Update

Talks will be uploaded soon

We are just days away from celebrating Mindshare in its 50th consecutive month of salons and workshops by exploring, “What Comes Next?” for ourselves, our culture, and our planet. Campbell and team are pulling out all the stops with some of Mindshare’s most fascinating speakers and performers. Here are just a few:

• Nolan Bushnell, a seasoned entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theater chain. Bushnell is currently co-founder and chief game designer for Anti-Aging Games.

• Gianelle Veis, manager of prize development at X PRIZE Foundation. Veis specializes in making the impossible possible, predicting the future by creating it, and bringing about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

• Anthony Batt, president of Katalyst Networks and founder of BUZZmedia. Batt leads a team of storytellers who create digital and TV programming for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Going to be out of town this weekend for Mothers day?  Don’t worry TechZulu has your back.  Because we will be streaming all 20 talks right here on TechZulu.

There are already  hundreds of cultured Angelenos signed up and ready to converge on downtown LA’s Arts district to experience the mind-meld of Mindshare 50.

Full event and Friday only passes are already completely sold out.  However, you can still snag yourself some Saturday Talks and After party tix.  GET THEM HERE

Talks Schedule:

10am: Introduction to “What Comes Next?”

Douglas Campbell / @ProjectFresh Co-Founder, Mindshare LADoug is a community constructor, experience engineer and tuxedo traveler. He co-founded Mindshare LA in 2006. From the start he saw the power of technology to augment social interaction and began forming an interactive collective which led to it’s spin off and incorporation as Syyn Labs, LLC in 2009, and gained quick notoriety for their RGM music video collaboration with OK Go.

10:15am: MIND

Tristan Ursell Ph.D. / @Creepuscular Biophysicist, Stanford UniversityTristan is a passionate teacher and communicator of science, exploring the interface of science, policy and daily life. He works as a biophysicist at Stanford University, as Managing Editor of the Stanford Journal of Law, Science and Policy, and is a resident of the infamous Langton Labs intentional community in San Francisco.

Sena Koleva Ph.D. / @SheFeline Psychologist, University of Southern CaliforniaSena’s research explores a variety of social psychological topics, e.g. morality, romantic relationships, political ideology, evolution and biology of attraction, mate selection, and love, religious beliefs, and culture differences. She is currently working on a large project that investigates how individual values, beliefs, personality, and culture may influence everyday decision-making and behavior.

Moran Cerf Ph.D. / @TwtrDtCm Neuroscientist at Caltech, UCLA’s Department of Neurosurgery, and NYUMoran is interested in attention, emotions regulations, and dreams. His set of studies include examining the conscious control of single neurons in humans, the ability to affect altered states of consciousness as dreams or sleep, and the ability of humans to regulate high-level emotions.

12pm: BODY

Jason Porath / @JasonPorath Effects Artist and Technical Director, Dreamworks AnimationJason hails from Kentucky, where his parents met at a Renaissance Faire, hooked up at the Wicca Coven, and raised him at sci-fi conventions. This upbringing naturally steered him to Los Angeles, where he now works in computer graphics for feature films. Although Jason currently is employed at DreamWorks Animation, he has previously worked at Digital Domain, Luma Pictures, SW Digital, CIS Hollywood, Ring of Fire, and yu+co.

Amanda Parkes Ph.D. / @AmandaJParkes Biomedia Designer, Fashion Technologist, Curator, ProfessorAmanda is a biomedia designer & fashion technologist interested in how digital technologies and smart materials can expand our relationship with natural phenomena to facilitate a more intuitive connection interfacing technology to the natural world.

Eric Gradman / @egradman Artists & InventorEric is an artist and inventor in Los Angeles, CA. He make others see technology as magic. He is a founding member of the creative collective Syyn Labs and loves to make new things. He can also spin fire while balancing on a circus ball and whistlin – but not just any whistling, eric finished in the top 10 at the world’s whistling competition in Louisburg, North Carolina.

