At times it feels like my life is not only the fast lane, it’s on the autobahn! That’s why I was thrilled to discover Whrrl. It’s a mobile and Web application that allows me to tell my stories on the run – live from the scene – and then share them with my friends and family, as well as my readers on various blogs.

I’ve never had the patience for scrapbooking and I’ve always been an in-the-moment type of gal. With Whrrl, I can take a few snapshots, add in my comments and a text slide or two, and share an event with my pals before I’ve even left the party. It’s super fast, and super easy. Whrrl works with my camera phone via their iPhone app, or via SMS text on any other mobile phone.

If your friends are also on Whrrl, then you can build your stories together and collaborate, sharing your photos from a single event. This was the case when I recently hosted an ELF MUAH (Makeup at Home) party, where several of my friends in attendance, were also telling their stories live via Whrrl. Check out our Whrrl MUAH party here. You can also search for #MUAH on Whrrl and see some of the other successful MUAH parties.

Whrrl stories don’t always end on the scene. After you get home, you can add in your photos from your digital camera, and polish your story from the Web. You can even add more text slides, rearrange your pictures, and send out the finished product via email or as a Twitter or Facebook update (which you can also do from your phone).

Whrrl is a great way to check out what’s going on right now. It’s fun to view other people’s stories as they happen. To sign up, you can use Facebook Connect to quickly and easily connect to all your Facebook friends who are already on Whrrl.

At times it feels like my life is not only the fast lane, it’s on the autobahn! That’s why I was thrilled to discover Whrrl. It’s a mobile and Web application that allows me to tell my stories on the run – live from the scene – and then share them with my friends and family, as well as my readers on various blogs.

I’ve never had the patience for scrapbooking and I’ve always been an in-the-moment type of gal. With Whrrl, I can take a few snapshots, add in my comments and a text slide or two, and share an event with my pals before I’ve even left the party. It’s super fast, and super easy. Whrrl works with my camera phone via their iPhone app, or via SMS text on any other mobile phone.

If your friends are also on Whrrl, then you can build your stories together and collaborate, sharing your photos from a single event. This was the case when I recently hosted an ELF MUAH (Makeup at Home) party, where several of my friends in attendance, were also telling their stories live via Whrrl. Check out our Whrrl MUAH party here: (need link). You can also search for #MUAH on Whrrl and see some of the other successful MUAH parties.

Whrrl stories don’t always end on the scene. After you get home, you can add in your photos from your digital camera, and polish your story from the Web. You can even add more text slides, rearrange your pictures, and send out the finished product via email or as a Twitter or Facebook update (which you can also do from your phone).

Whrrl is a great way to check out what’s going on right now. It’s fun to view other people’s stories as they happen. To sign up, you can use Facebook Connect to quickly and easily connect to all your Facebook friends who are already on Whrrl.

Who’s Whrrling near you? Go to Whrrl.com and find out!

Are YOU a Whrrl girl? I am! Why? Because I can share my story at a location in one click to all the sites I use already – Facebook, Twitter and my blog! It makes my Web 2.0 life more efficient and fun! Tell us in the comments why you’re a Whrrl girl (or boy)!

If you haven’t already, click through and check out all of e.l.f.’s #MUAH parties on Whrrl! Don’t forget to keep an eye out for FOUR #MUAH parties happening this week… from @girlfriendceleb @thelocaltourist @melissapierce @theappleofmyeye!

Thank you Ali – and everyone of our users! We heart you for all your support!

I can’t place my finger on exactly what keeps me coming back week after week for more Top Chef – the final competition, the Quick Fire Challenges, rooting on my fav contestant, or the FOOD. It might just be the food…what those contestants can do in a quick amount of time with certain ingredients never fails to impress me. Or make me hungry! Now that’s true talent.

But what I really want to see is what YOU can do! Tonight we’re hosting  a bit of an impromptu collaboration party for Top Chef’s 10th episode. Snap a quick food porn pic with your phone and e-mail it to TopChef@mywhrrl.com. Whether cooking dinner, trying out a new restaurant or hitting up happy hour – we want to  check out the yummy dishes you’re eating!

