The other day we did a routine scan of the Twitterscape with the keyword "mediabistro" and discovered Alana Taylor, an undergrad journalism major at NYU. We then had a look at her blog, which to our delight is pretty web 2.0 intensive, both in content and in the tools she uses to communicate with her audience. Plus she blogs a lot about Twitter and Julia Allison, so she's already impressing the hell out of us.

She's even lifestreaming on the streets of New York (and dropping names like Mediabistro Circus speaker Robert Scoble):

Then we came across a widget she embedded into one of her recent blog posts:

Pretty endearing huh? We know you're tearing up. We're pulling for Alana, because after perusing her blog and seeing how she uses technology, she pretty much represents the media pro of the future, in all her blogging, Twittering, lifestreaming glory.

So if you're feeling generous, help the girl out. We'd love to see her at the Circus, rubbing elbows with Scoble and the rest of us.

UPDATE: Success!

Social media fever (and dance fever) has been catching at mediabistro.com for a while now. It's one of the focuses Mediabistro Circus. And now, we have "the" authority on the happenings in the land of social networking as a media sponsor, Mashable.com

We here at mediabistro.com love all things Mashable: on the blog, on Twitter. There's even Mashable-branded transportation.

We came across this very funny video put together by the folks at Revision3, which is run by Mediabistro Circus speaker Jim Louderback. We love tech hipsters, and we love INXS, so this was awesome on all accounts. Check it out:

Lip Dub - Need You Tonight by INXS from sarahlane on Vimeo.

Part of the fun of our Circus is that, in addition to exploring big ideas in new media, we want to raise the curtain and reveal the creative process behind those ideas. In that spirit, we hunted down the minds behind the new web-based TV series The All-For-Nots, about a very quirky and cute Brooklyn indie-rock-pop-punk-Americana band.

Series creators Kathleen Grace and Thom Woodley will appear at a special evening "session" of the Circus to talk about the docu-comedy and explain how, as we reported in March, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner tapped them to develop the show for his interactive media venture, Vuguru. After they chat us up for a few minutes, the band will rock out, B-52s-style, for a full set.

Personally, we love a conference session that involves rock music, cocktails, and at least one sequined dress.

Be an informed concert-goer on May 20 and check out The All-For-Nots series here.

More band photos here.

In today's Datamation, writer James Maguire points out to his readers that the Mediabistro Circus will be more than just a future-think event for the cool kids. Read the post here...

Having a Googler speak at your conference is always a good thing. Having one that can map the stars and act with animals is Circus-with-the-Stars-style-rad. We were lucky enough to pick user experience designer Jon Wiley's brain recently and discuss his colorful work history, as well as Google's secret to success. Spoiler alert: Less is more, if more seems less. Keep reading if you're confused.

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We discovered Animoto at SXSW, and we've been in love ever since. We used the tool to create a promotional video that we'll be showcasing at our Mediabistro Circus launch party tonight at the new 92Y Tribeca space.

Animoto did most of the leg work. Picking Daft Punk was all us.

Laurel might be going away for a while. Click on the image to see the larger version.

Jim Louderback, Mediabistro Circus speaker and CEO of the awesome Internet Broadcast Network Revision 3, is a man after our own geeky hearts. Revision 3 features original online programming that celebrates the user-generated aristocracies surrounding stuff like Digg , comic books, the rocky road of internet celebrity, and pretty much everything else that causes geeky convulsions.

Revision 3 has made some big news the past couple of days. They just released their own branded video player with Miro, enabling delivery of Revision 3 shows to the desktop. And yesterday they signed a syndication deal with blip.tv, which will spread the Revision 3 goodness around the web faster than an Indiana Jones spoiler.

Mr. Louderback was kind enough to answer some questions about his business and how it fits into the future of broadcasting, as well what he enjoys watching on his four giant televisions.

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In 2005, Along with Lisa Stone and Jory DesJardins, Elisa Camahort Page founded BlogHer to create opportunities for women bloggers and provide content for women that is sorely lacking in other areas of media (yes, network television, I am talking to you). With more than 13,000 different blogs up and running, and the 3rd annual BlogHer conference around the corner, the female-driven site is less a sorority than it is a cultural phenomena. Elisa, who will be speaking at Mediabistro Circus, recently answered a few questions for us about, you guessed it - blogging.

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We had some time on our hands, so we grabbed a video camera, the boss, and that ringmaster costume in the closet. (Don't act all "I don't have a ringmaster costume in the closet.")

Mediabistro's Carmen Scheidel asks Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg a pressing question.

Click here to see more photos from Mediabistro's invasion of SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX

This cartoon was created on Bitstrips, one of the awesome exhibitors at the conference.

We'll be working hard to create cartoon versions of all our Mediabistro Circus speakers in the next couple months. So get ready!

The Jackalope, a place to escape the SXSW noise (at least during the day)

Amanda, our Marketing Diva here at Mediabistro, made a great point to me as I was trying to make sense of the SXSW schedule before I landed in Austin last week - Mediabistro Circus is like an aggregator. We filter through all the news (and noise) about technology and media, and have chosen key conversations to focus on at our conference. It's one story arc that begins with traditional media and unfolds with each session, around the technology that is moving us all forward.

The overwhelming SXSW Interactive schedule presented simultaneous sessions every two hours, which made it difficult to decide where to spend time each day. Instead of attending Mark Zuckerberg's keynote, for example, I could have listened to Anil Dash talk about Designing for Freedom, or attended a panel on how Mobile Technology Impacts Politics. I could have wandered through the exhibit hall, the Screenburn Gaming Room, or been sidelined by an unexpected hallway conversation, which would have led to missed sessions and Starbucks anyway. My brain was so full that the Bridal Events of Distinction exhibit, also happening in the convention center last week, suddenly looked like an appealing escape.

No doubt there is a lot to talk about right now, but in between listening to big ideas and learning about how to execute them, you need time to process everything. We've put together an agenda that thoughtfully paces learning, thinking and drinking - er, connecting with peers - so that our attendees leave the conference not only inspired, but refreshed.

Good thing I left town before the SXSW Music festival got started.

Some of us just got back from the SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, TX. We got to do a little party-hopping with Jim Daly, who is a pal of our conference producer Kirsten, and a speaker at Mediabistro Circus. On top of that, he's got an awesome job at Edutopia working for the man who gave us Howard the Duck Star Wars. If that wasn't enough, he's a die hard Red Sox fan. We totally love that, and by "we" I mean the Massachusetts-raised author of this blog post.

We recently had a chance to talk to Jim about the world of digital publishing, and some other very important items revolving around galaxies far, far away, and championship baseball.

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Honestly, SXSW goes all out with its parties. After a day where we saw some truly inspirational panels, it's nice to unwind and talk about the day's activities at one of the many nightly shindigs.

Tonight we hit the opening Interactive party hosted by Frog Design, where green beer and Fuze beverages were on the menu. The venue, the beautiful Mexican American Cultural Center, was enormous an had people both inside, and outside in the brisk chill.

The highlight of the night, aside from Carmen Scheidel salsa dancing, were two beautiful women who happen to eat and play with fire. We shot several video clips of the pyrotechnic duo. Carmen was smart enough to get their business card (which was not on fire) for possible entertainment for Mediabistro Circus.

Below is one of the lovely ladies in action. If this fire were a lightsaber, I'd really be in love.