Magnificent Sideshows

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!

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.

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.