In the 16 months I've spent on Empire Avenue, I've met many of the world's best networkers, visionaries and strategists. It's a fun bunch for sure.

And in the past few months, we've built out quite a community on other networks through the "[X] Bar" group of Empire Avenue fans. With that community, we've done fun stuff like the regular "Xpendapalooza" buying sprees, and several of us are working on "[X] Bar Gives" activities to extend our Empire Avenue community's influence in support of worthy charities.

If you're not on Empire Avenue, join here. If you're not in the [X] Bar Facebook group, that's .

Sometimes, though, it can be challenging to figure out exactly how to network when in large part Empire Avenue is constructed like a game. We build out all these networks to improve our connection scores - what then? It can also be a bit confusing trying to figure out exactly what is and isn't allowed in various moderated communities based on Empire Avenue connections.

So, I want to make it very clear: The [X] Bar community on Facebook and elsewhere is meant to be about much more than Empire Avenue the game. It is a place where you can feel free to share a blog post you're proud of, a particular business goal or achievement you're excited about, or a personal story. In fact, that kind of content is even better than the next Empire Avenue milestone or goal (we'll see those in your new badges on the Empire Avenue site!). The community is moderated by a bunch of great folks who exercize discretion in keeping the community spam-free and conversational.

To help folks increase the value of their networks, today we're announcing a new [X] Bar tradition - the "Happy 24 Hours," a Sunday-through-Monday opportunity to share your personal, business and other goals and updates about what's important to you. Forget about the dividends for a minute and share what's up with you. We'd love to hear it! (And thanks to Felissa Elfenbein for the idea!)