Interview: Elevator Labs’ Zack Zalon on New Funding, LA’s Innovative Tech Scene

The state of the economy may be a big question mark but one thing’s for sure: L.A. tech is hot. Westwood-based Elevator Labs received $20 million in funding this week in another example of investors putting money into innovative Los Angeles-based startups (just last week Santa Monica-based BetterWorks received an $8 million investment).

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Geolocation is a Two-Way Street Where Businesses Meet Consumers

geolocation
UPDATE: Watch video of the panel below.

For both businesses and consumers, geolocation apps and services are a dime a dozen these days. But many of these apps and tools serve to benefit both when used consistently and correctly. Much like social media itself, geolocation is a two-way entity.

“Geolocation makes it easier for consumers to get the services they want nearby and for local businesses to reach the consumers in their area,” Eli Portnoy, CEO of Culver City-based mobile marketing startup Thinknear told me matter-of-factly.

As consumers become increasingly engaged with smartphones and other mobile devices, geolocation will have a growing influence on commerce. For most businesses and services, location — and circumstance — means everything. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35 percent) are smartphone users according to a July 2011 Pew Internet report. Consumers are always on the hunt for quality goods and services at reasonable prices. As consumers grow accustomed to the “smart” aspect of always-connected, GPS-enabled mobile devices, the bargains appear at their fingertips and it only becomes a matter of convenience. As consumers discover the power of smartphones beyond texts, emails and phone calls, shopping habits change.

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WTF is Social Media? The Visual Primer

Like everything else, it depends. Who wants to know and why? In what context? I spend too much free time pondering this topic and have yet to see as in depth of a slideshow as this fresh preso from Marta Z. Kagan. True to form, she not only took the time to produce the slideshow, but published it at slideshare. Check it out below. And then maybe you can tell me what the f**k this social media business is all about according to you.

via ParisLemon.