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Viewpoints.com Launch Party Friday Night

Matt Moog at Viewpoints let me in on a secret. There are a limited number of RSVP spots left for the Viewpoints launch party Friday night in downtown Chicago…

I am pleased to announce that we have officially launched Viewpoints. To celebrate we are holding a launch party on September 28th, at 6pm at (edit – location will be mailed to you upon RSVP). I hope you (and a few friends) can attend. We will have a T-Shirt for everyone who has written a review and special prize drawings (iPhone anyone?) for those that attend. Be sure to bring a print out of your review to claim your T-Shirt!

Through the beta period we have built an audience of more than 100,000 monthly users. Be sure to explore the site to see some of the great reviews that users just like you have written. We encourage reviewers to write about products and services that they are passionate about.

Check out some of these great reviews. Electronics, Travel, Home & Garden or on the lighter side see what TV Shows, Movies, Music or Books you could discover. Of course we also have a great section for Local Places that features local Restaurants, Shopping, and even local Doctors & Hospitals. Our mission is to bring the reviewers profile, passions and personalities to life. We believe that user written reviews are more powerful when the reader knows more about the reviewer.

To RSVP please email jolie AT viewpoints DOT com prior to 2PM Central time Friday – send this post link as a reference to how you heard about the Viewpoints launch party. See you there.

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Mobile Versus Web 2.0 Bickering

It sounds like Scott Karp should be attending the SMX Local and Mobile next week as two of the five areas he gripes about will be covered in detail there. While his carrier and wifi complaints are somewhat relevant, the rest is unfortunately plain ignorance.

Russell Beattie is a quite a bit more blunt in his not safe for work response. His web 2.0 comment makes me chuckle in quite a few ways.

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Will You Attend SMX Local & Mobile Denver Next Week

I’ll be attending the first ever SMX Local & Mobile conference next week in Denver!!! Chris Sherman, who talks about why he is excited about the event in this post, and Greg Sterling have both put in a tremendous amount of work into researching and programming this highly unique and special event.

You may view the full agenda and you may still register for the event.

I arrive at Noon on Sunday (where is the Sunday pre-conference meetup – The Hyatt?) and hope to meet with as many attendees as possible before and during the event as I look forward to learning about people and seeing the demos in this soon to be revolutionary space.

See you in Denver! I’ll also have room for one or two on the way back to the airport as I’m renting a car while there.

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Lisa Barone Points Out a Privacy Concern in Facebook

Lisa put together a really thoughtful post that outlines some interesting issues that those concerned with privacy should take a few moments to read.

Perhaps those people wishing to take the valuation of Facebook to the mooon might want to pause and think about this issue along with other privacy and safety concerns regardless of page view growth. Do people not remember the lessons of Myspace – lack of monetization anyone?

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Jason Alba Author – I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???

Recently I blogged about how retained recruiting firm executive search activity on Linkedin was rising. Maybe they got an advance of Jason Alba‘s new book, I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???, and started putting the concepts to immediate good use! I had this to say about the book:

“Jason has written a highly practical guide to Linkedin that will quickly allow a new user to understand and utilize Linkedin. It’s also a great guide to the Linkedin’s hidden gems – finding high quality people through endorsements and off Linkedin content such as groups and identifying thought leaders through blogs linked from profiles.”

I’m honored to have been asked by Jason to contribute ideas to the book as well as some Linkedin best practices at the end of some of the chapters. Jason is one of the people I’ve met via Linkedin and I know my life is much better for that as he always makes himself available to talk and help my goals in any way he can.

While certainly any Linkedin novice would benefit, Jason’s book most needs to be read by c-level executives, all HR executives and recruiters who don’t yet understand how to fully utilize Linkedin. There tools on Linkedin besides last company worked at and job title – the community would function better if people learned to use the community more wisely and this can happen quickly if people read Jason’s book.

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Chicago TiECon ’07 Mentorship: Boosting Tomorrow’s Business Leaders

There are still a few seats left! TiE puts on amazingly high quality events, I greatly look forward to seeing you there! Sign up now, don’t delay!

TiECon Midwest is the premier event organized by TiE-Midwest held every two years. Join us in Chicago this October 5th for TiECon ’07 Mentorship: Boosting Tomorrow’s Business Leaders, a half-day event for leading Midwest entrepreneurs to share thoughts and ideas on business and innovation.

Over 400 attendees will hear a keynote address by local, successful, serial entrepreneurs Glen Tullman and Howard Tullman. Following the keynote, distinguished panelists will present topics aimed to increase Entrepreneurial IQ through a series of sessions. Panels topics are: Right Dollars at the Right Time, Business Model Refinement, Attracting and Retaining Talent and Executive Coach for the Entrepreneur. The event will conclude with a cocktail reception designed to foster networking.

TiE stands for Talent, Ideas and Enterprise and is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals. Founded in Silicon Valley in 1992, TiE is an open and inclusive organization that has rapidly grown to more than forty chapters in nine countries. TIE Global is the world leader in cultivating and nurturing entrepreneurship.