It's been a busy couple of weeks since the Web 2.0 Expo wrapped up in NYC. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the new faces behind up and coming web applications and to mingle with some of the more brilliant minds of the industry. The venue moved from the much larger Javits Center to the more intimate surroundings of the Sheraton NY in mid-town creating a more concentrated and inclusive atmosphere.

I was stoked to learn that some of us from around the office (myself included) will be attending the Web 2.0 Expo in New York.

It's being held from September 27-30 and there's an impressive line-up of speakers from just about every major web company from IBM, to foursquare, to Google.

We'll be sure to write about the conference in the blogs to come. In the meantime check out: web2expo.com/webexny2010

You've got a name, logo, business cards and a letterhead, but do you have a brand? A brand in its simplest form is a noun, a thing. It's not simply the name of your company, or a way for people to identify you against another; although it serves those purposes. A brand should make you feel something, make you aspire to be like them, identify with and trust them.

Brands have characteristics the same way people do; most, if not all major brands have brand strategy guides that are meant to be followed closely across all communications. This includes everything from the layout of a banner ad, to the social media, to the way customer service representatives conduct themselves.