Ansley:

• Dots Gloves – for use with conductive touchscreens.
• Griffin Slap Watch – for iPod Nano
• Apple MacBook Pro

Rachel

• Angry Birds Plush Toys
• RFID Blocking Wallet
• Bluetooth Speakers
• iLuv Cube Speakers for iPad

Also mentioned: The Johnny Cash Project and The Wilderness Downtown.

So, what’s on your wishlist?

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It’s our yearly Show and Tell Breakfast! Every once in a while, we like to open up the floor to our Expeditioners to wax eloquent on any social subject that strikes their fancy! This time, we were treated to an array of tools in the “Web 2.5″ space (as one of our Expeditioners said in his presentation), from apps to social searches.

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who showed and told. We certainly learned a lot and brought back a nice long list of tools to check out in the next few days. Dave, ever the iPad champion, extolled the virtues of Flipboard, an RSS and social feeds aggregator. What makes it different from competitors, though, is it’s beautiful magazine layout.

Tim brought us a fun and insightful presentation on how far the internet has come in the last few years. Are we still in Web 2.0? Have we moved on to Web 3.0 yet? Tim argues we’re in Web 2.5. We just have to be flexible, keep evolving, and not end up like the Dodo bird.

Lorrie Jackson taught us about social marketing tools like Socialmention.com and Involver.com. Then she shared some other great resources, like Twitterfeed.com, which pushes your blogposts to Twitter, and Pagemodo.com, an FBML template service.

Rachel presented us with her virtual business card on Flavors.me, a social aggregator with a sleek, professional look. Just to give you more options, About.me is a similar service with a slightly less silly name.

Will anyone use Path? Let us know if you are. We’re all so curious. Is it Instagr.am? Is it just Twitter for 50 people?

Mary suggests Outbrain.com for increasing site traffic and Polaris, a desktop platform for Google Analytics. She also found BackUpMyTweets.com, which I believe is self-explanatory. And it’s free! Maggie likes Sproutsocial.com to find new potential customers for ecommerce, Dave likes Blekko.com for “slashtag searching,” and we all feel a little ambiguous and apprehensive about content farms.

And finally, Beth has a QR code on her business cards! Thank you so much to all of your for contributing and making this a really interactive breakfast. See you all after the holidays!

In addition to being an e-commerce pro, we were delighted to find out Maggie is something of a geek. Listen in to hear us get nerdy about click-through rates, the “post-deal-dip,” and learn about the new daily deal site that Scripps will be rolling out in Memphis shortly.

Connect with the Inside Scoop on their website, sign up to get the emails, like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter @insidescoop901. Or, find Maggie herself on Twitter @maggielouie.

In other podcast minutes, we’ve got some highlights from the Apple event yesterday, plus a truly unique merging of Foursquare and politics. Sounds like a bad idea? Well, it’s still fun to talk about.

We hope to see you tonight at Twilight Camp (5:30 at the LunaWeb offices), but definitely get excited about BarCampMemphis, which is JUST around the corner on November 13. Follow BarCamp news on Twitter at @barcampmemphis, connect on Facebook, or just check out the website!

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

We were delighted to have some new-comers, and of course, always great to see some of our regulars. Once again, we did not get kicked out of Davis Kidd, which is really a shame because…

The next Twilight Camp will be at the LunaWeb office! Though I suppose it still wouldn’t be wise to get ourselves barred from Bronte Bistro. After all, there is that yummy chicken salad.

Now for the recap. The conversation kicked off with the news of the hour (of the literal hour), Facebook Places launched in Memphis at approximately 4:30 yesterday afternoon. As of the meeting, only one of us had gotten to use it at all, but what information we did have:

• There aren’t any prizes, badges, or any other “game” element to it.
• You can push check-ins from Foursquare to Facebook Places, but not vice-versa.
• You can tag your friends in your check-ins to let people know they are with you. This could be potentially problematic.*

*If you do not want friends to be able to check you into Places, go to “Account” in the Facebook toolbar, then “Privacy Settings.” Look for “Customize Settings,” then scroll down to the second section, “Things others share.” Find “Friends can check me into Places.” Change the setting to Disabled, and you’re done!

A matter of hours impacted some of the arguments from last night’s discussion of Foursquare vs. Facebook Places. Today, Mashable featured an article on the travel rewards program that will now be affiliated with Facebook Places. Topguest, the service that’s tapping into Facebook’s API, is fresh off the market, rendering its partnerships limited. So limited that, for now, rewards only come in the form of discounted hotel stays, watering down our argument just a bit, but it’s not null and void just yet – and we don’t expect it to be so any time soon… if ever. As for the privacy issues, well, they are still there. All this in mind, it seemed we all agreed that Foursquare is our preferred check-in app/game/stalking mechanism. It seems that it’s becoming that way for many others too. While we were Twilighting, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley (@dens) was tweeting: “Just heard from The @HarryH that today was @foursquare‘s biggest day ever in terms of new user signups. #dball4life.” Because Rachel isn’t giving up anytime soon, stay tuned for http://www.foursquarememphis.com/ (not yet live).

