The May Report: 12/16/2010: Dan Frommer of Business Insider is reporting that Groupon is looking for hundreds of millions of dollars after the supposed deal with Google fell apart; What is really going on at Sears Holdings?

Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

Assistant editor: Melanie Adcock, iPHONE: 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer
– BNC’s Facebook Status gives a blurb on what happened at their holiday party last night
– What does Sears Holdings have to do with game development? [Editor's note: May here. I met Ariel at Tech the Halls. Now my curiosity is piqued. Ariel Randolph is doing game development at Sears and guess who else works at Sears? None other than the great Uki Lucas. Something is up. The firm that Flip called a dinosaur is still very much alive.]– AUG Chicago 12/20 Flash Showcase/ Holiday Party
– Some interesting trivia combining movies and music
– Social Media Club Party Attendee List for Thursday, December 16th

[Editor's note: May here. I need info. on two events that were held recently. One is the IVCA dinner. The other is the business plan competition at UIC. Now I am late for midVentures which is at The Sync.]
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The Scoop section:
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Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer

Subject: Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer
Date: 12/16/2010 1:59:15 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

From Twitter:

@alleyinsider

Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer $GOOG by @fromedome read.bi/hjhjVl

about 4 hours ago via Business Insider

Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer

Read more: www.businessinsider.com/groupon-looking-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-funding-after-blowing-off-googles-6-billion-offer-2010-12#ixzz18J1xlONX

Dan Frommer | Dec. 16, 2010, 10:25 AM

www.businessinsider.com/groupon-looking-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-funding-after-blowing-off-googles-6-billion-offer-2010-12

Read more: www.businessinsider.com/groupon-looking-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-funding-after-blowing-off-googles-6-billion-offer-2010-12#ixzz18J1e3eP1

Subject: Groupon Looking For Hundreds Of Millions Of Funding After Blowing Off Google’s $6 Billion Offer
Date: 12/16/2010 1:59:15 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Now that Groupon has (smartly) decided to blow off Google’s $6 billion buyout offer, it is once again looking for financing, Bloomberg reports.

The company is reportedly trying to raise “several hundred millions dollars” at a valuation less than $6 billion.

Who might invest? Kleiner Perkins, for one, which just led Twitter’s huge new round. Perhaps Andreessen Horowitz, which wants to do bigger deals. Or maybe even Google?

Groupon raised a big round this past spring from Digital Sky Technologies at a $1+ billion valuation, but has been an active spender this year, growing by several thousand employees and acquiring several companies.

So it makes sense that Groupon would now be in the market for another round of funding, so it can keep hiring and acquiring companies, and also lock in a much higher valuation on paper.

Melanie Adcock
Assistant Editor of The May Report
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Cell: 312-259-0610
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
The May Report Facebook Page: on.fb.me/TheMayReport
Visit The May Report Archives: bit.ly/TheMayReportArchives
Subscribe to The May Report: bit.ly/TheMayReportSubscribe
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May here. Thanks, Melanie, for digging this up. The person who told me about it seems to think that this is evidence that Groupon’s sales are not what they appear to be claiming. My response to that is that they need money for expansion and are obviously not growing just organically. Also, there is a big difference between revenues and profitability. If you’re expanding rapidly, even if you are cash flow positive, your standard revenues are not enough. The fact that two weeks after turning down the Google offer, is that is in fact what happened, does seem to show that the theory that they are looking for more funding to prepare for another buyer and/or an IPO.
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BNC’s Facebook Status gives a blurb on what happened at their holiday party last night

Subject: BNC’s Facebook Status gives a blurb on what happened at their holiday party last night
Date: 12/15/2010 1:27:40 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Sounds like BNC had a terrific time at their holiday party last night at the Sync Tech Center. I didn’t go out last night at all because I’m trying to get over a small flu bug, but we will look forward to supporting BNC and their many wonderful events next year.
Love and hugs to Business Network Chicago! -Melanie

Business Network Chicago
Last night’s BNC/SYNC Holiday Party was fun for everyone. Absolutely everyone got a raffle surprise which was kind of fun. JenChicago showed everyone how to play with the EA Sports Active 2J, the room was crowded with people who wanted to learn to play guitar and….I hear that a certain person (Edward Domain) lost his shirt 4 time playing Texas Hold-em Poker.
=
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What does Sears Holdings have to do with game development? [Editor's note: May here. I met Ariel at Tech the Halls. Now my curiosity is piqued. Ariel Randolph is doing game development at Sears and guess who else works at Sears? None other than the great Uki Lucas. Something is up. The firm that Flip called a dinosaur is still very much alive.]

Subject: Re: Ariel, can you explain to me what Sears has to do with game development?
Date: 12/13/2010 1:35:29 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: rudolph.ariel@gmail.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Hey Ron,

Nice meeting with you, however briefly, Saturday. I actually can’t speak too much about what I’m working no right now, unfortunately. Trust me, I’d love though.. And in the future when I get the green light I promise we’ll be in touch. It’s some pretty cool stuff we’re working on, in my opinion. Otherwise I look forward to connecting at future events, as I’m certain I’ll see you around.

