The folks at the Webby Awards sent along a super-helpful list of Web resources to use over the holidays. They range from social shopping to gift recommendations to real-time TV and music sharing. While I was familiar with several of these sites, I hadn’t heard of gems like Yap.tv, Wantful and Trippy. Definitely bookmarkable. The descriptions below were provided by the Webby Awards. Skype . Video chatting is now a standard activity for most Internet users – in fact, earlier this year, Skype reported that their users log 300 million minutes of video calls daily. Google+ Hangouts. MORE >>

I was speaking to a friend recently, and we got to chatting about charities and how supporters are almost like investors along the lines of venture capitalists, or stocks and shares guys. Yet these supporters are much more than a standard investor – as  well as donations, they invest time, resources, energy and much more into the charity they believe in. Basically, if you’re a charity, they invest in YOU. But this doesn’t need to be landlocked into charities. There are many other ways that people are investing in you every minute, every hour, every  day and beyond. So here’s a request. MORE >>

I will be hosting an “Office Hours” chat on Wednesday, Dec 21, from 1:00 to 2:00pm EST. You can RSVP at the Facebook Page here. The call will be recorded and there is an opportunity for quite a few people to join in all at once. Call in to ask your questions about Social Media, Marketing, Productivity, or anything that you need help with for your business. Afterwards I will be editing the call down and turning it into a podcast available here. am looking forward to hearing from you on Wednesday! Business Development Productivity Offoce Hours podcast social media literacy MORE >>

When you watch this Google Zeitgeist video for 2011 it’s hard not to be struck by the sheer volume and impact of changes that have taken place this year. Equally hard to ignore is the breath and depth of human suffering playing out across the world. But rather than feeling dishearted, 2011 stands as a testament to what we can achieve through deep empathy and coordinated effort. For there  is no limit to what creativity, collaboration and cooperation can achieve, even in relation to chronic problems such as economic inequality, climate change or the political inertia. MORE >>

Citing privacy concerns and not wanting strangers to know where I was every moment I checked in to a location, I deleted my Foursquare account 14 months ago. Recalling the ensuing storm of comments my action caused in the fall of 2010, it was evident some people were passionate I made the right decision and others felt I should give the location-based application a second chance. Was the second camp right? Forrester Research recently surveyed 37,000 mobile users and in its report issued this month, a mere 2% of those users had Foursquare accounts. My past caught up with me. But, I might. MORE >>