I dare you to make us drool!

(Check out all stories from Bravo’s Top Chef here.)

Left: Shafiq on his iPhone. Center: @thinkmaya from MemeTales.com on her iPhone. Right:
@paolojr and @tosolini discuss what it’s like to be named Paolo and watch a bunch of crazy
social media people on their iPhones.

This year’s show was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and most attendees stayed at the Hilton (next to the convention center), home of the infamous Barry Manilow show. Although the expo hall didn’t open until Friday, we were able to mix and mingle at the Convention Center with great bloggers such as Jen Fowler and Deb Ng. We also discussed our exciting Collective Bias/Whrrl partnership with Jay Thornton, Creative Director at Collective Bias, before it was announced Friday morning.

Left: Barry Manilow on the side of the Hilton. Center Left: BWE sign outside the Convention Center.
Center Right: The lovely @JennFowler and @DebNg. Right: Me and @JayThornton000
at the conference. Find the Whrrl story from the first day of the conference here.

As with most conferences, there are parties, events and mixers just about every night. The place to be on Thursday was the TechSet party hosted by influencers Brian Solis and Stephanie Agresta at the Bank in Bellagio. Word has it we caught a certain mommy blogger (who will remain nameless) pole dancing. (Jeff snapped a picture, but apparently what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas when you’re taking pics on an iPhone). The party networking then continued as everyone followed Brian to Caramel in Bellagio where the VIPs were in attendance. It was a great kick-off to the conference!

Left: Name the Mommy Blogger! Center: Just some of the peeps at Caramel – @shafishariff,
@tedmurphy, @technosailor, @heathermeeker, @chrisheuer, @zaneology,
@brett, @adamjackson, @natasha and @marshacollier.  Right: @trixiepixe,
@brett, @briansolis, @marshacollier and Heather! (cc) Kenneth Yeung – thelettertwo.com.
Find the Whrrl story of the TechSet party here .

The next day, we were up bright and early for a full day of panels and networking at the conference. We spent time with some of the most lovely bloggers (Katja, Alli, Jyl, Lucretia, Zane, Amanda, Lindsay, Stephanie and SO many more, it’s hard to name everyone) and chatted with some of our favorite online personalities: Guy Kawasaki (Heather made a deal that if Guy wore a Whrrl t-shirt, she’d wear an Alltop t-shirt), Chris Brogan (John got a copy of Trust Agents signed) and Mark Horvath from InvisiblePeople.tv.

Find the Whrrl story from BlogWorld Expo Day 2 here.

Friday night, we attended the SITScation cocktail party. What does SITS stand for you ask? “Secrets in the Sauce” – a site dedicated to helping new bloggers get exposure and feel part of a community. I couldn’t believe the numbers of fabulous ladies in attendance. We were able to dance and laugh all evening with amazing women such as @CarissaRogers, @BabyBlooze, @theyearofhope, @houseofprince @katjapresnal and more! We even caught Shafiq in a pink boa! Now THAT’s something to be documented!

Left: Me, Heather and Shafiq on the red carpet before the Sitscation party. Center Left: Me and @redsolediaryjen. Center: Shafiq working the party. Center Right: Heather and the lovely
Katja. Right: Me teaching @CarissaRogers and @babyblooze how to use Whrrl on the
Blackberry! You can find all SITScation stories on Whrrl here.

We wrapped up the conference on Saturday with an awesome blogger and brands speed dating event sponsored by Collective Bias that included us along with ELF Cosmetics, Soyjoy, Catalina Marketing, Healthy Choice, Crocs and Genesis Today. Just like speed dating, we had a set amount of time to chat with bloggers such as @HighImpactMom, @sahans, @buckdaddy and @wandertot about their blogs and ways we could partner together. It was one of our favorite events of the show.

