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Tim O’Shaugnessy, Eddie Frederick, and Aaron Batalion of HungryMachine recently announced the close of a $5mm Series A investment from Grotech Ventures and Steve Case to fuel the growth of LivingSocial.com, a social discovery and cataloging network. Since launching in February 2008, LivingSocial has acquired 6.4 million beta users and have cataloged more than 80 million reviews of movies, books, music, games, restaurants, and beers.

“The support of Grotech Ventures and Steve and Jean Case will help establish LivingSocial as the leading social discovery and cataloging network, a centralized, user-managed community where people can organize, review and share what they are most passionate about,� says Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial. “Based on sheer number of reviews we already have on our site, there is no other interest-based community with the volume of user-generated cataloging, and we’re just getting started.� To get started with their service, check out livingsocial.com or their applications on Facebook.

The DC Technology scene is growing, and Peter Corbett of iStrategyLabs is right at the center of it. On July 16, Peter teamed up with the Northern Virginia Technology Council to host Twin Tech, a mixer aimed at connecting the people forging innovation in design, media, and technology. “The twin tech event was born of the need to connect the veteran technology community in the Potomac region with the ‘new-blood-up-and-comers’ who are passionate, talented and in need of the wisdom held by those who’ve come before them. I call this collective community The Wired Ones,” shared Peter, whose efforts attracted a 600+ crowd.

In addition to the core geek and design crowd was Sarah Lacy, veteran technology writer and author of the newly released Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good, which highlights the new breed of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. A number of others were also in attendance: Eddie Frederick of LivingSocial, Grant Allen of Core Capital, and Thais Luporini and Elizabeth Hebda of SocialCash. Peter will be hosting a number of follow-up meetup events in September.

Independent filmmaker Ryan Gielen recently screened his first feature film, The Graduates, a coming-of-age comedy about four high school grads and beach week in Ocean City. “It’s a perfect summer film: funny, beachy, uplifting…it’s like Boogie Nights or Superbad set at the beach,” shares Gielen, who shot the film with his brother on a tight budget of $96,000. The pair plans to continue screenings throughout the Northeast and then do the festival circuit in the fall. “Our ideal situation is that a distributor sees the film with an audience, feels the incredible response, scoops it up and puts it in theaters next spring or summer.”

Given the tight budget, Ryan and team had to be creative: “We begged for deals on equipment, we borrowed props and wardrobe, and we stole…a lot. Just kidding, we never stole anything, but we were always able to beg our way into borrowing.” He found that the best way to succeed was to be honest about their vision. “We told people how few resources we had and how badly we wanted to make our project. If you can articulate why you’re so passionate, people will line up to help in whatever way they can, because people genuinely want to help others reach their dreams.”

To get a taste of The Graduates, visit their website to view the trailer; also be sure to check out their feature in the Washington Post.

Alex Wilkins recently released his first full album, “Good Boy Charm” with Tripp, a band he helped found in 2004 while working in Admissions at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina. Over the past few years, Tripp has steadily built up a strong fan base and portfolio of original material, so when Alex finalized a new line-up of band members at the end of last year, Alex jumped right into the studio. “While the various incarnations of Tripp had self-recorded demos, we decided late last year to head into an actual studio and put down some of our original songs. Starting in December, we began recording at Warrior Sound in Chapel Hill and ultimately finished ten tracks in March for a May release,” shared Alex, who has been performing in front of audiences from an early age.

“Our primary audience in Chapel Hill has to date been students, but this has recently expanded thanks to shows with other local and regional bands. Our goal with Good Boy Charm is to expand our audience beyond Chapel Hill and North Carolina.” As Alex prepares to head out of town for a variety of gigs around the southeast, he realizes that there may be some tough times ahead. “It will be difficult balancing part-time jobs with touring, but we love the music so much, especially playing in front of new audiences, that the exhaustion won’t be so bad.” To learn more about the band and to listen to some of their newly released songs, check out their website.

