Just as Tumblr users can pick from text, pictures, videos and other media to publish, members of Forrst can choose from links, screenshots of projects, bits of code and questions. They can follow one another and view a stream of posts on their dashboard where they can "like" and comment on activity. Sound familiar? That's the point.

When he was inspired to create Forrst, Bragger was happy sharing random items of information on various social networks and blogging services, but he felt his needs as a developer were being underserved. He didn't feel that Tumblr was the right place to share bits of code and screenshots of projects in hopes of getting constructive feedback, so he created Forrst.

Other inspiration, he says, came from services offering similar solutions, but not the full range of features he included in Forrst. One such service, Dribbble, lets users share just screenshots (no larger than 400x300 pixels) for feedback on projects. Stack Overflow is a great place for developers to find questions and answers, but that's it. With Forrst, Bragger is combining these ideas, and then some, and is pleased that many Forrst users also use Dribbble or Stack Overflow as well.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Since launching as a rough prototype at the end of January, the invite-only service features over 3,200 users. According to Bragger, Forrst features a strong blend of U.S. and international users, with the majority of users - around 65% - registered as designers, he estimates. So far, over 5,000 posts have been published on the site, but the majority of the site's activity - some 1,500 to 2000 items a day - comes from users liking and commenting on posts.

As for being an invite-only service, Bragger says he never plans to change this setting, opting instead for a steadily growing more close-knit community that lets users "establish rapport," as he puts it. Around 18% of the users are active each day on Forrst, and the users, he says, are kind, polite, helpful and encouraging of one another. With this very targeted audience, Forrst features highly relevant ads on its homepage - just one of several ways Bragger plans to monetize the service.

The Future: Deeper Into the Forrst

One of the ways he hopes to bring in revenue while also serving the designers and developers of Forrst is to create a service through which freelancers can find clients, and vice versa. Back in March, we mentioned another service - Pick.im - that is trying to help these two parties connect easier online. Bragger says while he is hesitant to force revenue streams on his users, he thinks including this service can simultaneously provide for the users and keep the site running into the future.

Right now, Bragger has investment and support from brothers Gary and A.J. Vaynerchuk, who are also his partners in the business. He originally met Gary in 2007 and eventually worked for his company Cork'd before leaving to run Forrst full-time.

Bragger, who began coding at age 11 with Visual Basic before eventually building his own graphing calculator applications, has been a freelancer since leaving high-school. He also previously worked in New York for the Huffington Post.

If you'd like to sign up for Forrst, you can apply for an invitation, of which a limited number are sent out daily. Or, you can beg one of the sites users for an invite, who earn invitations by actively posting and contributing to the site.

Or, you can leave a comment below requesting one of a limited number of invites provided to ReadWriteWeb. Please leave your email address and a link to some of your design or code work (or some other proof that you are a designer or developer!)

"People on the coasts get spoiled," Vaynerchuk said. "There's always things going on in LA, San Fran, New York. Not to say 'Omaha's lucky to have us.' Please. I'm not going in that direction. But there was definitely a great spirit in the room. People drove from two or three hours to be here. It was a very uplifting aspect."

Vaynerchuk also chatted about his recent 10-book publishing deal, which might even include a title on parenting.

"This new experience that I have coming soon [Vaynerchuk is expecting a new addition to his family in three weeks], for someone who really wants to crush it and be the biggest entrepreneur ever, I think it would be kind of interesting to look at fatherhood and balancing all that. I feel like other people are struggling with that."

His first book, Crush It, will be available in stores mid-October.

Vaynerchuk also talks about his work with ObsessedTV.com and his latest endeavor, Vayner Media, a consulting service for celebrities, big brands, or anyone who needs to rule their niche.

Photo credit Jonathan Dingman.

The one-day, one-track show was just a hashtag to some and entirely unknown to others; still, the pre-show buzz on Twitter and in various blogs had resonated with freshness, immediacy, and inspiration. A week before it opened, the first-ever BIGOmaha conference was sold out.

Photo by Nick Stankus / nixter.net.

"#bigomaha is Amazing! This is the best Conference I have been to in awhile, the heart and effort of the peeps that put this together = Rad," wrote keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk in a tweet Saturday.

In their own words, the speakers' and organizers' enthusiasm about the event is apparent:

Aside from Vaynerchuk, the conference's all-star lineup included luminaries from well-known companies and stand-alone scene rockstars such as 37signals founder and president Jason Fried and Threadless chief creative officer Jeffrey Kalmikoff, both of whom were particular crowd favorites. Themes of the show, both loudly voiced and unspoken, included the hidden blessings of failure, the importance of good design, the creativity of Midwesterners, the value of hard work - regardless of how unsexy the project may seem - and the joys of getting fired or quitting a "stupid" job.

Also, no one could overlook the sheer cool factor of the venue. Part library, part converted warehouse, part art gallery, the space was immaculately and consistently conceived by Oxide Design (with critical concepting, online, and on-site execution support from BrightMix and Silicon Prairie News to be hip, fun, and functional. A DJ kept the vibe going during breaks between speakers, and three flavors of Red Bull were flowing throughout the day. BIGOmaha was also one of the most Twitter-friendly conferences we've seen. Handles were printed on all nametags, and Twitter walls kept the microblogging stream active all day and throughout the night at the Nomad lounge afterparty.

Photo by Shane Adams, shanelife.com.

One surprising note during the show was the mysterious non-appearance of WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg, who was scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. Around noon on Saturday, Mullenweg posted a Twitter note stating he'd missed his flight; closer to midnight, he said it had been overbooked.