Zak Holdsworth / @zakholdsworth Director of Business Development, WellnessFXZak is fascinated by the cross section of technology, experience design and health. An electrical engineer by training he has built embedded medical devices, consulted on lean/agile, founded a couple of (failed) startups, worked as a VC, and has advised and invested in a small handful of early stage companies. Prior to joining WellnessFX (consumer directed health technology), he completed his MBA at Stanford. He is also a health enthusiast and likes to teach people how to cook simple delicious food and live healthier lives.

2:15pm: Hey, Nolan “What Comes Next?” (Interview)

Nolan Bushnell / @NolanBushnell Co-Founder and Chief Game Designer of Anti-Aging GamesNolan is a seasoned entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc and the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theaters chain. Bushnell has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the CEA’s Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News “Innovator of the Year” award, and was named one of Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America.” Bushnell has started more than twenty companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry. Together with two doctorate scientists, he is currently working on games designed to stimulate the brain.

2:30pm: CULTURE

Lucien Vattel / @GameDesk Founder & CEO, GameDeskLucien has designed and produced over a dozen educational games for industry and education and is at the forefront of developing how games and digital learning technologies can be used for core curriculum education. He currently owns and operates Chizuru Games and serves as CEO of GameDesk, a national center for game and digital learning research, development, and outreach. Lucien is also co-founder and co-director of a new game and interactive-based school launching in Los Angeles in the fall 2012. Lucien’s goal is simple, to completely redesign education.

Jeet-Kei Leung / @MazeGuider Writer, DJ & Experience DesignerJeet-Kei illuminates the phenomenon of Transformational Festivals, conveying a ground-breaking articulation of this emergent culture. He is the writer, narrator & host for an upcoming 4-part documentary webseries on the subject, covering a dozen of the premier festivals of this kind. Jeet-Kei resides in Vancouver, B.C., where he rocks dancefloors as the DJ named Mazeguider and is the founder of Intention, an annual 5-day new years celebration which just held its 13th year of gathering.

Anthony Batt / @DJABatt President, Katalyst NetworksAnthony runs Katalyst, a team of storytellers that creates digital and television programming media for some of the world’s biggest brands. Katalyst is a reknowned champion of technology who sees the world years before it arrives. As a digital media pioneer, Anthony understands how to engage audiences through compelling original digital programming. Anthony also founded the entertainment-blog powerhouse BUZZMedia, played a role in early craigslist.org as well as Absolut Vodka’s award winning digital media strategy.

4pm: PLANET

Erica Wohldmann, Ph.D. / @CSUNorthridge Associate Professor California State Univeristy, Northridge, Department of PsychologyErica’s research is concerned with factors that influence learning and memory for knowledge and skills, as well as decision-making. She is also a reknowned food advocate, studying how we can continue to sustain an expanding population while exploring studies and trends in food-based health and food production.

Dario Mutabdzija / @DarioMRM Co-Founder and President, BlueseedDario is entrepreneur bricoleur who is passionate about connecting people and businesses around the world. He is co-founder and President of Blueseed. Dario studied and/or worked in Hawaii, China, California, Austria and Bosnia. He received his J.D. and LL.M. in Transnational Business Practice from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento CA, and the University of Salzburg in Austria. Prior to Blueseed, Dario served as Director of Legal Strategy for The Seasteading Institute.

Dezso Molnar / @DezsoM Co-founder, CTO, Molnari, Inc.Dezso is the co-founder and CTO of Molnari, Inc., a vehicle design company specializing in street-legal aircraft. Dezso is a pilot, flew passenger jets in the US Air Force, has 4a Professional Aeronautics degree from Embry-Riddle University.

Gianelle Veis / @GianelleVeis Manager, Prize Development, X PRIZE Foundation.Gianelle specializes in making the impossible possible, predicting the future by creating it, and bringing about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. Gianelle designs incentive prize competitions across X PRIZE’s four prize groups: Education & Global Development, Energy & Environment, Exploration (space & deep oceans), and Life Sciences. Gianelle’s work at X PRIZE fuels her passion for improving our world.

