We've got 3 deadlines coming up. Please pass them on to interested folks:

May 16: Deadline to register for the 2008 NetSquared Conference (N2Y3). The NetSquared Conference will take place May 27th – 28th, 2008 (just after Memorial Day) at the Cisco Systems’ Vineyard Conference Center in San Jose, California. Check out the Working Agenda and register today!

May 19: Deadline to submit your idea for how to mashup the Network for Good donation processing service with other services to make it easier for nonprofits to raise money online.

Hi everyone,

 We've built and posted a new sprout for Assetmap.org/Uganda on our homepage, which is, as you might have guessed it, http://www.assetmap.org/uganda

Looking forward to hearing any and all comments!

 -Nathaniel

UPDATE 1.28.08: The February 1st Gabbly Chat has been rescheduled to 2-3 PM PST.

If after reading about the NetSquared Mashup Challenge yesterday, you have some questions, join the Mashup Challenge Live Chat with Billy Bicket and Marnie Webb of the NetSquared Team.

Do you have an idea for how a mashup could be a tool for social change?

Do you look at all of the data available online, and imagine ways to combine and connect it to increase awareness about an issue?

Do you see projects like MAPLight.org or chicagocrime.org and think, I've got an idea for something like that, I just need a little help getting it off the ground?

If you answered yes, then join the NetSquared Mashup Challenge! We've created the Challenge because we believe you have great ideas for how data can create insight, and we want to create a platform to facilitate those kinds of mashups being built. Plus, we've got cash prizes to award to the folks who come up with the most innovative mashups for social change.

There are three parts to the Challenge:

1. Applications
Individuals working to create change will share with the NetSquared Community what change they are trying to make, as well as the information/data sources they believe can be married to help create that change. Applications will be available online February 1 and accepted until March 14, 2008.

2. Recruiting and specification-building
The Net2Team will reach out to web-savvy collaborators to help translate your idea into a Mashup Project.

3. Mashup Development
Teams will start building the mashups.

Opportunities and using technology to power the network....where does the real power come from?

Mike Yutrzenka, Executive Director of Cisco Foundation, speaks on the level playing field, quoting Tom Freedman and others on the state of global networks and what we come together to do. He speaks on the move of "global knowledge work" away from silicon valley and out into the villages and communities of leaders in every corner of the world.

There's great potential for new collaborations here and some of that is happening on the N2Y2 backchannel on Meebo: http://www.meebo.com/room/netsquared/