Take care,

Ariel

On Sun, Dec 12, 2010 at 12:05 PM, wrote:
_________________________________

AUG Chicago 12/20 Flash Showcase/ Holiday Party

Subject: [AMC] AUG Chicago 12/20 Flash Showcase/ Holiday Party
Date: 12/15/2010 10:42:29 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: harvey@tillis.com
To: announcements@amcomm.org

Flash Showcase/Holiday Party

It’s time to celebrate all the great work that happened in 2010 with AUG
Chicago’s Flash Showcase/Holiday Party. Please join AUG Chicago, The
Chicago Area Adobe Users Group, December 20th as we showcase the vast skill,
ingenuity, and imagination of local Flash talent. It will be a great
opportunity to spotlight what folks in our community have been up to, and
get inspired and motivated as we prepare to enter the new year. Expect to be
blown away by the variety of creative ways people are using Flash/Flex to
communicate ideas. Because this is also a party we will have plenty of
networking, mingling, snacks and drink. Plus we will have giveaways and one
lucky attendee is going to win an Adobe CS5 package. We’d love to have you
join us.

AUG Chicago’s Flash Showcase/Holiday Party
Monday December 20th
6:00-8:30 PM
Ascend Training
410 S Michigan Ave
Suite 433

Free
RSVP at: flashshowcase2010.eventbrite.com/

There is still space available for folks who want to show off their work.
Whether you are an animator, developer, beginner or pro, we would love to
see your favorite Flash/Flex/AIR project. If you are interested in
showcasing something you’ve done please contact michael@oxygenbox.com .
–
Harvey S. Tillis
President
The Association for Multimedia Communications, Inc. (AMC)
P. O. Box 10645
Chicago, IL. 60610
773-276-9320 direct

www.amcomm.org

_________________________________

Some interesting trivia combining movies and music

Subject: Addenda To Deems Taylor
Date: 12/16/2010 11:58:47 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: E-mail address withheld
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Dear Ron,

I may have mentioned the following at our Thanksgiving Day dinner table; so forgive me if I am repeating myself, but it occurred to me that I can add some “interesting” trivia to Deems Taylor’s essay The Monster. I do this at the risk of becoming Wagner-like in assuming that everyone else finds interesting the things that I do.

The essay mentions that Wagner stole the wife of his best friend and admirer, but it never mentions who those two people were. His best friend was Hans von Bulow, one of the greatest conductors of his age, and an early champion of Wagner’s music. In fact, he conducted some of Wagner’s operas when no one else would because Wagner’s chromatics were considered too modern for the ears of his time. Hans von Bulow’s wife, who Wagner stole from him, was Cosima Liszt, the daughter of the composer and pianist Franz Liszt. Therefore, she eventually became Cosima Liszt-von Bulow-Wagner!

Now, to bring the scandals of the family von Bulow forward into the twentieth century, Has von Bulow was an ancestor of the aristocratic and enigmatic Claus von Bulow, who was accused and convicted of attempting to murder his socialite wife, Sunny von Bulow. Claus and Sunny had a daughter, Cosima, who was apparently named after her great-great aunt, grandmother, or whatever relationship Cosima Liszt was to their daughter. The famous Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz, eventually had Claus’s conviction reversed on appeal. That whole story was told in the Hollywood movie, Reversal of Fortune, staring Glen Close (as Sunny), Jeremy Irons (as Claus), and Ron Silver (as Dershowitz). Jeremy Irons won the Academy Award for Best Actor in that role. If I ever run across a copy of the DVD, I am going to buy it for my permanent collection.

I love it when I can combine my two favorite topics of conversation, music and movies!

Sincerely,

Carl Litwin
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Social Media Club Party Attendee List for Thursday, December 16th

Christian Wilson
Website: manageyourtwitter.com
Blog: manageyourtwitter.com/blog
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @manageyourtweet

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Hope Bertram
Website: windycitysocial.com
Blog: www.theyearofhope.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @windycitysocial

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Tom Spanier
Website: www.tzsdesign.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): tzsdesign

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William Huchting
What is your Twitter name (include the @): makearchitectur

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Brandon Zeman
Website: lakeshorebranding.com
Blog: brandonzeman.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @brandonzeman

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Ryan Rasmussen
Website: www.zocalogroup.com
Blog: www.friendfeed.com/rasmussen
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @RRasmussen

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Nineveh Zoudo
Website: www.uscellular.com/uscellular/
Blog: twitter.com/ChiBusinessPro
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @Chibusinesspro

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Sherry Tan
What is your Twitter name (include the @): NA

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Anu Nagpal
What is your Twitter name (include the @): none

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Tyler Mayoras
Website: www.rankography.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @rankography

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Jean Pickering
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @TektiteGroup

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Stefanie Safran
Website: www.stefandthecity.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): stefandthecity

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Kevin Szprychel
Website: www.searchoneweb.com
Blog: www.searchoneweb.com/blog
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @Kevin_Szprychel

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JEFF WILLINGER
Website: rightpoint.com
Blog: jwillie.posterous.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @jwillie

