Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Theyre among the most intriguing young business owners in Americaand theyve barely gotten started. Think of Inc.'s 30 Under 30 as a glimpse into the next generation of business owners, as well as a reflection of the trends that have taken shape over the past few years. Last year, for example, we were struck by how many young women were starting companies.

...now what? What's behind Google's slow-launch approach, plus, what's irking the Twitterati about the search giant's social network (hint: everything). The first formal reviews of Google+, the social-network-news-feed-video-chat hybrid, are in

Do "likes" and retweets add up to sales? Who knows

If Matt Lauzon has his way, his online custom jewelry company will one day "take on Tiffany head-to-head." That may seem like a bold prediction, but consider that Gemvara , which is just more than a year old, had a $10 million run rate at the end of last year and, as of this spring, is venture capital funded to the tune of more than $25 million. The company allows consumers to customize jewelry by design, stone, and metal, and offers more than a billion styles from which to choose (including Kate Middleton-inspired earrings and a reasonable facsimile of Natalie Portman’s engagement ring). Lauzon carries no inventory; he sources his gemstones and diamonds from suppliers in the United States, then works with several manufacturers (also domestically) to produce the jewelry as it’s ordered.

When you buy a silk Goddess Scarf from the online retailer Gianna Fair Trade, not only are you getting a stylish new accessory, you're also helping Mae Ta, the Laotian mother of five who made the garment, send her children to school.

They're making the hottest apps on your iPhone, and shirts that don't gap; encouraging you to eat healthier, and date smarter; fighting government censorship, and those extra pounds on your thighs; helping impoverished women worldwide, and kids at New Orleans charter schools. Where else would you find a more awesome and diverse group of young entrepreneurs than right here on our 30 Under 30 Coolest Entrepreneurs list? Jinnett, a professional ballerina who danced in Black Swan, wanted to help mere mortals who longed for dancer-like bodies

Two curious and awkward press events this week put the spotlight on the unveiling act. Yesterday, after a short period of global intrigue, J.K.

Impressive "parlor tricks" are no longer enough to win, said the jurors. This year's Grand Prix recipients combined classing storytelling with a systemic use of interactivity

For businesses just starting out (and even for businesses that are already established), writing a business plan that bankers and investors can understand can be difficult. What is the point of a business plan

As you can see the bizarre story of Rebecca Black's "Friday" runaway viral video hit has taken another strange turn. It's been taken down not due to YouTube's strict copyright infringement rules, but by Black's command.

Until now, the antics of LulzSec have seemed more or less harmless (depending on where you draw the line on the criminality of White Hat hacking), but with the release of 62,000 usernames and passwords to unlisted sites, LulzSec has got personal. LulzSec claims to have hit the CIA this week , and may also have again penetrated web security at the Senate's website, and an earlier LulzSec leak of over 20,000 usernames and passwords was confined to pornographic websites--headline-earning efforts indeed. But today's 62,000-plus list actually doesn't mention which site the passwords and login credentials are connected to

Whether you're interested in selling your business or buying one, odds are you'll want to engage a business broker to help you through the process. Not unlike what you see in the real estate sector, business brokers tend to be paid by sellers: something you need to keep in mind if you're a buyer.

At the Venture Capital in Education Summit yesterday, Jose Ferreira, CEO of Knewton , announced the first big partnerships that will have tens of thousands of students trying the adaptive learning platform he's been building for the past five years. What he calls a "data interoperability engine" promises to take any kind of educational content, break it down and present it to students at exactly the sequence and pace they need, while giving detailed feedback on performance to both students and professors. "We can classify students by ability level down to the concept,"

Hacktivist collective

When the internet first got kicking, some scholars of democracy and civil society thought that online discussions could create what they called a "conversational democracy”: an ongoing town hall without bricks and mortar. But the internet may not be as democratic as they'd imagined, according to a study in the journal Communication Research .