5:30pm: COSMOS

Adam Steltzner Ph.D. / @MarsCuriosity Entry, Descent and Landing Lead, Mars Science Laboratory Mission, Jet Propulsion LaboratoryAdam leads a team that has developed the novel entry, descent and landing system for the rover Curiosity, the largest rover ever sent to another planet. His team, spread across the country, has developed with heats shields, parachutes, rockets engines and a radar all to gently place this mega rover, wheels down, safely on the surface of Mars.

Dan Goods / @DanGoods Visual Strategist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion LaboratoryDan’s passion is to give people experiences where they interact with something beautiful, meaningful, and/or possibly profound. He gets to do this as the Visual Strategist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he creates ways of communicating the awe of space to the general public, as well as on his own time through public and private art commissions around the world. He is featured in this months LA Weekly for the “Best of LA People 2012″ issue.

Kevin P. Hand Ph.D. Deputy Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPLKevin’s research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system with an emphasis on moons of the outer solar system that likely harbor liquid water oceans. These moons are prime targets in our search for life beyond Earth. His fieldwork has brought him to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the depths of the Earth’s oceans, the icy permafrost of Alaska, and to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro. In 2011 he was selected as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

Magnifis’ Android app, called “Robin,” is a challenger to Evi and Apple’s Siri. Robin is specifically designed to be the driver’s personal voice assistant, the first of its kind (think KITT from the Knight Rider series). It aims to address the driver’s needs in a distraction-free manner, at a high level of contextual awareness and overall user experience. Besides real-time parking guidance, Robin can help the driver with traffic information, navigation, local search, up-to-date gas prices and infotainment, all via a voice/gesture interface. The company says it employs “cut- above” intelligence because it can keep track of the conversation.

“ParkMe’s renowned app and database of parking information, combined with Magnifis’ capabilities, will provide our users with safe, hands-free information. It’s a fantastic use of our parking information,” Sam Friedman, CEO of ParkMe, said.

Magnifis CEO Ilya Eckstein believes the app’s highlights are its simplicity and emphasis on safety. “The app can be activated by simply waving one’s hand over the phone, optimizing the experience of driving and searching,” Eckstein said.

ParkMe’s app includes a database of more than 26,000 parking locations through the U.S., Canada and Europe. It provides information on availability, rates, hours of operation and entry points. It also gives users the ability to reserve and pay for parking in select locations. Some real-time on- and off- street locations exist, with many more to follow.

Studies show that up to 30 percent of urban congestion is caused by people searching for parking. “ParkMe’s app is helping to cut down on this problem by providing the best, most dynamic parking data in real time,” Friedman said.

“This new app by Magnifis protects from the dangers of distracted driving. We are delighted that Magnifis has chosen ParkMe as its real-time parking provider,” Friedman said.

For those who may have missed it,  and if you were at SXSW how could you!  ParkMe guys did an amazing job with a unique idea on marketing their app.  Checkout the video below.

While these pictures may initially conjure thoughts of ruin and destruction, they also carry a deeper meaning: CHANGE.

What does the Tower card have to do with tech and entertainment, you ask?

Everything.

Change does not come easily. In fact, it often creeps up on us unexpectedly, turning our lives upside down and shaking us from our complacency until we embrace it. Technology acts as a catalyst for change, rethinking old paradigms and inventing new approaches to old systems.

In the entertainment business, technology is often seen as the Tower card; the lightning bolt destroying the stronghold and shaking it to its very foundation. But look at the lightning bolt from another point of view and suddenly we see a bold, illuminating light that deconstructs the old to be built anew.

Long story long, disruption does not have to equal destruction, and TechZulu’s going to show you how.

Join us on Thursday, May 24 at NextSpace in Culver City as we highlight some of the latest innovations disrupting the entertainment business in positive ways. Confirmed panelists include:

• Adam Chapnick, CEO of Distribber
• George Strompolos, founder/CEO of Fullscreen
• Stephan Paternot, co-founder/chairman of Slated
• Michael Pusateri, former SVP of Technology, Disney
• Amanda Coolong, moderator

[Show as slideshow]

Speaker openings are still available; contact amanda[at]techzulu[dot]com for details.

