This is our 16th episode. We’re growing up so fast – and Elizabeth still hasn’t gotten the hovercar somebody promised her. And while we’re coming of age, social media shows no signs of stopping its growth and constant reinvention.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took place recently, and the nascent gadget freaks in us await January’s unveiling of shiny new toys as though it were Christmas proper. Everyone wants in on the act.

Even Google and Apple unveiled or are unveiling new products this month, and though the true identity of Apple’s product won’t be known until it’s announced Jan. 27, everyone seems to think they know what it is.

While we’ve been telling people for a long time to go ahead and grab the Twitter username you want before someone else does, it seems that Twitter will soon begin releasing usernames that seem to have been abandoned.

If they delete and release these usernames all at once, expect there to be an absolutely insane landgrab, like when Facebook suddenly allowed custom usernames and URLs.

Unfortunately, when it comes to usernames, you can’t always get what you want. But if you try canonical URLs, you’ll get what you need – an easy way to tell your audience how to find your social presence.

Elizabeth Cawein, Matthew Crawford Trisler, Eric Mathews, and Dave Barger

Eric Mathews stopped by our office to drop some knowledge on us about how two Mercury Technology Labs startups – Marks Menus and Into Outdoors – are leveraging social technologies to achieve their goals and provide functionality.

Eric notes that if Memphis wants to maintain a vibrant entrepreneurial community, then what’s going on in that community needs the city’s attention.

The Memphis Flyer gets that – and “20 Under 30,” the cover story of their latest issue, takes that idea to the general public. The story focuses on 20 of the most influential Memphians, most of whom bring attention to how great it can be to live here – and at least two of them are local social luminaries.

Stephen Hackett made the list – not for his “#gojgo” campaign, like Matthew says in the podcast (he hadn’t seen the paper yet, just the list of who was on it) – but for a post on his blog, Fork Bombr, about how if we want Memphis to be a better place, we need to take responsibility for making it so.

And there’s @ILoveMemphis herself, Kerry Crawford Trisler, married to our own Matthew Crawford Trisler (whose heart beats faster at just the sound of her name). Her efforts on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and the I Love Memphis Blog have earned her not just a spot on the Flyer’s list, but the cover.

Congratulations to everyone on the list – that’s a big honor, and you all deserve it!

Please join us tomorrow – Friday – for the Core Conversation podcast. This time around we’ll be talking about Creative Commons, Copyright/Copyleft issues, and promoting music online with the Creative Commons Foundation and Eric Maskol, who wrote our crazy-catchy theme music.

Do take some time between 11:30 and 12:30 to join us. You can call in to the Core Conversation at 646-721-9429.

As for the Social Expedition Podcast we’ve been talking about all this time, you can Download it here, listen in the player at the bottom of this post, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Tags | Apple, Apple Rumors, Apple Tablet, CES, Eric Mathews, hovercars, Kerry Crawford Trisler, launchmemphis, Memphis Flyer, Mercury Technology, nexus one, Stephen Hackett, Twitter Usernames, URLs