When you post a picture of yourself on the internet you usually want it to reflect how good looking and awesome you are. Posting an image on a social networking site may not yield a second thought. Yet a bad picture on an online resume or dating site could really blow your chances for a dream career and a hot mate.

So who do you run to? Friends might think you’re shallow for asking or end up giving you approval on photos that just don’t work. Luckily for you a new application called FaceStat sums you up based on just one picture. Attributes include age, gender, ethnicity, weight, relationship status, wealth, intelligence, intoxicated, trustworthiness, humor and attractiveness.

The company, Dolores Labs, relies on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to collect data from dozens of strangers just waiting to judge you. You get one photo analysis per day. Pictures can be uploaded from your hard drive or pulled from FaceBook, and results take a few hours.

It’s an interesting social project. But then again, anything beginning and ending with you usually is. I thought so when I submitted a picture of what I thought was my chiseled abs, stunning features and million dollar smile. Turns out I’m not very trustworthy.

Feel like your band is too good for the street corner, but not quite ready to hit the studio on your own? Well, the world wide web combines reality and fantasy once more. SellaBand is bridging the gap between starving artist and up-and-coming star by facilitating piecemeal purchases of bands by the internet community.

Not so unlike the soccer team that recently sold 26,000 person ownership, essentially each participating band on SellaBand has their forthcoming CD broken up into 5,000 parts, priced at $10 each. Once the artist hits that magic number of $50,000, they get their pick of the high powered industry producers and studios the website has on consultancy. All money is held is escrow until the goal is hit to assure the process is legit.

13 artists/groups have thus far achieved the full monetary goal, and three tracks from their respective CDs are available as free downloads. The other tracks are to be sold for $.50 each, the profits of which are to be split evenly between the CD sponsors, the artist, and (of course) SellaBand.

Based in Germany and only incorporated in 2006, the site has gained some decent popularity quickly, especially now that the music industry crisis has been brought to the forefront of debate. Between last.fm and Yahoo! both planning to offer full track listening, and Radiohead’s business model-shattering internet distribution, now may be just the time for a delicate balance like SellaBand with a Web 2.0 community twist.

So whether you’re a struggling musician or just always wanted to say you were “with the band,” here’s your chance to buy a piece of the Music 2.0 pie.

I know what you’re thinking, all this online Web 2.0 malarkey was great when it was connecting you with old girlfriends on MySpace, but what has it done for you lately? Just remember, Internet or no Internet, strength is in numbers.

A fan base with an interest in a minor-league soccer team, Ebbsfleet United of Northfleet England, took that lesson to heart. Who needs fantasy leagues when you can just buy the team outright? Twenty-six thousand fans pitched in $70.50 each. That price bought them a place in history as the first online community to both own and manage a professional sports team.

The site is a meeting place for owners; allowing them to vote on issues such as lineups and the purchase of new players. Fans are able to watch the games via a live feed and thumb through real-time stats on each and every player. The portal will have weekly updates from the coach they select, giving them the skinny on player performances during practice.

This is where you let your mind wonder. Imagine making a bid for the Dallas Cowboys. Last time the franchise was evaluated, its price was estimated at a dizzying $923 million. Yet if 10 million people each ponied up $100 in a mass collaborative effort they’d have a shot at snatching America’s Team from Enemy No. 1, Jerry Jones, for a cool $1 billion.

So let’s sneer at the golden rule for once. Why does it have to be that ‘he’ who has the gold makes the rules. Massive projects like this one – online and off – turn that ‘he’ into a ‘we.’ And with the right motivation, buying a team no longer need be a rich man’s game.

Ever wish you could get your hands on Grays Sports Almanac from Back to the Future, rise to stardom and create your own version of Biff’s casino? There is no doubt about it, predicting the future has always had big bucks riding on it.

If you think your crystal ball is working well – in politics, economics, sports or even pop culture – you may want to check out Predictify.com. It caught my eye as an interesting concept after a friend of mine asked me to sign up last month.

It’s a simple way to pose deterministic questions to a large audience. The mob has their shot at predicting the future outcome of an event. If your prediction comes true you’ll get reputation points based on accuracy and, at times, a small monetary reward.

The more accurate your responses are the more reputation you’ll gain. But don’t bank on being the next Biff by answering questions correctly. The average payout of a correct response is $1. It may not be much, but it encourages participation and gets your appetite wet for staying in the game.

