GuruStorms

Exciting news: GuruStorms was announced today as as one of eight finalists in the 2010 SXSW Accelerator program in the Social Media - Business category. Our site has been undergoing extensive beta testing behind the scenes since our alpha launch at DEMOFall 2009, and we are excited to be presenting along with some other great technologies, including:

• Daily Grommet
• HyveWorks
• KnowEm?
• Mobile Roadie
• Mobspot
• PitchEngine
• Spredfast

Congratulations to all our fellow finalists and competitors. We look forward to engaging in some social media jujitsu in Austin, this March 15 and 16. See you all there.

Since launching last week at DEMO09, GuruStorms has been actively recruiting for the best and brightest online experts for the site. We're looking for (and finding) Gurus in many disciplines, including business, technology, science, medicine, the arts and humanities, and more.

What do we look for in a Guru? Two things: accomplishments and accolades. In other words, we want to find experts with a significant body of work, and the acclaim for that work as well.

Do you have the right stuff to be a guru?

Apply here to tell us about yourself. Or if you know someone you think would make a great guru, click here to tell us about them.

What's Next?

We expect to have brainstorming open in our first disciplines in the coming days and weeks, once we have the right number of Gurus in those areas. Meanwhile, be sure to come back for the latest news on GuruStorms and updates on our latest Gurus.

Hello, World! Today we're excited to announce the launch of GuruStorms.com at DEMOfall 2009. GuruStorms is a new brainstorming site that offers a unique crowdsourcing solution: a curated crowd of Gurus, consisting of the world's best and brightest online experts.

Companies and individuals can post brainstorms on the site that offer rewards up to $5,000 for these gurus in a number of specialized disciplines. These recognized experts then offer their best ideas, engaging in an online dialogue and ideation session lasting up to 30 days.

Bringing something new to the social web

We're really excited about this because we think it offers something completely new and unique in the crowdsourcing space, and also something that benefits everyone.

For Gurus, it's another channel to monetize their expertise that's online & ad hoc (so these busy gurus can fit it in whenever they have time), not to mention financially rewarding, with up to $2000 for a top-rated idea.

And for anyone with questions requiring significant expertise, it assembles an instant, on-demand team of Gurus & subject matter experts to engage, brainstorm and carry on an online dialogue with in a way they otherwise couldn't...