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Avery Cohen
Website: www.metristpartners.com
Blog: www.metristpartners.com/files/web-analytics-blog/blog.htm
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @averycohen

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Kim Redd
Blog: reddsmitty.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @reddsmitty

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Lauren Lieberg
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @liela47

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Lynn Reidl
Website: lynnreidl.com
Blog: lynnreidlteam.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @lynnreidl

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Larry Labow
Blog: www.labowslastsearch.blogspot.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @LarryLabow

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Dave Van de Walle
Website: area224.com
Blog: area224.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @Area224

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Lisa Diomede
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @ldiomede

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Sean McGinnis
Website: micromashbar.com
Blog: 312Digital.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): seanmcginnis

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Katie Holland
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @Hollandersauce

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Nicole Duhoski
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @nduhoski

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Steve Ziemba
What is your Twitter name (include the @): Ziemba

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Dan Blystone
Website: www.traderslog.com/
What is your Twitter name (include the @): danblystone

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Alissa Mandel
Website: baredeal.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @baredealchicago

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Alex Yates
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @SmartAlexander

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kathleen knorr
Blog: kathyknorr.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): knorrtweetschicago

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Dana Bubonovich
Website: www.ecocarchallenge.org
Blog: www.greengarageblog.org
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @DanaBubonovich

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Marni Levine
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @MarniLevine

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Amy Ravit Korin
Website: interactiveAmy.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @interactiveAmy

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Rhonda Robinett
Website: www.rhondarobinett.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @rhondarobinett

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Catherine Warren
Website: webershandwick.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @CatherineWarren

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Elly Deutch
Website: www.webershandwick.com
Blog: ellydeutch.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @deutche

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Elizabeth Stiles
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @elizabethstiles

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David Sorrell
Blog: rookiephenom.tumblr.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): RookiePhenom

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John Sharry
What is your Twitter name (include the @): johnsharry

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Allie Lemke
What is your Twitter name (include the @): allielemke

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Ben West
Website: www.groupon.com/tampa-bay-area
Blog: colormesocial.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @benwhat

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Aaron Boruch
Website: www.dsm.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @AaronMktg

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Cate Conroy
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @caconroy1

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Pamela Downey
What is your Twitter name (include the @): sorry, no Twitter name.

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Amy Spitzer
Website: sociableinc.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): Amyjspitzer

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Jeffrey LeFevre
Website: jeffreyplefevre.com
Blog: jeffreyplefevre.posterous.com/
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @jeffreyplefevre

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paula hansen
What is your Twitter name (include the @): paulamariechar

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Chantal Tardif
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @chantaltardif

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Barbara Rozgonyi
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @wiredprworks

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Kennyetta Dillon
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @thatchigirl

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Jessica Schultz
Website: www.ounceofprevention.org
Blog: charitablechick.blogspot.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): JessicaLouiseS

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Crister DelaCruz
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @cristerdelacruz

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Jeannie Walters
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @jeanniecw

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ann ledajaks
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @badboywillie

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michael ledajaks
Website: michaelledajaks.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @ledajaks

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Michael Shore
What is your Twitter name (include the @): michaelashore

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jennifer serafin
What is your Twitter name (include the @): jenniferserafin@twitter.com

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Leslie Banks Banks
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @lesliebanks @redinthecity

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Michael Hornback
Website: www.1320hp.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): Depaul Graduate with BS in Finance.

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David Zoltan
Website: artsappeal.blogspot.com
Blog: artsappeal.blogspot.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @ArtsAppeal

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Melissa Karlin
Website: www.karlinfoods.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @makarlin

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Kyle Hillman
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @kylehillman

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Jenn Sutherland
Blog: thewholekitchen.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @jennsutherland

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Elena Scott
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @elenascott

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Jackie Lampugnano
Blog: genwiseperspective.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @jackielamp

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Kim Lucio
Website: flavors.me/kimberlylucio
Blog: genwiseperspective.wordpress.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @kimberly_lucio

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Robert Wold
Website: hubinternational.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @robwold

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Leyla Arsan
Website: www.lotusmarketingservices.com
Blog: www.leylaruinseverything.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @leyla_a

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mitch byrne
Website: northeastcooling.com
Blog: northeastcooling.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @refrigeration

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Nicole Yeary
Website: aelloluxe.com
Blog: nicoleyeary.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @NicoleYeary

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Tommy Thornton
What is your Twitter name (include the @): tqubed

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Jen Knoedl
Website: www.JenChicago.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): JenChicago

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Amy Hesser
Website: hessercommunications.com
Blog: achicmom.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @amyhesser

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Francine McKenna
Website: blogs.forbes.com/francinemckenna
Blog: retheauditors.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @retheauditors

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Katja Halverson
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @halverk

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Steve “McFixit” Johnson
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @McFixit

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Thomas Besore
Website: besore.com
Blog: tomsmedia.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @tombesore

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Paige Worthy
Website: www.twitter.com/paigeworthy
Blog: www.paigeworthy.com
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @paigeworthy

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Tim McDonald
Website: tamcdonald.com
Blog: tamcdonald.com/movember
What is your Twitter name (include the @): @tamcdonald
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