Want a Discount?

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:15pm – Check-in
7:15 – 7:30pm – Introductory Remarks
7:30 – 8:30pm – Program Begins
8:30 – 9:30pm – Networking Mixer

See you there!

Venue Sponsor

Mixer Host

Want to Sponsor?

If you would like to be part of this amazing event and show your support for TechZulu,  contact us at sponsor@techzulu.com.

• Sponsorship opportunities for events, and other channels
• Sponsored giveaways and contests
• Custom ad deals and partnerships

VENUE HUBS Will Have Themed Panel Content:

• Hollywood (Viceroy): Movies Go Social, Music Goes Social, on how movie studios, labels and startups use new tech tools to promote content
• Arts & Lifestyle (Hotel Erwin): Fashion, Art, Action Sports, Green, Good
• Startup (Amplify): Dev Debate, Meet the Angels, Women of Silicon Beach
• Design/Dev Hub (Launchpad LA): Design + developers, UI, UX panels
• Pitch (StartEngine @ Shutters): Startups 3-minute pitches w judges
• Productivity (BetterWorks @ Silicon Beach House): small biz productivity
• Influencer (PromoJam) @ Tech Cube: social tools
• Press: Techzulu @ Coloft. TechZulu interviews; press lounge
• Content: Web / viral videos TBA
• Advertising: Agencies rock digital, TBA
• Media/Tech: io/LA (Hollywood)
• Cross Campus: Startup Village, Keynotes, Registration, Panels
• CoWorks: TBA
• Jason Nazar will present Startup Uncensored on Thurs June 21

GET INVOLVED!

We’ve never had our own LA-created tech festival, so we’re making this one, grass-roots style. Help make it what u want it to be!

Suggest a Panel: Email panel ideas including title, description, moderator and 3-5 speakers you’ve confirmed HERE with SBF as subject

Offer a service: We’re looking for donated services, food / drink / alcohol sponsors, apps, etc. to help run the fest. For example: Uber is offering a town car ride credit code. We are looking for West side restaurant apps to help attendees figure out where to go to for lunch. Services must offer some sort of discount/deal for SBF attendees. Email HERE with SBF as subject.

Offer space: If u have / know a venue with good space to host at least 4 hours of panels/events Fri June 22 and Sat June 23, email HERE with SBF as subject.

Help with logistics: We’ll need a Volunteer Coordinator, Registration Coordinator, and tons of volunteers (who’ll all get comped to attend the conference). Only volunteer to help if you are hard-working and can get things done. No crazies or flakes. Email HERE with SBF as subject.

REGISTRATION will be available soon!

Get psyched! We’re heading to the beach the first weeknd of summer for the Silicon Beach Fest!

For most the dreams of becoming a guitar shredding god are lost if not playing since your youth.  Although you may not be able to become that mega star on stage playing the Hollywood Bowl, you can still become the guitar shredding god of your household.  Music Prodigy is changing Music Education through its patent-pending technology and proprietary teaching method that enables any aspiring musician to learn any instrument, at any level of expertise, anywhere an iOS device can reach.

Music Prodigy gets you playing the right notes at the right times along to some of the world’s greatest artists within minutes. It does not replace traditional music education, but makes the experience of learning an instrument fun, rewarding and social, affordable and accessible.  Rock Prodigy, the company’s first in a series of interactive music products, enables fans to learn their favorite songs directly from the artists themselves like never before.

Basic lessons come with the app, with more advanced lesson available for a small fee. An in-app store lets you buy songs, chords and scales to learn, with prices ranging from free up to $2.

Since their launch the company has been working with world renowned artist and bands such as Dave Mustaine, The Offspring, and the Greatful Dead.  Each artist and band have their own custom built applications powered by Music Prodigy, providing the same helpful learning tools that their flagship application Rock Prodigy provides.

Check out the team in the video above and get to know the folks behind it all.

