A few years ago two young men took that exact concept and turned it into a company. I had the opportunity to hear the co-founders of AirBNB speak at the NYC PSFK conference last year. These two young men launched a company that allows users to rent out their extra room, apartment and even tree house to visitors in their area.

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I was intrigued by the idea of being able to visit a new city and staying in a home rather than a hotel. Still, I couldn’t talk myself into believing that allowing strangers into your home for a few extra bucks a month was worth it.

That is, until this morning when I heard that NYC residents are making an average of twenty-one thousand dollars each year on AirBNB. By renting their spaces out they are able to pull in an extra twenty-one thousand dollars a year.

This story isn’t unique to NYC. Another entrepreneur raised twenty-eight thousand dollars to fund her start-up by renting out her apartment bedrooms and sleeping on the couch. “I often made enough money from AirBNB to pay my full-rent. Roommates don’t pay the full rent.”

Each year a number of new start-ups and apps are released that allow you to make extra income doing small things like renting out your spare bedroom and running errands for neighbors. It is hard to know what apps will work and how you could be efficiently bringing in more income.

While making twenty-one thousand dollars a year renting your spare bedroom isn’t a typical result it does prove that some of these apps might be worth testing out.

Amy Locurto of Living Locurto recently blogged about ‘How Pinterest is Changing How I Blog and Feature Creative Content“, in that

“…the average person probably doesn’t realize the amount of traffic people are getting from Pinterest. In the creative community, the referral traffic is higher from Pinterest than any other social media platform as of now. If you’re lucky, you can get more hits to your website from ONE pin than an entire year of Google search traffic.”

Bloggers could easily be using content ‘without’ crediting back to the original source which later can create a problem from the use of Pinterest.  Pinterest does include an ‘etiquette’ page within their site to help users ‘pin’ sources correctly but this does not mean that everyone practices them.

Locurto gives a few tips on how to properly link the ‘source’ of a pin:

“If you have a blog, these points are more reasons why you need to put detailed information on your photos to protect them.

A logo or simple watermark just won’t due.

Make sure you have your URL, name, project description or the © symbol on your photos. Make sure your Terms of Use or Copyright info is in the sidebar of your blogs as well.”

She also mentions a wonderful campaign to bring awareness to the ‘link’ issue called ‘Dear Pinterest’ by Link With Love.

Perhaps by putting the right source ‘crediting’ to proper use, Pinterest will not only be a fabulous sharing platform but also a fantastic way for bloggers to confidently ‘pin’ their ideas, images and content.

The tour will travel across the U.S. this summer to provide moments of simple, active fun for kids and their families.

GoGo squeeZ has enlisted “Blue’s Clues” producer, Dr. Alice Wilder, to head the judging panel for the design. Dr. Wilder is also an educational psychologist and expert in creating quality programs and products for children.

“What we’re looking for is a really innovative design that represents the brand,” said Dr. Wilder.

The logo contest is part of GoGo squeeZ’s vision to create a unique fan experience where people can share their creative spirit.

“Creativity is innovation,” said Dr. Wilder. “Being original, using the ethos of the brand itself and how it makes you feel and how it inspires you to be active. The brand is 100% fruit, it’s squeezable, you can take it on the go, it’s no mess. Nutrition and play are inextricably intertwined.”

The grand prize winner of the logo contest will receive $3,000 and have their logo displayed on the “Pass the Play” tour. The winning design will also be promoted on GoGo squeeZ’s social media channels and website.

One runner-up and a “People’s Choice” winner will have their designs featured on GoGo squeeZ’s social media channels and receive monetary prizes.

Entries are being accepted now until March 1st.

Fans can cast their votes for their favorite logo from March 2-March 8, 2012.

The winning logo design will be announced on March 16, 2012.

Artists can learn more about GoGo squeeZ’s Mobile Playground campaign and submit their designs for the contest by visiting http://www.facebook.com/i.like.gogosqueez?sk=app_171350439587.

The group was given an in-depth look at P&G’s innovation capabilities via a walking tour of the facility. While the morning Innovation Live! event included traditional media, the afternoon tour included bloggers and internet media including: Anne Fritz of Jet Set Girls, Emily Berry of Mommin’ It Up, Mary Marlowe Leverette of About.com, RJ Jaramillo of Single Dad, Tom Branna of Happi Magazine and Samara Postuma of Simplicity In The Suburbs.

The tour showed the many steps and parts of the development process when it comes to product innovation. From the way consumers shop within a model grocery store to the way consumers really use their products in two “fake” houses within the BRIC. The center also includes a virtual reality simulator for retailers.

