Founded in 2008 by Rhymesayers Entertainment, Soundset has consistently presented an impressive roster of hip-hop starts, both local and national, legends and up-and-comers. And yet on May 27th, Soundset showcases perhaps its most start-studded lineup. Household names in rap, Wu-Tang alums Raekwon and Ghostface headline the 2012 event, along with the legendary DJ Premier.

In addition, Soundset 2012 brings along some of the most talented up-and-coming artists to keep an eye on: Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, Big K.R.I.T. and Action Bronson amongst many others will be performing. Hosts and local legends Atmosphere and Brother Ali will perform alongside a slew of Minneapolis artists as well.

Like marketing and advertising, the tattoo industry requires you to stay ahead of the competition at all times — even more so in the current economy.

In Minneapolis, for example, new tattoo parlors seem to open up every other week.   In a market so oversaturated with “more of the same,” how does one shop stand out amongst the competition? Shane Wallin, veteran tattoo artist and owner of Twilight Tattoo, appears to have found the answer.

Despite dozens and dozens of tattoo shops in the Twin Cities area, Twilight is one of several tattoo shops that has become a household name amidst the inked culture.  Since 2001, Shane and the other artists have specialized in unique, completely custom tattoos, steering away from the hyper-repetitive designs found in many parlors.

Secluded like a speakeasy, and filled with the gentlemen’s wear to back it, Greenwich Vintage is thrift shopping without having to search through endless clothes racks; founder Michael Ader selects only the finest vintage clothing from around the state.  Clients then have Ader’s undivided attention as they peruse the finest of American-made denim, coats, work wear and suits.

The Greenwich fashion speaks for itself, and apparently many people are listening.  Having been in business almost a year now, they’ve been featured in the Star Tribune, Minneapolis Downtown Journal, and Minnesota Monthly.

We began to create what is now a unique and stylish user experience, accessible through any device from iPhone to desktop. The interface flaunts image galleries, regularly updated bicycle blog posts, information about events, and of course, the coffee menu. In the end Angry Catfish emerged with an eye-catching, fluid website sure to please bicycle enthusiasts and coffee connoisseurs alike.

On Connecting the Dots Jobs said,

… you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

On Love and Loss Jobs said,

I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

and went on to say,

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

And, on Death,

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

and finally,

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Jobs wasn’t a techie or a designer – he was just good at being true to himself. He followed his instincts and the world followed him. We’ll miss him.

The 8 Best Practices:

1. Tweet links
2. Identify yourself.  Your profile picture is your online first impression.  Do you think that is important?
3. Write a powerful bio and use key words (Founder, speaker, expert).
4. Give your brand a personality and let your audience get to know you, but don’t over do personal tweets.  #StopTalkingAboutYourself
5. Linguistic Content.  Positive is the most effect.  Negative is least effective. #BeOptimistic (Personal advocate of this one)
6. Don’t over tweet.  10 tweets in 5 seconds  #TheBestWatToGetUnFollowed
7. Utilize combined relevance.
8. Use social call-to-action.  Tell your audience what you want them to do such as comment on this post.

Facebook charges developers 30% of revenues as well.

Google recently launched its own In-App payment service and revealed they’ll be charging only 5%. This is big news. If they stick with a similar fee structure for developers on its new gaming platform, Google Games, there could be a shift in the platform wars.

The online publishing arena has seen many developers bypassing Apple’s 30% revenue cut on iOS publications by utilizing web-standard HTML5 functionality. This allows them to publish to the web and consumed on any HTML5 compatible platform – a nearly universal standard. What they lose in exposure on the iOS marketplace, hopefully they can make up for with increased consumability on other platforms.

Recent HTML5 publishers include The Financial Times, Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader and Walmart’s VUDU.

Known for their practice of rebranding themselves every 150 days, and throwing a smashing party for each launch, they’ve finally been recognized for their efforts nationally by being named an Ad Age Small Agency of the Year.

More at AdAge.com.