All of these were started after my first book deal in the Spring of 2006, in the hopes of reaching readers and building an audience through the magic of online social networking.

FORBES: Total Twits: Tila Tequila and Perez Hilton fight about Casey Johnson's death

When Amazon's Jeff Bezos was first scouting for retail sectors in which to work his online magic, he considered music, but decided against it.

ECONOMIST: Electronic commerce

As in the case of CROWDSTART, the real magic happens when local online communities facilitate both digital collaboration and face-to-face relationship building.

FORBES: Crowdfunding's Future: Local Online Ecosystems