Most notable was Alex Keith’s, Vice President of P&G Fabric Care North America, unveiling of  the newest innovation from Tide. Tide PODS, the most significant innovation in P&G laundry care in 25 years. The PODS are a product that were 8 years in the making and the first three chamber liquid detergent in a capsule that have plans of changing the laundry care business. The fact that the product is more convenient in the sense of no more heavy laundry soap bottles and no more measuring, it’s expected to be a hit. The Tide POD is set to officially launch at the end of this month and it’s first commercial will be aired during the Academy Awards Sunday evening.

Jessica, an early Pinterest user, was not only using it to pin and share items she liked but also ‘pin-worthy’ blog posts of her own. Jessica and Tracy decided to combine their backgrounds with miscellaneous business, marketing and fashion to come up with the site.

The premise of the site is simple, each week the two highlight a certain product line and host a giveaway from that company. Encouraging users to pin products from that company which guarantees the company more traffic in return.

“Pin Savvy Social uses both a ‘Pin it to Win it’ format as well as a sharing format for businesses to engage with their consumers using Pinterest. Pin Savvy Social hosts weekly giveaways for companies where the mandatory entry is for the entrant to visit the site and pin an item to the entrants personal pin board.  This is giving the company an immediate ‘ad’ if you will on Pinterest that will be repinned and seen by many others.  The companies get amazing exposure and search engine benefits from the pins as well as a way to search for their company pins to see what products people love to help with their market research,” said Tracy.

Companies the two have already started working with include: Oilily, 31 Bits, My Lil Darlings Boutique and others.

Bloggers for the Cool Whip ads include Emily  from Busy Mommy, Shelly  from MomFiles, Jenny  from Picky Palate and Ana of  SpanglishBaby. After being approached by a public relations representative from Cool Whip, the girls were flown to New York city to be photographed for the ads. Ana said in a recent blog post “Cool Whip whipped topping was looking for busy moms who, somehow, still find the time to make every day special for their families and that was something I could definitely identify with.”

Emily from Busy Mommy and Jenny from Picky Palate on set (Photo courtesy of Busy Mommy)

In an interview, Emily said “The whole experience was amazing and it was actually my first time in New York City! It was a little intimidating to be in a professional photo shoot with a famous photographer, but everyone was very down-to-earth and made it a fun experience. I’m sure the best part will be seeing the finished product in magazines!”

There has been a crossover between traditional media and the blogosphere for some time now with newspapers and online news sources all having blogs and an online presence. Journalists are now often bloggers and bloggers are sometimes journalists. This overlap in to the traditional media world by bloggers is trending more towards the advertising realm as well.

It seems this is something we can expect to see more of in the future. This year Technorati’s State of the Blogoshpere stated

Almost one third of bloggers have worked for the traditional media, with a monthly magazine being the most common form (41%). 55% of Professional Full Timers and half of all Corporate bloggers have worked for a monthly magazine in the past. Of those who have worked with traditional media, 24% are still employed and blog separately.

The Cool Whip ad is expected to start appearing in the April-July issues of Better Homes & Gardens, Everyday Food, Family Circle, Family Fun, Parenting Magazine School Years and Real Simple with Emily’s ads running in April followed by Shelly, Jenny and Ana in the following issues.

Read more about the girls’ experience doing the photo shoots at Busy Mommy, Mom Files, Picky Palate and Spanglish Baby.

Heather’s blog and online presence has grown in many ways, including the addition of the Theta Mom Community, Theta Mom Marketplace and her recent joint venture as co-founder of The Launching Mom. As the leader and manager of the Council of Media Moms, Heather says “Working with Nina (President of momAgenda) has been nothing short of amazing. I am honored to represent this brand because she has built this company in such an organic and authentic way - she’s a working mom of four herself and has created the kind of product that helps every busy mom out there stay organized. She’s in the trenches alongside of us and she wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Selected bloggers will provide feedback about momAgenda products, write related posts, and provide a strong social media presence for momAgenda. To be considered, bloggers must have been blogging for at least one year and be able to commit to one blog post per month at the rate of $35 per post. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 27. More information regarding the benefits of joining the Council of Media Moms and the requirements to apply can be found on their website.

What was Jessica Bern doing seven years ago? Figuring out what her next steps were.

