Work’s progressing on GroupWrangler: most of the components are complete (to-dos, events, messages, people & groups admin) and we’re on track to have a basic working version by 1/1ish.

We have some concerns about the name, and are tossing around some ideas that are easier to pronounce, shorter, punchier and represent the product better. GroupWrangler is a unique and intriguing name, though, so if we don’t find a worthy alternative it won’t be the end of the world. A product is what one makes of it — great products sometimes have really terrible names.

I’m working on our public message, groupwrangler.com, and a marketing strategy. Josh is making great contacts and we’re all trying to get the word out.

Anybody have any scrappy start-up marketing tips? I’m all ears.

Here’s a link to my column-ish production on why America is great, where it’s headed and what needs to be done; reprinted in the Penn Indy, America’s first libertarian student newspaper.

Thanks to Taylor Buley, editor-in-chief, for his support and promotion.

The famous SNL video.

BAKER’S DOZEN!

Make 2006 freshly musical by picking 2 or 3 albums from Pitchfork’s top 50 albums of 2005.

I guarantee that most will be new to you.

My picks:

Keith Fullerton Whitman’s Multiples

Genre: Electronic

The Fiery Furnaces’ EP

Genre: Rock

Spoon’s Gimme Fiction

Genre: Alternative

Ladytron’s Witching Hour

Genre: Electronic

Anyone listened to these before?

Would you mind doing me a quick favor? I’m doing a little experiment, and it’ll only take a second. I promise. Leave your responses as a comment, por favor.

Write down your favorite Web app/service, like Flickr, facebook, Backpack, whatever.

Tell how you originally heard about it.

Write a quick sentence about your favorite feature.

Tell why you keep coming back to it.

Indicate if you’re paying for the service, and if not, why and if you plan on doing so in the future.

Here’s a little template to cut and paste into the comment:

My favorite Web app/service:

How I heard about it:

My favorite feature:

Why I keep coming back:

Am I paying for it? (yes/no)