Also in Location-Based news, did you know there are different levels of editors in Foursquare? Well, I know at least one of you did. When you’ve checked in enough, it seems you can become a “Level 2 Editor,” which enables you to combine locations. So, if two people created two different check-in locations for Davis Kidd, say “Davis Kidd” and “Davis Kidd Booksellers,” a Level 2 Editor could merge the two locations into one. Who knew? Andy Glover did!

In iPad news (and there’s always iPad news, isn’t there?), Andy has an awesome new case with a very clever strap on the back to slip your hand through so you can easily hold the device with one hand. So simple, yet so brilliant. Then, our iPad scholars sang the praises of the Academic research sharing application, Mendeley (also available for desktop!).

Is the iPhone coming to Verizon? Well, of course, none of us know for sure, but signs point to… maybe. Verizon customers thinking about switching to a smartphone might want to wait a bit longer to see if any more evidence leaks (and we all know Apple has some trouble keeping their announcements under wraps these days).

WordPress bloggers – check out the Zemanta plug-in! This thing is nifty. Once you install it, start writing a blogpost. The plug-in combs your content and recommends links, photos, Wikipedia articles, etc., and it’s super easy and awesome. I know another plug-in that does pretty much the same thing was mentioned. What was the name of that one, Andy?

Don’t miss the breakfast on September 1!

• Gowalla has a better iPad application (Foursquare just has the iPhone app, which you can zoom in on for the iPad’s bigger screen)
• But the Gowalla app is apparently pretty buggy.
• On the other hand, Gowalla has sweet prizes to collect and trade, adding another fun element to the GPS check-in.
• Of course, the main pro for Foursquare is the participation: it has about 5 times as many users as Gowalla, and is growing much faster.
• More businesses are interacting with Foursquare. Apparently, if you show the cashier at American Eagle that you checked into their location, you can get 15% off your purchase through July 31!

On to iPad apps! And we got a few great recommendations. Starting with Twitter apps, Tweetdeck is of course very popular, but one of our participants had to tout the superiority of HelTweetica. A very pretty interface and the ability to activate a Twitter screensaver are two of this programs nicest features. Definitely worth checking out.

For anyone looking for a great journaling application for the iPad, our friend Andy swears by MaxJournal for $2.99. He downloaded 3 other journal apps, ranging from $0 to $10, and he said this one was by far the best.

The prize-winning iPad app, though, had to be Uzu, a $3 app that puts thousands of particles at your command. With multi-touch kinetic response, you can create a swirling vortex of phenomenal cosmic power the likes of which genie-Jafar has never seen! For the key to that dork Disney reference, skip to minute 3 here. But it’s like that. Only, on an iPad. Apparently, it’s a great stress-reliever/mind-clearer.

The iPad has been a huge success for Apple. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their most recent iPhone. Much of Twilight Camp was spent in speculation of what Apple should do. Of course, today, we all found out what they are, in fact, giving out free bumpers (and refunds for already purchased bumpers) to all iPhone 4 users, and offering a full refund to those who are still unsatisfied and want to return their device. Oh, the drama.

Those on the Android side of things can simply lean back and chat up the latest apps (as they hold their phones just as they please, of course). Once again, the Advanced Task Killer is ranked as the number one battery saving app of them all. Also mentioned as highly wonderful were Doubletwist (media app), Launcher Pro (an alternate homescreen app), and, just for fun, Retro Camera.

A few other interesting topics that were tossed out onto the table…

• Jigsaw.com is “The world’s largest database of up-to-date, downloadable, & complete contact information.”
• Searching #tcot in Twitter makes for some interesting political debate material.
• Viral videos, especially the Double Rainbow, and of course, the EPIC Old Spice commercials.

Lastly, there were two big issues discussed that we at the Social Expedition will be watching here over the next while. First, we speculated on the complexity of internet anonymity, particularly on forums and comment sections for newspapers. In some ways, the option of anonymity offers users a chance to say what perhaps could not otherwise be said. Especially in the case of countries where dissent is a punishment, anonymity gives a voice to those who would otherwise be unable to bring their opinions to light. On the other hand, you run the risk of receiving a multitude of inappropriate, off-topic, or radical comments. What do you think? Should anonymity remain?

And secondly, we are growing concerned over the lack of conversation happening on Twitter. Maybe DMing has become more prevalent than replying, but we’ve noticed a definite drop in the number of interactive tweets. It seems more like Twitter is becoming a giant billboard, and we definitely don’t want to see that happen. Let us know what you think in a comment, or better yet, tweet it to @smexpedition, and we’ll start a Twitter conversation!

Ash's funky fresh iPad bag.

This week, the Social Expedition sat down with local artist Ash Burns to talk about how she and her husband Paul are utilizing social media to jump-start their new business, AshBDesign.

