Pack your bags and get ready to head to Palo Alto. That's the message for two Seattle area firms that have been accepted into Facebook's new 10-week incubator program: fbFund Rev 2009. 

Seattle's Sortuv and Vittana -- which we've written about here and here -- are among 20 startups and non-profit entities that will receive intensive support and training to help accelerate social applications. The companies -- chosen from among more than 400 applicants -- also will get around $25,000.

Sortuv -- led by former Giant Company Software execs Ron Franczyk, Jim Heising and Andrew Newman -- is developing a search and discovery technology that allows computer users to find products or services that are "sort of" like similar offerings.

Vittana, which is bringing the concept of microfinance to education, allowing contributors to support students in developing countries with small loans, was one of two firms accepted in the non-profit category. The 2-year-old non-profit is led by former Amazon.com workers Kushal Chakrabarti and Brett Witt.

Update: I asked Jim Heising of Sortuv what they hoped to gain from fbFund Rev, and he noted three things: exposure, access to "amazing" advisors and "dedicated time and feedback" to refine the technology and business model. The program starts June 15, with Heising saying the founders will probably take turns going to Silicon Valley since most of them have wives and kids.

And Heising said the team will definitely return to Seattle to build Sortuv once the program concludes.

"...We would never leave the tech community we know and love!" he said.

Here's a list of all the winners, with descriptions via Facebook. I didn't recognize any other Seattle firms, but let me know if I missed anyone.

Startups (in alphabetical order)

• Frintro: Find friends of friends to date...or play matchmaker! If you're single, you can search your friends' friends and ask for intros. If you're taken, you can set friends up. Friends of friends are the best people to date. It's social dating via friendly intros.
• Funji: Funji is an avatar-based social networking app for the iPhone and iPod touch, satisfying users' desire to express themselves and communicate with others in a fun, creative way. The team has more than five years of experience in the mobile market in both South Korea and the US.
• Gameyola: Gameyola is a distribution and monetization platform for casual Flash games. Flash games currently monetize poorly, but Gameyola solves this problem by providing Flash developers tools to sell virtual goods and to acquire users through social channels.
• Life360 (private beta): From keeping track of your kids to protecting your identity and getting back your lost stuff, Life360 is the place you go to keep your family safe, secure, and prepared for daily life.
• MyChurch.org: Churches create their own social networks on MyChurch.org. They extend their community between Sundays with tools to connect and engage their members. Over 30,000 church congregations are represented on MyChurch.org.
• Navify: Navify is a visual encyclopedia that combines Wikipedia articles with images, videos, and comments. It is the only general encyclopedia that allows you to listen to music videos, watch movie trailers, and browse news and celebrity photo galleries.
• Nutshell Mail: Simplify the way you manage Facebook and other social networks. NutshellMail consolidates activity from all your accounts into a single email digest delivered on your schedule. Don't let email alerts clutter your inbox. Get informed, not interrupted. Get the Nut!
• Networked Blogs: Bring your blog to Facebook, and Facebook to your blog. Pull your Feed to your profile and business pages, add widgets to promote your network, and read the news from blogs you follow on the largest community of bloggers and blog lovers on Facebook.
• Paradise Paintball 3D: Paradise Paintball is the first game developed on Cmune's next-generation social gaming platform. It is the first casual, 3D multiplayer FPS game on Facebook, Apple Dashboard, and Mac and PC. Play with up to eight friends and buy virtual items to enhance the gameplay.
• Photos I Like: Photos I Like is a digital media sharing and discovery site emphasizing lightweight social content, self-expression, and communities.
• RentMineOnline: Combines the success of resident referral programs with the power of social networks. Residents refer their community to friends through social networks like Facebook, and email to earn rewards and live with friends.
• RUNmyERRAND: RUNmyERRAND is a social networking inspired web and mobile marketplace that provides people and businesses an easy and trusted way to get everyday tasks done in their own hyperlocal community.
• RunThere: RunThere is a social-networking service for runners and cyclists. Users can map and measure their favorite routes (no GPS required), keep a running/biking log, and find athletes and routes nearby
• Sortuv: Sortuv lets you start with something you like, and discover more. Instead of searching for a "great restaurant" just say what you mean: "Find me a place sortuv like Spago in Seattle". Check them out on the Web, on the iPhone, and on Facebook.
• TravelBrain/GeckoGo: Travel Brain by GeckoGo helps you track (and show off!) your travels, share experiences with others, and discover new places to visit. Learn from the knowledge of over 600,000 travelers, and get expert guide info from their Bradt Travel Guides partnership.
• Weardrobe (private beta): Weardrobe is a fashion-focused community for discovering different ways to wear clothing. Weardrobe provides a platform for people to share reviews of their own clothing, post photos of their looks, catalog their closet and search for style inspiration.
• Workstir: Workstir is a community that connects users with trustworthy local service providers. Anyone can post a job and choose a provider with confidence by browsing their past reviews. For businesses, Workstir provides a wealth of jobs in their area of expertise.
• Worldly Developments (private beta): Worldly Developments is building online services that will help you connect with the people, places and events in your local community. Its first product makes it a snap to plan, promote, and communicate around group activities.

Non-profits*

• Samasource: Sama is Sanskrit for "equal" – Samasource finds and trains reliable QA professionals to test Facebook apps with a user-friendly interface that lives on Facebook Platform. With Samasource, developers lower costs, reduce poverty, and improve their applications.
• Vittana: Vittana enables you to lend directly to students in the developing world, $25 at a time. Their mission is to bring student loans to the developing world through the power of person-to-person microlending.
  

Exposure and visibility 2) Access to an amazing group of advisors 3) Dedicated time and feedback into fine tuning our technology and business model The program starts June 15th and as for coming back to Seattle, we will most definitely be coming back. Most of us have wives and kids and moving down to the valley is not an option. Most likely we will be taking turns going down there over the course of the program. Besides, we would never leave the tech community we know and love!