Left: Blogger + brands speed dating! Center Left: John sitting down with Amanda (@highimpactmom)
during speed dating. Center Right: Stephanie, @sahans with #blogdog and Joanie, @keepingupwmom.
Right: The fabulous @Bizziemommy! Find the Whrrl story on BlogWorld Expo Day 3 here.

We kicked off the last night with a farewell Blogworld pool party at the Hilton, set outside on a lovely and warm Vegas evening.  Jyl Johnson Pattee from MomitForward.com, Ben Parr from Mashable.com and Krista Perry from Park City Mountain Resort, all decided to do an impromptu cannonball into the pool for charity, which ended up raising  $2,000 in less than one half hour for Shoes 4 Africa. Let’s hear it for Jyl, Krista and Ben!

Left: The pool at Hilton-so shiny and irresistible. Center Left: @jylmomIF and @krista_parry
cannonballed into the pool for charity. Center Right: Krista and Jyl with @benparr. Right: John and
Danielle Elliott Smith (@ExtraordMommy) hanging out at the pool party. (Thanks to SugarJones
for the pics!) Find the Whrrl pool party story here and cannonball story here.

And what would Vegas be without one last hurrah? TechKaraoke, hosted by Brett Petersel from Mashable.com, was held in the Hilton casino- conveniently located on your way back from the pool party. Heather started out the evening taking the stage for a rendition of Love on the Rocks by Neil Diamond (brave girl). Other notables of the evening include George G. Smith Jr. for the awesome dancing, Wayne Sutton for the rap, Amanda Coolong for the BEST rendition of Black Velvet we’ve ever heard, and a whole lot of mommy bloggers for rocking the tambourines and plastic guitars!

Sadly, we did have to eventually say goodbye to Vegas, baby, but what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there- now you have all the dirt! On behalf of the entire team, we really enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing old ones too! Don’t miss out on all the fantastic Whrrl stories created at BlogWorld Expo! Till next time!

As always, Scoble had some great questions which helped reveal not just information about Whrrl, but what the future holds for the product and our company.

You can check out the interview here:

Pelago has forged an exclusive partnership with Collective Bias (the social media unit of MARS) to produce a co-branded mobile shopping solution. This product will leverage Whrrl’s location-based and social technologies to offer consumers in-store promotions, coupons and discounts right to their iPhone – and at the point of purchase. Collective Bias will offer this mobile shopping solution to their clients, which include Hershey, Smart & Final, Colgate, ELF Cosmetics, Genesis Today, among others. You can read the entire press release here.

What does this mean for Pelago, Whrrl and you? Really great things! The shopping solution will not impact Whrrl as it stands today, but only enhance the product so users have access to more relevant information and promotions when they visit selected stores We will be working with the Collective Bias community to develop the best in-store experiences. More info will come in the near future, but for now, we’re excited to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you have about the announcement. If you’d like to be involved, let us know.

As always, our developers are constantly working to improve the Whrrl experience and we take into account ALL of your feedback. The entire Whrrl team looks forward to hearing from you, and you can personally e-mail me at johnkim (at)pelago.com with any questions, suggestions or feedback.

To tell you a bit about myself and why I chose Pelago… I’ve been a self-proclaimed Internet junkie for a number of years now. After graduating from college with a degree in journalism, I spent some time writing for a nonprofit and working in the marketing department of a global commercial real estate firm. I also started my own lifestyle blog four years ago, connecting with 20-somethings across the nation, and blogged for a local city Web site and newspaper, too. It was during this time that I fell in love with what blogging can do – break down barriers in distance and time – by sharing the common thread of human life with people who you might never had the chance to meet or connect with otherwise. And, what I find to be even more amazing is when you have the opportunity to take these connections offline.

The power of the Internet never fails to amaze me, which is why I made the decision to pursue what I love most – managing an online community. I believe it’s no accident that I met Erin online and was given the opportunity to interview my little heart out for the Community Manager position at Pelago – a company whose mission is to remove all barriers to information, inspiration and human connection – the very reason I fell in love with social media.

