I got some news today that makes me very happy.  As some of you may know, I am an independent consultant and I work with organizations to create and manage online communities.

Today I found out that one of my favorite, most rewarding projects ever, was nominated for a Webby Award in the "community" category.  Nancy White and I worked with the great folks at the March of Dimes on the current version of their "Share" community web site, which is based on enabling parents to share their stories and support one another using blogs and message boards.  

I'm so happy for the March of Dimes and all the people that keep the community going today- especially the members.  Congrats on the nomination everyone! Fingers crossed!

Also, there is a "People's Choice Award" and if you'd like, you can vote for Share! :)  Yay!

Just a couple of days before we left, King 5 News did a story about our trip and how we're using technology.  Click on the image below to watch the video on a site called YouTube.

We were honored and pretty surprised that they would spend so much time on our little trip. :)  Thanks to Jay for recording and editing the video.

On Thursday night, we spent a little time with Chris Pirillo and Ponzi, who happen to live very close to us.  On the show we talked about the trip (obviously) along with various tangents, including Chris' new XBox 360, bodily functions, underwear, gadgetry, etc.

 You can listen to the podcast here.

I guess you could say it's our one minute, forty-five seconds of fame. King 5 News in Seattle came by the house this morning to do a quick story about the trip, this web site and the gadgetry we're using to document our travels.  The story will run at noon today in Seattle on King 5 News (and possibly at 5).  Our friend and star King 5 reporter Ray Lane came to do the story, which is happening at the last possible moment for us.

Sachi did an awesome job.  She says she fears speaking in public, but man she's eloquent.

I got to talk about gadgetry and web site- something I never tire of discussing.

 We both can't wait to see what actually makes it into the story.  We're hoping some shots of Amos make it. :)

I know this is late notice, but Sachi and I will be on The Chris Pirillo Show tonight, which is a live audio show on the Web. You can listen to the live stream of the show starting at 6pm tonight (PST). I think we'll be on 7:30-ish.

Get involved if you wish by calling  877-414-5856 to ask questions, etc. If you miss it, you'll be able to listen for a while here.  I wonder what Chris is going to ask?

Today TwinF got a nice link from MSNBC blogger Will Femia, who has a blog called "Clicked" that chronicles what he clicked on the web recently.  Will writes:

 These people are going around the world and are asking for your tips and pointers.  I'm not sure what the registration is about, I guess to keep out spam.  It doesn't look like they're trying to sell anything.

Will is right on both counts.  We have registration to keep out (or help control) spammers. Running a blog from the road will mean that we have compromises. One of which is requiring registration for people to add comments and Travel Experiences, which will likewise limit the amount of comments from well-meaning visitors.

Second, TwinF is not about selling or making money.  Using this site as a tool to sell something would go against the things we believe about what will make it work.  We believe that people are good and want to help and selling something would limit that trust. 

I should say that we do have some sponsorships in the works, but that is as close to selling as you'll see on TwinF. 

Just a quick note here... It's an exciting time here at TwinF. Yesterday a couple links from well-known sites like LifeHacker (thanks Keith!) jump started a little buzz that pushed TwinF onto the Popular Page of Del.icio.us.  From there, we've seen a load of unique visitors (700+), travel experiences and members.  In fact, today we reached the 100 registered-member mark.  Yay!

 If you have a blog or use del.icio.us, please do link to TwinF.  Thanks!

We've been operating in a mostly slealthy mode for the last few months and that's about to change.  On Tuesday, I'll post links and descriptions to this site on my Common Craft blog, which will hopefully prompt others to link to TwinF and bring some attention to our little site here.

It's really hard to guess what will happen.  Of course, I'm expecting millions of new members and obscene glory. Confetti will fall from the sky and a helicopter will come and take us both to the Web 2.0 Conference, all expenses paid.

Really though, I'm super excited about the whole thing and a bit anxious. At the very least, I'll be interested to see if a few folks will come and check out the site. I'll be watching a free web stats tool called MapStats that I heard about from Boris. Fun times these days, fun times.

For the first time last night, I posted something about our plans to my professional blog at CommonCraft.com. It was the first time I've ever mentioned anything specific about the trip.  It was quite a momentous occasion for me personally, as it's been something I've kept quiet for months and months.  It marks the beginning of trying to get people to come to the site via a little buzz.  In a couple of days, I will start linking to the site, which should be interesting.  You can read the post here.

I have to admit to some anxiety about the whole thing.  I always have such high expectation for things, it's just part of the way I look at the world.  I know that after putting so much love into this site, it will be hard for my expectations to be met, and that's a little sad me thinks.  I keep reminding myself that we are going on an amazing trip and the success of the site has very little to do with the success of the trip.  If it flames out, we're still going on the trip, and that's comforting.

So, right here before we see if the Internet cares, I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit and be happy with what happens. It's all a big experiment anyway.