Right now, www.ashbdesign.com points right to their very active Facebook profile, but this whimsical artist can also be found on Twitter at @ashbdesign, as well as on Tumbler, YouTube, and Flickr. Check out the interview to see how these platforms have been an integral part of expanding the sales of her handmade bags and calligraphy.

A sample of Ash's modern calligraphy.

In the remainder of our time, we touch on news from the usual suspects. A study shows Facebook has addicts (no surprise), LG is launching an Android tablet to rival the iPad, and meanwhile, Apple is dealing with an iTunes hacker that cracked over 400 accounts during the 4th of July weekend. They don’t seem to be too worried about it, though.

Thursday the 15th is our next Twilight Camp. Don’t miss the app talk, the Twitter news, or Bronte’s delicious chicken salad sandwich!

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

WordPress 3 is out, and all the Expeditioners are enthusiastic. We just haven’t gotten a chance to play with it yet.

In Twitter news, anyone who tweets (or “writes on Twitter,” if you’re at The New York Times) should check out Paper.li. You put in your Twitter name, or anyone else’s for that matter, and it picks up any links shared by the people that the selected user follows. It then sorts the targets of those links by category into a newspaper. Like this…

The links that were retweeted the most, or posted by the most people, will show up at the top. Further down the page, is a section showing all the videos, another for photos, and different sections for technology, health, arts, etc. It’s pretty nifty.

Facebook and privacy made a short appearance in the conversation, as did the recent Intuit breakdown. We oo’d and ah’d over iPad and iPhone cases, and lamented the late arrival of a certain Expeditioner’s HTC Droid Incredible. It’s on the way.

We learned that social media has broken new ground – multi-level marketing. The social network Yournight.com has discovered how a social network can function as a layered, profiting system. It’s hard to get details without signing up, and it’s invite only.

Lastly, the Expeditioners offered an interesting perspective on speeches and mobile phones. In social media land, it is customary, and in no way considered rude, to be constantly looking at one’s mobile phone during a convention or workshop. It is presumed (or hoped) that you are tweeting about the event. Yet, in lands other than social media, this may not be so accepted. So if you find yourself in a conference, make sure to observe the general mobile vibe of the room, since looking down at a mobile device is still considered inappropriate in some settings.

Thanks for a great conversation, everyone. We hope to see you at the next one in July!

We also spend some time with Chris Chastain, the executive director of the Crittenden Regional Hospital Foundation, to find out how he’s using social to promote the work of the hospital just over the river in West Memphis, and also the unique challenges social media presents to health and medical organizations.

You might also notice in this podcast that we’re a little excited about something coming up — TribeCamp. We’ll give you the full scoop on how to get involved, whether it’s as an attendee, speaker or sponsor. No matter how you participate, though, if you’re there with us at the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering on April 24 you’ll have the chance to win an iPad. Register before 11:59 p.m. Friday and you’ll double your chances with an extra entry into the drawing.

Listen to the podcast, register for TribeCamp, maybe win an iPad. It’s that easy.

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Elizabeth, Beth Sanders, Matthew, and Dave

It’s not all jokes this week, though, as we talk about the inundation of the White House Facebook fan page in advance of last night’s State of the Union address and the Edelman Trust Barometer. Dave explains that the folks at Edelman release a study every year around the concept of consumer trust. Apparently Chinese consumers have more trust in American corporations than Americans do (ouch), and in 2010 a high-earning company does not necessarily earn automatic high marks. In the past, success has been fairly easily equated with trust; this year’s study reveals that our attitudes on that are changing.

And as corporations look to enhance trust in their brands, no doubt they’ll be looking to social media for solutions this year — a recent study shows that social is the top priority for marketers in 2010. It feels like a “duh!” moment for Elizabeth, but Dave notes that this shift is something to be wary of, as more megaphones are likely to appear and begin broadcasting messages on these channels.

And of course, if you haven’t heard about Google Xistence, it might just be the next best thing in virtual living.

This week our guest was Beth Sanders, a communications guru and self-proclaimed geek. As Dave points out, she’s the uber-early adopter, so we picked her brain about what she’s been into lately. What we got back was a laundry list of location-based services to check out: GoWalla, CauseWorld (which allows you to earn “karma points” that translate to real dollars for charity), Whrrl, Loopt and of course, FourSquare. We also opined a little bit about the possibilities awaiting us with the upcoming tablet announcement since we sat down with Beth prior to the unveiling of the iPad. (Giggle.)

We wrap things up with some very intellectual discussion on the virtues and pitfalls of cupcakes, but mostly about a cool local kid who’s selling them to raise money for Haiti. You can find him on Facebook. We also touch on our upcoming events, like next week’s breakfast (featuring our own Dave Barger speaking on social tools for the enterprise) plus this week’s Core Conversation, which goes down at 11:30 CDT on Friday as usual. We’ll be talking about what to do if you get hacked, and you can join us by calling 646-721-9429, or you can listen live here.

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