[Show as slideshow]

I’d like to start out with a HUGE virtual hug to our awesome community.  Its been 4 amazing years and TechZulu is still going strong because of you.  The new TechZulu has also been inspired by community feedback, so we encourage you to tell us what you think so we can keep improving TZ.

It has always been our goal to deliver an insightful story of the technology industry by showcasing the very people creating it.  We continue to improve TechZulu to help you easily discover what is happening within the technology industry, whether it be live streaming from a conference,  an amazing must have gadget,  awesome new site you have to take a look at, or an up and coming entrepreneur/startup making big waves in the tech scene.  We also can’t forget about TechZulu Presents, our special events designed to help you get up close and personal with some of the lesser-known but just as brilliant minds and emerging markets in tech.

We’ve done our best to provide more exposure of topics which may be of interest to you, moved over to Rackspace hosting so you can always be sure TechZulu will be up and running when you need it, improved our search to help you find exactly what you are looking for, and also made it easier to tip us off on any news we need to know about. We hope this new layout and key enhancements improve your experience while using TechZulu.

Category Callouts

One of the major differences you may have noticed on our homepage are the Category Callouts on each story.  We did this to help you better find the stories you are really interested in fast.  They are also clickable and go directly to the category to get you more of what you like.

Search

Not only did we improve the search but it will also always be right there when you need it.  Our search bar follows you as you read and scroll down on TechZulu.  No more searching for the search bar

Get in Touch

Have some hot news we should know about?  Interested in contributing a guest post?  Have an event coming up?  Don’t be shy let us know!  We’d love to hear from you.

Held the third Thursday of every month, the Mindshare salon series delves into discussions around anything from the art of play to mindfulness and the bizarre world of animal relations. Each gathering incorporates live performances and interactive installations, creating the perfect melting pot of mad scientists, business folk, artists and onlookers.

It could be said that Mindshare is part of a growing movement of evolved events that mix engaging discourse with a festive atmosphere. The venues Campbell chooses are also unique and cater to one’s curiosity. Beginning at The Brewery artist lofts in downtown LA, the series has since been held at warehouses and more recently, the Downtown Independent theatre.

The weekend of May 11-13 Mindshare is celebrating its 50th consecutive month of salons and workshops by exploring, “What Comes Next?” for ourselves, our culture, and our planet. Campbell and team are pulling out all the stops with some of Mindshare’s most fascinating speakers and performers. Here are just a few:

• Nolan Bushnell, a seasoned entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theater chain. Bushnell is currently co-founder and chief game designer for Anti-Aging Games.

• Gianelle Veis, manager of prize development at X PRIZE Foundation. Veis specializes in making the impossible possible, predicting the future by creating it, and bringing about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

• Anthony Batt, president of Katalyst Networks and founder of BUZZmedia. Batt leads a team of storytellers who create digital and TV programming for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Campbell expects hundreds of cultured Angelenos to converge on downtown LA’s Arts district to experience the mind-meld of Mindshare 50.

Will you become a Mindsharian?

Here’s another little incentive  - TechZulu has snagged some discount codes for the big celebration, and we hope you share them freely. Simply use the following links for:

$50 OFF the full weekend

$20 OFF the Saturday party

Afraid you won’t know anyone? Have no fear. Just look for the gal in the SpiritHood practicing hula skills while talking citizen journalism and come join the conversation. See you there!

We’ve all heard the great expression, “it’s all about who you know” more times than we can remember. But more often than not it plays very true in our daily lives. The right recommendation from someone could get you your next gig, into the hot new club, and maybe even tickets to the big summer concert. Moofaces is out to help those opportunities thrive when it comes to the jobs market.

Recently launched Moofaces is a new spin on old social networks, in which it helps creative people connect based on their professions and interests. No, it’s not another LinkedIn or something similar. These guys are doing it differently. they’re bringing the conversation back into social networks with a professional twist. When you think LinkedIn, you think resumes, professional, virtual business cards. With Moofaces you’re building upon a conversation with a social community. This experience starts the moment you create a profile.

