Writer in the Thick of It: First Mass Innovation Night of 2013 #MIN46

The first MIN of 2013 drew crowds to the IBM Innovation Center in Waltham to check out an eclectic mix of products from gorgeous head wear to wearable social networking hardware. A theme emerged with multiple products doing cool things with video. Plus we got to see Bobbie C's new megaphone!

The Megaphone -- Best Prop of #MIN46

I tried to go counterclockwise around the Hall of Innovation systematically checking out each product. That kind of sort of worked for a bit, but the room was jam-packed so I just went with the flow.

Hall of Innovation Jam-packed

Arsenal Recon showed off an extremely useful new tool, Registry Recon, which searches for Microsoft Windows Registry data, even deleted data, and shows investigators how registries from current and previous installations of Windows have changed over time. They developed it because they needed such a tool in their computer forensics work.

Registry Recon

Amico, one of the night's chosen presenters, showed off the coolest product of the night -- a bracelet that brings social networks to real life in the real world. We're talking a combination of bling and hardware that helps you match interests with people in the room or at the event with you based on your social media profile. Say I want to find UNIX geeks at the Moby-Dick Marathon reading or I want to find Moby-Dick readers at Mass Innovation Nights. All I have to do is make sure that info is in my profile downloaded into the bracelet and the bracelet does all the work for me. It lights up when a matching profile is in proximity.
I'm imagining this as a big thing for large events like SXSW.

Amico

The team from viaNetwork told me about their service that helps make start-ups visible to investors, prospective talent, and mentors. With their visibility enhancing software, the relevant people will definitely see your viaResume. Dan put on his beanie hat for the photo. Best hat? Well maybe. After all, he's competing with Veronica from My Crowning Jewel. :-)

viaNetwork

The head wraps from My Crowning Jewel are amazingly gorgeous. Their philosophy says it all:

"Whether we wrap our hair to protect our hair from breakage, to adorn our crowns following hair loss, or just to mask a bad hair day,we still can look fabulous!"

I have to say that Veronica (CEO) and her Aunt Louisa (chief designer) both did indeed look fabulous. I hereby award Best Hat of #MIN46 to Veronica's head wrap, though it was a close race with Dan's beanie.

Veronica from My Crowning Jewel

Awesome Jewels

Over in the Cape Cod room, yet more innovators were drawing a good crowd.

Cape Cod Room

Cleverhood makes the best-looking and best-performing rain capes ever. The hounds-tooth one even reflects headlights in a grid pattern for a dramatic effect. Check it out in this photo, reflecting my flash. Cleverhood wins Best Costume of #MIN46 with the awesome "Electric Hounds-tooth" pattern rain cape.

Electric Hounds-tooth Rain Cape from Cleverhood

ViralGains is a marketing platform that maximizes sharing and conversation for online video. They're the ones to talk to if you want your brand's video to go viral. They were so popular I couldn't get a good photo of their demo table.

Also using video to solve a real problem was the team from Urvideoprofile. Their platform makes it easier and more convenient for people to find the perfect caregiver for their aging parents or their children, helping match experiences, skills, and personalities.

Florence from Urvideoprofile Presenting

Klurig Analytics analyzes Twitter streams for both real-time and long term trends in keywords and user sentiment. That's real-time market research!

Klurig Analytics

It was a great crowd, especially since there's a flu epidemic going on in Boston. There were lots of folks attending their first MIN. Lots and lots of networking went on throughout the evening.