Aside from being the very definition of my dream job, the best part about being the new Community Manager is the ability to connect with you – the Whrrl community – and represent your feedback, ideas and suggestions to the Pelago team. After all, if it weren’t for you, Whrrl wouldn’t be where it is today. And, I get to read your blogs and Tweets, see your stories and discover new places, experiences and moments through you on a daily basis!

My first big goal is to turn this blog into a living, breathing space for the community to unite. We can share tips and troubleshoot, highlight our fabulous members and stories, run fun contests, recap all the awesome events we attend as a company, and more. The first of these events is BlogWorld Expo this week in Las Vegas – where I get to meet a number of you in person and my inner blogging geek heart sings with the opportunity to put Web sites to faces, and listen to all the keynotes and speakers. *Squeal*

If you’re coming to BWE, I can’t wait to meet you. If you’re not, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at jeanna@pelago.com or leave a comment here. You can also friend me on Whrrl, find me on Twitter or other sites, or view this story to learn a bit more about me:

When I started my blog “No Time For Flash Cards” in early 2008, I had no clue there were blogging conferences. In fact, I really didn’t know anything more than how to write a blog post, upload pictures and press publish. Seriously! It wasn’t until I became more involved on Twitter that I realized there were conferences to support bloggers.

So this last July, I attended the BlogHer conference in Chicago. But for everything I learned, I also left with the knowledge that “You really need to learn more.” I had heard about the Type-A Mom Conference and I desperately wanted to go. However, I knew a trip from Seattle to Asheville wouldn’t be cheap, not to mention my husband’s busy work schedule. I just couldn’t go.

Then I got a message on my Twitter: “Check out this Whrrl contest for Type-A Mom Conference.”

I had to enter, I had to win! Of all the sessions I went to at BlogHer, the most helpful was one by Kelby Carr – Type-A Mom herself! Besides wanting to hear her speak, I also have no time to learn anything about blogging at home due to my busy schedule. I not only blog for “No Time For Flash Cards” but also for FamilyEducation.com AND write preschool curriculum – all from home.

Winning the Type-A Mom contest is so much more than a free trip. It’s time for me to learn and think about the ways I can become a better blogger without having to stop and say to my child, “Take your finger out of your nose: and “Rocks do not belong in the toilet” every few minutes. :-)

I couldn’t be more thankful for Whrrl and Type-A Mom for giving me the chance attend, not to mention 3 nights of sleep without toddler feet in my ribs. I am excited to once again be around people that, when it comes to blogging, get it.

Ciaran and family hit up no less than five different fast food joints in the Los Angeles area to find the tastiest burger. Her lovely and discerning daughters judged each burger based on flavor, bun, sauce and substance. Their favorite? In and Out’s animal style cheeseburger by a landslide! You can check out the story here.

As the winner, Ciaran and family will choose between a Coleman Roadtrip gas grill or a handy Kodak HD video camera. You can see all the cheeseburger stories by searching for #cheeseburger on whrrl.com. And congrats again to Ciaran and family!

Want to know why Richard’s the expert?

Chef Richard Blais

For amazing gourmet burgers, check out Richard's restaurant, the FLIP Burger Boutique in Atlanta

Did you know that you can pull together all of your memories in one place by creating a story on Whrrl.com? Upload your photos, narrate the story, share your location, and tag friends in so they can add their own updates. Done? Share the story directly from Whrrl.com as a status update on Facebook and Twitter, and email it to whomever you’d like.

Facebook Updates Just Got Better

Now when you post an update on Facebook from your iPhone, it will automatically include a map of your location and the first two images from your Whrrl story. It’s one more way to share your stories with friends and family.

Create Communities with Featured Topics

Want to start a community? Then check out the new Featured Topics on Whrrl.com. You can start a group for every topic you love. Just add a pound sign before your topic and you’re finished. Topics are searchable on Whrrl.com and bring all results on one page – check out #wiimoms or #food as an example.