To be clear this isn’t a form of betting. It’s actually a pretty cleverly designed research tool. You can ask any question you want without putting up any dough. But if you do pay you can view graphs of profile data that include age, gender, education, political affiliation and race. With the paid method you can also choose to keep the results private.

Questions range from: Who will win the 2008 Presidential election?, How many touchdowns will Tom Brady throw this season?, to Who will win the upcoming season of American Idol?

The concept hinges on creating a competitive environment where regular Joe’s feel comfortable giving up their answer. As they’ve mentioned, studies show that a diverse crowds responses are often more accurate than a small group of experts at predicting future events. Plus they’re a hell of a lot cheaper at $1 a pop.

So I admit, I tend to tune politics out. That is, unless it involves issues I’m passionate about. Like many of you I took political science classes in school, yet I could never identify myself clearly within a political party. I tend to sway with the issues. So then who should I vote for this next coming presidential election?

The first step was to understand my political affiliations. I wanted to see a graphical chart showing where I stand. Political Compass does exactly that. It was developed by a political journalist and a professor of social history. This anonymous test places you on a grid that goes from both left-wing to right-wing and authoritarian to libertarian. It gives you modern examples of who you’d love to have a cocktail conversation with.

After I found out if I’d be sipping brandy with Stalin or Gandhi I wanted to put this newfound information to work. How can I research a 2008 presidential candidate based on the issue positions that are stressed in their campaigns?

Connect2Elect is a new website that matches your personal issues to a list of candidates with similar views. These stem from social issues (where I stand on stem cell research, the Patriot Act), political issues (military spending, trade policies) and core beliefs (flat tax, global military strength vs. diplomatic global peace).

So now that I have candidate values versus mine, I’m able to compare them with graphs and review my custom top 10 recommendations. The site’s biggest downfall is that it only references the campaign websites and doesn’t offer any open discussion.

Choosing a candidate based solely on their official public stance may also be a mistake. A solution would be to decipher their speeches and paper trails and convert them into what they are most likely to actually support when voted into office.

At least now I’ve narrowed down the field a little with a few innovative tools. Too bad they still need some sharpening.

At the moment if you were to submit a patent to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) it would take, on average, 52 months from filing to first action. So what’s the holdup?

Examiners need to search through what is called prior art which includes data, photographs, academic articles, prior published material and every other source before they can approve a request. If they screw up there is a mess that involves voiding the patent, lawsuits and headaches.

That is where the world of online collaboration comes into play at Peer to Patent, a new website that is working closely with the USPTO in the search for prior art.

A manager at the USPTO working closely with Peer to Patent told Technology Review, “The U.S. patent system is based on disclosure, and the earlier we can get our examiners the best prior art in front of them to help make that patentability determination, the better… giving the public an opportunity to participate in that process … is going to further improve our quality.”

The project will dramatically shorten the time it takes examiners to research for prior art. Hopes are that grassroots organizations will be better able to stop frivolous patents dead in their tracks before they are approved.

[Technology Review]

Everyone runs into situations that go beyond their knowledge and expertise. Previously that meant that you would have to acquire training and knowledge from a reputable source, like a university and then show proof of that knowledge, like with a degree. That’s a problem for people who need to think fast.

Today that trend is slowly changing. Resources are easily distributed via online collaborations. University level courses are now available to anyone with an Internet connection and an interest. Innovators need information to complete projects and get ideas off the ground. So is it possible is it to actually teach a difficult subject without live instruction? The answer is a resounding, yes.

MIT’s Open Course Ware program has courses that range from Biology and Literature to Nuclear Science and Engineering. Their goal is to “Provide free, searchable access to MIT’s course materials for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.” The courses include a syllabus, coursework, labs, reading materials, assignments and related resources. They even have a complete video and audio series that allows you to watch and listen to professors lecturing.

Wikiversity is a wiki that hosts and promotes a flexible online learning environment. It’s not a university but it does have all the subjects that you would normally find at one. Their e-learning model is that “Existing “bricks and mortar” universities began as meeting places for scholarly individuals seeking knowledge and those with mastery of a subject who could act as teachers to guide the learning process. Wikiversity is a virtual meeting place for masters and scholars, a wiki that hosts and promotes a flexible online learning environment.”

I’ve always considered myself a jack of all trades. Online learning projects such as these have given me the resources to learn rapidly and complete projects that otherwise would have been left unfinished.