Upon login instead of uploading your resume or a profile picture, you’re asked your three profession types. They can be anything. Dancer, Fashion Designer, Production Assistant…anything. Again it’s not like LinkedIn where you list the full description and details, but instead the quick keyword words that summarize what you do. As you can see on my profile I picked, entrepreneur, writer, and web developer – all of which describe me and what I do. These are usually what I would tell someone if they asked me what I did. Or I would reply back with, “depends on the day.” Once my profile was setup, I was recommended connections based on my profession type and interests (you can link up your Facebook profile). Dont’ worry about others trying to pose as you, the team has just launched their verified account system incase you need it. Moofaces takes it another step further and even sends emails each week on over 3 million jobs opportunities of interest based off my profile information.

Aside from just connecting people Moofaces has a mission of bringing everything back to one platform. Whether you’re of the creative mindset and are enrolled in the educational environment, someone aspiring to be in a certain profession, or those who are currently professionals. No matter the stage you’re in Moofaces is the place to connect and start the conversation with someone. Even celebrities and businesses are joining on board. Giving new opportunity to connect with creative minds.

If your a creative or someone just looking to connect with more creative minds, Moofaces is for you. Best part is…it’s free. Go ahead, start a conversation and get to know someone.

Google Drive is a cloud-service for files that offers 5GB of space to use however you wish right out of the gate for free. The first question that came to mind, personally, was “How do I get more if I need to?” The simplest answer isn’t “spam your friends on Facebook and Twitter to get’m to use your referral code”, it’s “show me the money”. Apparently, Google just piggybacked the Google Drive storage space expansion off the already existing Picasa Web Albums service.

This is actually great for those that purchased extra space for the Picasa Web Albums prior to Google+ launching. Before there was “plus”, Picasa only allowed for 1GB of photos to be uploaded, unless you purchased more storage space. Google Drive sharing that space will allow those users who have it to simply use it for stuff other than just photos on Picasa.

Whenever you upgrade your space in Drive, your Gmail inbox gets extended as well, from 10GB to 25GB. It’s like magic. It should also be noted, 16 terabytes is a whole lot of space…

Getting Started

Installing the Google Drive desktop app is very simple, like most installations. You may want to change which folders get automatically synced between Google Drive and your desktop/laptop. If you have already gone through the installation process, you can update this in the application’s preferences.

The “Advanced” option in the installation process allows you to change the Folder Location where the sync will occur, meaning – it is going to create that folder on your local computer, and will pull down whatever you have in Google Docs / Drive, into that folder.

If you want the application to only sync certain sections of your Google Docs / Drive, specify that in the box below.

The opportunity to activate Offline Viewing is a bonus, but will take up more hard drive space.

Additionally, to keep things seamless and smooth, “Start Google Drive automatically when you start your computer”.

Within a few moments of clicking “Start sync”, you will see your system go through a short installation process, and you’re off and running. In Windows 7, the installer automatically placed an icon on the Desktop, and placed a shortcut to the folder in the Favorites library list.

To test it out, click the Google Drive folder on your computer, create a folder, and watch it appear within seconds in the web-interface. Same goes for deleting files, and dropping any file into that folder. I placed a few Photoshop files, balsamiq mocks, and a couple PDF’s into a new folder for a project I’m working on. Within seconds, the sync was complete, and I was able to access those files on my laptop.

Google Drive or DropBox?

This is going to become an inevitable debate for as long as the choice exists. To debunk the argument immediately, I say, why choose? At least in Windows, it’s a difference between a folder that says “Dropbox” or “Google Drive”, files will live in both. The services are comparable, but Google Drive is heavily integrated with all the amazing collaboration features of Google Docs by default, so each service will more than likely end up being used in slightly different ways for everyone… or they’ll both end up being storage spaces filled to the brim, enabling us to become digital-age packrats of sorts, in need of a Clean-Sweep intervention.

First Impressions of Google Drive

It’s fast. The installation was a breeze on both desktop and laptop. After a fast update on the Android (2.3.4) it was ready to go. 5GB isn’t a bad start and it’s free. Can’t really complain about that. $4.99/mo for 100GB of docs and file space in the cloud, synced, backed up, and accessible from anywhere is a pretty decent deal.

