What an exciting holiday gift — a nice write-up about RareShare on TechCrunch. Feel free to check it out here.

Congratulations to friend and longtime client, Neil Roth, for the launch of Xtreme Green Products, a new line of 100% electric eco-vehicles. The line currently includes jetboards, police mobility vehicles and 2-person electric motor scooters. What an innovative concept and important contribution to sustainability.

You can check out the complete product line at XtremeGreenProducts.com.

http://paulgraham.com/good.html

After months of working on our early beta, I’m pleased to let you know that RareShare is now LIVE!

The Site is free to all and works to connect those affected by rare medical disorders by creating micro-communities for each specific disease.

Currently, there are just over 500 communities (the most common of the rare disorders). We’re planning to add many more over the next several months…

• Be creative – the more unique your name, the more it stands out and is remembered
• Check the availability of your domain – Use GoDaddy or another domain registrar to check if the name is available before making a final decision
• Host a party — When renaming a company, host a naming party with partners and employees after hours to help brainstorm ideas
• Seek the opinion of others – ask your friends, customers, and vendors what they think about the name
• Visit the USPTO to perform a trademark search to see whether your name has already been trademarked

I’m excited to let you all know about my new company, RareShare. We’re working on a platform for patients, families and healthcare professional affected by rare disorders. Our goal is to increase the level of communication by allowing RareShare members to share experiences, explore treatment options and find support among others affected by the same, or similar, disorders.

Our private alpha release is scheduled for mid-March, but in the meantime here’s a link to our website and corporate fact sheet (pdf). Feel free to request an invite from our homepage to join our alpha communities.

Well, the future is here thanks to Space Data Corp. The Company has developed a wireless technology based on launching balloons 20 miles into the Earth’s stratosphere. By doing this, Space Data is providing thousands of square miles of remote and rural areas with wireless access.

The Company is currently providing services to the United States government and commercial enterprises such as long-haul trucking companies. Even better though is the rumor that Google has developed an interest in licensing this technology. It may even be on their radar as a possible acquisition candidate.

As I was leaving the DEMO ’08 opening reception, I ran into Brian Del Vecchio from good2gether. His team is launching a site that will allow charities to list volunteer opportunities, upcoming events and in-kind donation needs and have this information syndicated online to newspapers and media partners. The Site will also offer a widget allowing the same information to be posted on the nonprofit’s website. 

I’m not the only one to think that good2gether a clever idea. According to the Company, it has already raised $1.5 million from private investors. 

Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect during the DEMO ’08 Conference

A Packed Opening Reception

The Demo ’08 Presentation Room

Tonight is the official kickoff of the DEMO ‘08 Conference out here in Palm Desert. For those that aren’t familiar with this event, DEMO hosts a series of conferences each year to provide a launching pad for innovative technology products. To be selected for the show, a product must:

• Make its public debut at the DEMO conference
• Make a significant contribution to the state of the art in its target market
• Change the dynamics of the marketplace into which it is introduced
• Be backed by a management team capable of delivering the product to market

This show in particular will feature 77 new tech products that will be debuted over the next couple days. Each company will have approximately 6 minutes to do live demonstration on stage in front of venture capitalists, angel investors, journalists (and bloggers), and tech-geeks.

I was fortunate enough to land a press-pass last minute (this morning) with the help of Tech Confidential and will be covering the Conference for the next couple days. Be sure to check back regularly for updates from the show.

According to my friend Josh, TechStars has officially started accepting its next round of applications. This is a great opportunity to live in Boulder for the summer and learn from successful entrepreneus and venture capitalists.

If you’re selected for the Program, you will receive $15,000 in funding for your startup, plus the chance to pitch angel investors and VCs at the end of the summer. In addition, you will be partnered with a mentor who will help guide you. Last year, Jason Mendelson was one of the mentors.

For an analysis of Josh’s TechStars experience, check out his recent blog posting at Online Aspect.