John Lawson from ColderICE.com has been recognized by StartupNation (http://www.startupnation.com) as one of the top businesses in its 2009 Home Based 100 competition under the category of Savviest in Social Media.

John’s company ColderICE was one of the first featured as a Twarketing Profile and Case Study. Twitter and ColdedICE: Twarketing Case Study Number One

Many of the StartupNation Home-Based 100 submissions revealed that business owners are bucking the current economic downturn and finding business success in these tight times. Historically some of today’s most well known businesses started in a downturn, including Microsoft and General Electric.

“The 2009 ranking shows that the home-based business is more relevant than ever. The current recession has spurred a new wave of home based businesses as a response to loss of jobs, the need for supplemental income and the sheer passion for blazing your own trail and running your own show,” said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation.com, one of the leading small business networking and advice websites. “Home based businesses are the biggest block of all businesses in existence and we expect numbers to grow ever greater as extra bedrooms, kitchen tables, basements and garages become host to the innovative thinking and pursuit of success by millions of Americans.”

“This is by far one of the coolest recognitions ever for me” said John Lawson, editor of ColderICE.com, a education portal for internet business owners. “This is the first year that this category has been acknowledged and to be the first winner is truly trail blazing. Social media is officially on the map and now I get to be the first pin.”

The StartupNation Home-Based 100 highlights 10 top-ten lists making it not just your ordinary business ranking. From the wackiest, to the most innovative, to the savviest in social media – this unique and diverse list highlights the home-based businesses that usually go unrecognized, but still play a vital role in the economy today. MSN publishes the ranking as well in an editorial collaboration with StartupNation. The ten categories for 2009 include:

· Recession Busters

· Savviest in Social Media

· Most Innovative

· Boomers Back in Business

· Greenest

· Yummiest

· Wackiest

· Highest Vote-Getters

· Most Slacker-Friendly

· Most Glamorous

John Lawson was selected from among thousands of contestants by a StartupNation judging panel, which issues the ranking results annually in the November.

The full results of the Home-Based 100 ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/. The 2009 ranking was sponsored by Microsoft Office Live, Infusionsoft and FedEx Office.