Give Thanks For 2009: What Are You Thankful For?

With the holiday season upon us and New Years resolutions pending, for many people it is a time for reflection. As an Intel Insider, I am thankful for all that Intel has offered this year as I was able to attend CES in Vegas, Computex in Taipei and Portland to see how chips are made. Thank you Intel.

Studies have shown that gratitude is the "forgotten factor" in happiness. Through highly focused studies, thought leaders Robert Emmons at University of California Davis and Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami were able to shed some light on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being.

As a co-founder of Shiny Heart Ventures, in September we launched Thankfulfor.com, a social online gratitude journal providing a forum for expressing gratitude routinely as a foundation for happiness and well-being. The idea is that people can come to the site and post what they are thankful for in their personal journal of thanks. People can also choose to send each Thankfulfor post to their social network on Twitter or Facebook, extending the good vibes far and wide.

We believe that through the use of social networks we can help spread more positive feelings and in some way, help improve many people's daily lives. This approach has been validated by James Fowler, author and professor at University of California San Diego, who studies the intersection of social and natural sciences and referred to this phenomena as "emotional stampedes". Emotional states like happy, unhappy and neutral spread through online networks despite location. For instance, a friend or family member who shares their thanks for a new gadget could inspire you to experience similar feelings of joy after reading their post and reflecting on things in your own life. Through Thankfulfor.com and it's growing community, we hope to inspire waves of contagious gratitude moving through people's personal networks.

This holiday season, remember that an attitude of gratitude is one that will help lead to a happier life. So please give Thankfulfor.com a try. We also recently created some limited edition Thankfulfor.com Thank You notes. You can purchase them in bundles and write them out yourself or you can order them online and have us hand write a message and send them for you. This could be a great way to say thank you to someone for a gift you receive this holiday season.

What are you thankful for in 2009?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank is a well known blogger (http://somewhatfrank.com) focused on sharing his Web product expertise and analysis on Web 2.0, social media and emerging technologies.

In addition, Frank co-founded TECH cocktail, a community building startup which offers events and community-powered projects to bloggers, technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs & professionals in under-served technology communities. Frank was also chosen to be a brand ambassador for Intel and recently named one of Washington, DC's 100 Tech Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Additionally, Frank has been covered in articles in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, TechCrunch, GigaOm and Read/Write Web among others.

Mr. Gruber received his Master's Degree in Computer Information Systems from Northwestern University, and his Bachelor's Degree in CIS from Purdue University.  In addition to technology, he is passionate about baseball, particularly the Chicago Cubs, and loves to play his guitar. Follow Frank on Twitter at @FrankGruber.