficient.

I say, fellow Google addicts, beware. No need to discontinue use of these great Google services – but do try to use wisely. Opt out of ad-targeting when possible and use a virtual private network, which will will seal off your online behavior from spying eyes.

LaunchSquad client AnchorFree has an amazing free VPN called Hotspot Shield. You can download it now. Then you can download Chrome, and enjoy Google again without fear.

*For the record, I regularly use: two separate Gmail accounts, two Google Calendars, Google Docs, Google Reader and Picasa. On a daily basis, I search: Google News, Google Blogs, Google Maps, Google Video, and the Google Search engine. I have downloaded the entire Google suite of applications for my Blackberry. I have bought Google domain names. And I have now downloaded Google Chrome.