To all of my loyal readers, I would like to show my gratitude for your support. Entrepreneur magazine is one of my must read monthly publications. I will be giving away 5 annual subscriptions to this magazine to my readers. In order to be one of those 5 the requirements are simple. I operate on a first come first serve basis. This is waht I ask of you.

1) Sign up for our social network. It’s free and it will help you network with other entrepreneurs. Follow this link to get started.

2) Come back here and leave a comment that you have done step #1. I would recommend that when you leave a comment, you sign up for Intense Debate. It’s also free and it will give you and your business more exposure and easier ability to comment in the future.

That’s it. I will verify communication with the first 5 and “Viola” you will receive one year free of Entrepreneur Magazine, courtesy of Barfield Management, LLC.

Web 2.0 – I have heard this buzzword more than any other one for the past couple years. Although I am tired of hearing it, many entrepreneurs are not paying attention to the significance of it. There have been some major shifts in the business world that can be attributed to the paradigm shift from Web version 1 to Web 2.0. I am going to admit it now, you will probably see many different buzzwords throughout this post. However, I’m not selling anything so please do not close your mind.

Entrepreneurs need to realize that the second iteration of the Web is extremely social. The biggest moneymakers, most expensive acquisitions, and many VC backed start ups (check out the portfolio of The Foundry Group) are all based on social networks and interaction. Here is a brief list to illustrate my point:

• MySpace was purchased by News Corp for $580 million
• You Tube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion
• Skype was purchased by eBay for $2.6 billion
• Facebook developer sold Pieces of Flare application for $2 million
• Facebook valuation is estimated at $15 billion

I hope you are getting the picture by now. Some of the hottest websites and services are all socially based, Twitter, Flickr, Intense Debate, Ning, You Tube, Skype, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn just to name a few. The platform I am communicating to you on, blogging, was spawned from social interaction. And the social interaction is stacked. MySpace and Facebook create platforms and other individuals operate within those platforms by creating socially based businesses, in effect stacking the sociability. My point is simple, entrepreneurs know how to change when something in their core business looks inefficient, outdated or doomed to extinction. But I am not seeing the Gen X and older entrepreneurs change their internet approach. Just because it is not tangible does not mean it does not need to be changed.

Websites should be ever evolving to flow with the times. I am not advocating major restructuring every time the wind blows. But minor, incremental changes are easy and cost efficient to do. Many times you can find add ons to enhance your site rather than complete site redesign. With a little bit of time, a will to learn, and the ability to reach out to a vast network of other entrepreneurs that are willing to help, you can learn how to upgrade, maintain, or completely redesign your site yourself. I have found volumes of information from entrepreneurs that have blazed the trail already and are giving back by posting useful information (johnchow.com, richsage.com, icantinternet.org, and of course our site just to name a few). If you are in need of assistance, please contact me.

Socially based success stories are not using a new approach, they are simply using an old one but applying it to the internet. Sites like Myspace and Facebook are using the same techniques that Tupperware and Amway did – Network Marketing. It has many names but you know the concept. One person gets involved and then brings friends and family in who inturn bring in friends and family, etc. This is how MySpace, Facebook, Ning and other social networks gained such immense size in such a relatively short time. In four years, Facebook has grown from the undergrad population at Harvard to 67 million people and Ning grew from 60,000 networks in June of 2007 to about 230,000 today. They did it without one commercial or mailer. You didn’t have a telemarketer call you up and ask you if you wanted to buy a pound of Facebook or a slice of MySpace. These entities grew by one friend telling another and one family member to another resulting in exponential growth. On the internet this is called Viral Loop Expansion. One such company that we are vested in, took the old world network marketing and combined the internet with it. In a few short years, they have built themselves up to a company worth hundreds of million and debt free. You can learn about them here.

If you can create the supporting infrastructure that lends itself to social interaction and become knowledgeableabout Viral Loop Expansions, the riches to be made are limitless. And you can do it all without a sales force, a brick and mortar office, an advertising budget or a marketing budget. Hear me loud and clear, if you do not evolve you will become extinct.