As a successful commercial actress and newly divorced, mother of one living in the oft-unforgiving city of Los Angeles, she struggled to find new and needed avenues of work. She ended up spending much of her time hanging out at a local coffeehouse reading her “essays” when they had their weekly comedy night. People laughed and it turns out there “essays” would eventually become the basis for her original web series, BernThis.

After meeting an aspiring filmmaker who worked at the Genius Bar, she decided to try her hand at her own web series. Unfortunately, she ran out of funds to produce any more webisodes and a blog star was born. She decided to:

• Create a blog with brilliant content
• Show people how funny she is
• Become wildly successful
• Live happily ever after

While her blog and web series Bernthis.com have been popular since their launch in 2007, she had yet to see the viable success she was hoping for.

In the ensuing years, I waited and waited and waited for someone to decide that the series merited an infusion of cash and time.  Then I waited some more, cried a lot even got my ass waxed and still nothing. Until now….

Now she’s getting her chance.

She’s been approached by Gary Kleinman, a former Disney studio executive, to star in a web series on his new network, FirstRun.tv. His vision for the network is to”establish a network and creative production community with opportunities to transcend the limitations inherent in conventional media distribution, and begin building a bridge to the next generation of television.”

“Blog This” is the new series scheduled to debut sometime in the spring. Jessica, along with head writer Debbie Anderson from San Diego Momma, are scripting four episodes set to begin filming in March.

The premise of the show doesn’t stray too far from Jessica’s own life. She describes the series as:

The post-divorced life of 40 year old single mother of a 3 year old in LA with no family and whose friends have disappeared. It’s biographical with dramatic touches, not a direct translation, but borrowed from and based on my life.

The series will feature five to seven main characters and both Debbie and Jessica have been involved in the casting of the roles. There will, however, be opportunities for other roles, including, appropriately enough, “bloggers.”

In the third episode (and keeping true to the semi-biographical nature of the show), Jessica attends a blogger meetup. Who better to play bloggers than bloggers themselves?

In fact, bloggers with a flair for the dramatic are encouraged to audition for the show. FirstRun.tv will be directly casting the roles of the bloggers and is actively seeking applicants.

For more information about the auditions and to keep up with the production and air dates, visit the Blog This series page on Facebook.

Celebrating their 12th anniversary, the Bloggies have evolved an tiered selection mechanism. A series of rounds including recommendations, independent judging and popular voting selects each year’s winners.  The process can certainly be tilted by an activity community of fans, but only if the site also ranks for judges, so it’s interesting to see the results of the process each year.

2012 is a banner year for LGBTQ blogs, including scoring three of the six finalist spots for Webblog of the Year with Modern Nomad (also up for Best Travel), Effing Dykes (also recognized in the Most Humorous category) and Autostraddle (also up for Best Group/Community and Best Entertainment), with Joe.My.God and Andrew Sullivan’s The Dish up for a Lifetime Achievement Award, and with showings in other categories as well, including Best Writing (Greta Christina’s Blog), Best Kept Secret Weblog (Roque’s Reality) and  Best Canadian Weblog finalist Schmutzie who identifies as queer.

Add to those nominees the bounty in the Best LGBTQ Blog category, and it’s a Yay Gay year all around: Lesbian Dad, It Gets Better, Everyone Is Gay, Waking Up Now and Your Daily Lesbian Moment.

Women netted many finalist spots across most categories, including mentions in Sports (Draft Day Suit and Dirt In Your Skirt), three of the five slots in Most Humorous Weblog (The Bloggess, Hyperbole and a Half and Effing Dykes) and all but one finalist slot in Best Community or Group Weblog (Curvy Girl Guide, Autostraddle, The Vacation Gals and Band Back Together.)

And in the Super Mad Respect zone: women swept the Best Writing Category (The Pioneer Woman, The Bloggess, Dooce, Greta Christina’s Blog, Hyperbole and a Half), garnered two Lifetime Achievement nominations (Mommy Wants Vodka and The Pioneer Woman) and all but one Weblog of the Year nod (Effing Dykes, Autostraddle, The Bloggess, Hyperbole and a Half and Marriage Confessions).

One huge problem, however: we need to see the Bloggies make similar progress with racial and ethic diversity throughout the categories so that the larger community of blog voices is represented.

Despite that major limitation there are seriously good choices throughout, and whether you agree with the results as “best” or not you’ll definitely find blogs worthy of distinction, and probably will find a mix of favorites as well as new blogs to add to your reader or email subscriptions.  Hurry and vote if that’s your inclination, as the interface closes on Sunday, with the awards ceremony conducted on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday, February 26th.

Congrats to all who were involved!