When it comes to DropBox or Google Drive, I have Google Docs already on both personal and business (Google Apps) accounts, so moving to Google Drive is a no-brainer, but moving away from DropBox won’t happen; if I were a paying customer to DropBox, it would be a matter of cost over time. Collaboration and sharing still exists on Google Drive, as it does in Google Docs. I fail to see the difference, but I would pay for Google Drive far before I paid for DropBox, simply because the infrastructure of my online organization is already invested in Google Docs and Gmail.

Zite, which was acquired by CNN in late 2011, is a personalized magazine to help clean up all that content overload we deal with on the web when trying to catch up on the days current events and instead delivers content based on your personal interest. I recently got the chance to catchup with Zite’s CEO Mark Johnson during this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, TX. Mark and I had quite the chat about everything from Zite to Bloody Marys to where all the fun was at SXSW (interview above).

As a user of Zite, its been my first go-to application for getting my daily digest of what’s going on in the world. Sure sites like The Huffington Post, Twitter, and others convery great content but they often become overly time-consuming or don’t provided what you’re looking for. Zite works with what’s coming in via my Google Reader and Twitter accounts to choses the specific content that I would want to read most. Outside of my social account I’m able to choose additional topics to be added to my magazine such as Politics or Wine. With other mobile apps your usually at the grace of what’s in your feed and only that. However this personalized magazine puts in the effort and discovers new content for me based on my interactions with the articles I’m reading. So no longer do I have scour for new content, instead Zite delivers it to me.

Zite is now available for free across Android, HP webOS, and iPhone.

Mobile social discovery is all the rage as evidenced by the early success of apps like Banjo, which achieved an astounding 500,000 downloads in its first six months alone.

Apparently the momentum is continuing. Earlier this week, Banjo announced it doubled its users in the last three months. For those of you who don’t do math, that’s one million people using Banjo in just nine months since launch.

The app offers an integrated view of what’s happening across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Foursquare. You can search by interest to see which of your friends are nearby, or by keyword around any location – a great feature for events or breaking news.

Banjo currently offers iPhone, Android and Web versions. Catch our video above with Jennifer Peck during SXSW to learn more.

For the past week, I’ve been graced by the mobile-Gods with the new Nokia flagship cellphone, the Lumia 900. My immediate impression was, “what the heck is it with this awful blue color?” I also wasn’t expecting much, if anything, from the Windows Phone 7 (WP7) platform in terms of available apps in their marketplace.

The Hardware

Aside from the powder-blue coating, Nokia didn’t disappoint in the slightest with the build of this handset. The seamless design is smooth, feels great to hold, and is extremely easy to handle while using. The back surface feels rigid, and seems very scratch resistant. The positioning of the hardware buttons (power, volume, camera) are all on the right side. With a flick of the thumb, powering the screen on is mindless, and the volume toggle is smooth. The camera button activates the camera, focuses the camera, and operates the shutter. Overall, the actual build of the Lumia 900 is superior to any other handset I’ve toyed around with over the years.

The reception of the Lumia 900 seemed about on par with the handful of Androids I have. I didn’t notice any jitters or call quality issues, nor did phone usage seem to destroy the battery life. In fact, the battery on the Lumia 900 is pretty awesome. With a full day’s usage (reading twitter, watching some Netflix, downloading apps, making a few phone calls), the battery still had plenty of juice at the end of the day to continue, and then some.

The Camera

Carl Zeiss optics bringing 8MP of action to the Lumia 900 is great, and Zeiss has been a Nokia mainstay with camera hardware since they first released their high-end N-series in the mid-2000′s. The responsiveness of the camera software is clean, and the image quality is decent. The only complaint I have is the over saturation of blues. I take photography a little seriously, and even with the over saturation (which is probably just contrast compensation to keep it from looking like most cellphone photos: dull) the image quality is fantastic. Should you so desire, there’s also an application called Nokia Creative Studio in the Marketplace to allow you to choose a set of preset filters to muddy up the photo and lower the contrast/saturation, alter the hue and tint to your heart’s content.

