Network of Cool is a private, handpicked network of diverse 18-to-24 year olds who actively participate in a series of prediction games. For each prediction, the network virtually bets on a given question and forecasts the outcome. The top performers win prizes for correct and close predictions and are incentivized to continually participate in the game. The best, coolest performers – the participants who can best spot and predict trends – rise to the top of the scoreboard.

Think you have what it takes, join Network of Cool and see how you stack up.

The Network of Cool (NOC from now on), a project I’ve gotten involved with over the last several months, is in the process of launching in a big way from Launchsquad, an awesome, tech-heavy PR firm. Technically, I’m the Commissar of Cool (which, all will agree, is the awesome-est title ever), but I’ve been part of the process of trying to figure out what students want, and how to get us involved.

NOC is first and foremost a predictive gaming system. Basically, what it means is that members will be asked a variety of questions, about topics ranging from “which movie will make the most money this summer?” to “who’s going to be first to a billion users – Twitter or Facebook?” You’ll bet on an answer, and if you’re right, you win! It’s not gambling, I promise. It’s predictive gaming.

We found David not through a job listing, but through a post he wrote about LaunchSquad client Evernote. We were impressed with his understanding of the product and its unique capabilities. As we dug a little deeper, we were surprised and impressed to learn that a college student had such a wide footprint online. We started following him on Twitter, became regular readers of his blog and ultimately decided he was someone we wanted to work with in some capacity.

We reached out to David while he was interning for David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times. We kicked around ideas and explored ways to work together over many months. The eureka moment came when Morgan Stanley published a research report that called Twitter pointless and was lauded by Morgan Stanley top brass as “one of the clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen – so we published it.”

Surely David knows more than the intern who wrote the study, we asked. And he’s connected with a large enough crowd to provide more meaningful insights into not only Twitter, but a much broader range of issues facing his peers. The idea for Network of Cool was born.

We’re excited to have David on board. If you want to follow him online, he can be found here and here.

We’re excited to have partnered with Crowdcast to develop Network of Cool. Market-based solutions like Crowdcast-powered Network of Cool let people bet on the outcomes of future events. It turns out that when carefully-orchestrated, such solutions can lead to very accurate predictions. Perhaps more accurate than any other method available. Visit Network of Cool often to see if the results from our prediction market stand up to those of the experts.