The book Lucky or Smart by Bo Peabody, the founder of Tripod may give you a little insight as to how important these types of learning materials are to innovators and entrepreneurs. In the chapter, “Entrepreneurs are B-Students. Managers are A-Students.,” Bo writes …

“B-students don’t know everything about anything and are excellent at nothing. B-students, however, know something about a lot of things, and they can complete almost any task with some modicum of success. Entrepreneurs are B-students. There is no one thing they do well. But there are many thing they do well enough.

A-students, on the other hand, know a lot about one thing, whether it is technology or marketing or sales and finance. And they do this thing extremely well. If they don’t do it well, it bothers them. A-students want to do things perfectly all the time. This is a very bad trait for an entrepreneur, but a very good trait for a manager.

The most important thing to realize when you’re a B-student entrepreneur is that you need A-student managers. You must listen to them. You have no choice. The good news is that A-students must also listen to B-students, because B-students know about aspects of life and business that A-students know nothing about. While most A-students are really good at one thing, they tend to be completely out to lunch when it comes to most everything else. On the other hand, B-students are really good at being sort of good at everything.

The sooner the B-students and the A-students understand and appreciate each other, the more productive everyone will be.”

While there is potential for both A and B students to want to learn with these type of projects it’s the B-students who need pertinent information at the spark of an idea.

When I was a boy I took a quote by St. Augustine to heart: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” I have been intent on devouring as much of that book ever since. These innovative websites have helped me to delve into the adventure of experience. They allow for intelligent decisions, open planning and most importantly they get you from A to B as cheaply as possible.

Farecast is an airfare prediction website like the world has never seen. Statistical models elegantly inform you if you should buy now or wait. They show you how much the price is set to rise or drop and are correct up to the penny 74.5% of the time with an average savings of $55. They offer fare graphs for when to travel and grids that may offer cheaper options for length of stay. For now they only offer data on domestic flights.

Travelzoo researches, tests and evaluates thousands of deals. Value is the key and they deliver consistently with accuracy and open availability. Their mission is to provide the smartest, most current information and release it via e-mail in their Top 20 Newsletter and their Last Minute Travel section.

Trip Advisor is an easy to use comprehensive database of traveler hotel reviews, boasting over 10 million to date. They include candid photos, comprehensive trip planning and active forums. It is the first site I look at when searching for honest opinions.

Wikitravel has a rich database of free travel guides that are contributed and edited by the community. It is a great place to get the creative juices flowing when openly searching for destinations. The section off the beaten path showcases lesser-known and unusual destinations.

Trip-o-Rama gives users the versatility to plan, share, explore and rate group trips. You can invite others, share trip research, participate in discussions and find deals according to the size and destination of the group. You can browse trips that were taken by other groups and plan according to the pluses and minuses that were given by people who had already embarked on a similar journey.

Geobeats features professional, high production value travel guide videos for destinations worldwide. They work with local guides and hosts to reflect the local ‘flavor’ and personality. The videos are relevant, interesting and reliable.

Trivop is the first website to offer video guides for hotels. Their goal is to change the way people choose their hotel before traveling. So far the site has amassed a large video collection of hotels in France and is growing rapidly. Finally a better way to actually look at your room in full motion video before you book.

AirTroductions gives you the ability to actually choose the person who sits next to you on your next flight. Over the years some of the best conversations I have ever had have been with my fellow passengers. This is just goes one step ahead of filtering through to find someone in your industry or even a hot date at 10,000 feet.

Widespread collaboration has been the theme of Web 2.0. Projects like Wikipedia, BitTorrent, and Flickr have redefined “working together.” They bring massive amounts of users together for one specific goal. The difference is that these are ventures that have a clear set vision and gained critical mass with the momentum of that vision.

A quote from a book I read recently, “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything,”

These changes, among others, are ushering us toward a world where knowledge, power, and productive capability will be more dispersed than at any time in our history—a world where value creation will be fast, fluid, and persistently disruptive. A world where only the connected will survive. A power shift is underway, and a tough new business rule is emerging: Harness the new collaboration or perish. Those who fail to grasp this will find themselves ever more isolated—cut off from the networks that are sharing, adapting, and updating knowledge to create value.

People banding together to translate Harry Potter in their native language within days of its release is pretty damned amazing. Copyright beware, impromptu projects like these will spring up more and more frequently as people envision value, with or without a ‘visionary.’