Sharing from the camera application to Facebook or Email is pretty straight forward, and in addition to Creative Studio, there are the standard editing options (rotate, crop, etc) built right in. I would like to see a cleaner processing of the images from sensor-to-save, but at least it’s not a dull, dingy experience – it’s vibrant, clear, and fast under normal to bright lighting conditions.

The OS and Marketplace

I was able to track down and install a few dozen free apps while I was testing the Lumia. I did see a number of paid apps that I would probably purchase had I owned the device. Most notable, the Twitter interface is lacking. I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t quite sit well with me. The Facebook’s app integration with the WP7 “People” application is confusing, but it grew on me, and now I see it as a convenience.

As far as the Marketplace, the most annoying aspect of the experience is, whenever I install an app, I get kicked back to the Installed Apps List outside of the Marketplace, thus making me scroll back to the Marketplace icon to reopen the application and continue browsing. This isn’t a show stopper, but it will get annoying if you’re on the hunt for 100 apps to install while trying to test out the device.

Windows Phone 7 also comes with a handy SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud-based storage solution, is actually quite easy to use, very simple, and works just as you’d expect if you currently use a desktop operating system. SkyDrive syncs photos, Office documents, and pretty much anything else you want to upload. I was relatively surprised that this service was as developed as it is, since I only ever hear about DropBox, and have been lost in the Google Apps world for over a year.

Nokia has a few featured apps as well, most notable is the incredibly well done Nokia Maps. Nokia’s navigation blows Google’s out of the water, no contest. My Android does rock Google Places, which is handy, but I noticed Local Scout powered by Bing installed out of the box on the Lumia, and it’s very comparable, and actually smoother to use than Places.

Zune

I’m not sure anyone had a Zune, but the desktop application for Zune is actually quite good, and as necessary as iTunes is to iOS for the Lumia 900. I think it’s a little unfortunate that Windows Phone went the Zune Desktop + USB route to install updates, but at the end of the day, it really wasn’t any trouble, and it was only for OS updates themselves, all app updates were available over the air; so this action will rarely be needed.

Music and movie file sync is fast and easy from Zune to device. I didn’t need to do anything funky to get Zune to recognize the Lumia 900, I just plugged it in, and it worked.

Overall

The second I put the phone in my hand I saw an ugly-blue but well constructed Nokia phone housing what I thought would be a wasteland of useless applications in the lack luster Windows Phone 7 arena.

What I found was an ugly-blue, very well built, amazing handset, powered by a thought out operating system that’s not just a copy of iOS, but rather a fresh, responsive, and intuitive interface that actually included a good-size list of useful apps, and even some completely useless ones.

It was a little bit of a bummer to see apps that exist on Android going for free sitting in the WP Marketplace for $2.99 and up, but I guess that’s just business. If I could get away with rockin’ a Flash Player port for Windows Phone 7 and charge people $4.99 for it – I would. So more power to the dev for being a capitalist.

For me, I love Nokia phones, I think they’re very well constructed, and after kicking and screaming when I heard Elop was ditching Symbian and Meego for Windows Phone 7, I ragequit Nokia and went all-in with Android. Now, after playing with Windows Phone 7 and the Lumia for a week, I must say – the only things holding me to Android now are: a few key apps that may still come out, the investment I have in the Google ecosystem, and the lack of push notifications in key apps like Twitter and Facebook.

So if someone out there wants to nudge Google to launch a Google+ app for WP7, I’d jump ship for this environment, just to have the Lumia 900 and a fresh, clean take on mobile interfaces. Hats off to Windows Phone 7, I honestly thought I was going to just be furious the whole time at Nokia for breaking down their ecosystem into hardware only. Apparently it was a damn good move, and if Microsoft can get a leg up on market saturation in the mobile space, Apple and Android will have some serious competition here, but that’s going to take a whole lot of marketing and quite a bit of time.