Joung Lee is a Senior Analyst for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He’s also a 28-year-old in a field that skews toward older demographics. Because transportation professionals are spread across the country, Joung started Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) in April 2008 to connect his peers and grow interest in his field of work. YPT already has over 200 members, and Joung hopes to grow the organization over the coming months.

“There are existing groups that cater to women in transportation and to young urban planners, among others, but this is the first group to cater specifically to the young transportation element,� said Joung. “Many young professionals starting out in transportation seek peers with whom they can better relate in addition to their older colleagues, but because the field is so scattered, it magnifies the difficulty of seeking your cohorts. YPT aims to act as a catalyst and a gathering point that had been missing.�

Joung sees YPT both as a forum for networking among professionals already in the transportation field, and as a way of raising awareness about the field’s critical role in society. “Transportation infrastructure plays an underpinning role in our economy and our quality of life,â€? Joung said. “Right now, the U.S. is lagging far behind in terms of infrastructure investment in general. I hope YPT can help to raise awareness among the general public that transportation can’t be taken for granted.â€?

Freelance photographer and world traveler, Mia Baxter, recently completed a book tour with friend and co-author Jenna Bush for Ana’s Story, a book they worked on together about a 17 year old single mother in Latin America. “Jenna and I were documenting the lives of children living in exclusion in Latin America for U.S. Fund for UNICEF – her writing with my photographs. We were documenting Ana’s life and story this way, when it grew in to a book proposal. We met with publishers in NY during our holiday break last January, and Harper Collins gave us a chance. They believed in this project and I think it has been an incredibly positive experience for everyone. The proceeds of the book go to UNICEF and an education fund for Ana (who is now back in school).” Mia’s photographs play a key role in telling Ana’s story. “I am a strong believer in photography as a powerful tool in visual communication. Words tell truth as photographs display truth–they enhance the reality of a given truth. In Ana’s Story, one can see that Ana’s face is never fully disclosed. If people in her community found out that she is HIV positive she would face severe discrimination, be kicked out of school, or possibly even hurt. This protection of her identity, in combination with the detailed environmental photographs in the book, should enhance the fact that HIV/AIDS is real, that poverty and abuse are real, that the awful stigmas and injustices faced by far too many young people like Ana are real and are serious problems.”

To view more of Mia’s work, visit her website. She is currently living in New York but continues to work with aid organizations as a freelance photographer. “In this industry I have learned that each project inspires the next and I am often pleasantly surprised by what I get myself into.”

Brett Kirwan, a Navy Lieutenant stationed in Lemoore, California, recently took home $36,600 in winnings from the TV quiz show Jeopardy!. Brett studied Politics and East Asian Studies at Washington & Lee University. His diverse interests paid off when he won two shows and led the third show going into the Final Jeopardy round.

Though Kirwan has always been a Jeopardy! fan, he didn’t start watching regularly until fall of 2006. “That’s when I got a DVR,â€? Brett said. “Who’s at home watching TV at 7:30 anyway? After I took the contestant exam, I made a concerted effort to watch every episode just in case I got ‘The Call.’â€?

Getting on Jeopardy! required smarts as well as a little luck. “I started by taking the online contestant exam in January 2007,â€? shared Brett, “which I’ve read that about 200,000 people took. In October, I unexpectedly received an e-mail inviting me to audition for the show and again, I was lucky enough to get ‘The Call’ inviting me to appear on the show. There are only 400 spots a year for new contestants, but they audition thousands. The producers said they were looking for an interesting, diverse pool of contestants, so the fact that I was a 25-year-old Naval Officer from Cleveland must have helped.â€?

Brett remained poised and confident in his Navy uniform throughout the shows. But was there anything Brett was embarrassed to know? “A lot of people have given me a hard time for knowing the answers in the Fashion category. But being in the Navy, I’m also embarrassed to have missed the question about the USS Constitution. That, and the last Final Jeopardy question I missed.�

Andrew Grimes is a Lexington, Kentucky based entrepreneur and wildlife and travel photographer currently working to develop a photography website, InTheRestOfTheWorld.com. “I want people to look at the images on ITROTW and want to travel to the over 100 countries that are represented, to want to see the animals in their natural habitats, and to want to see the sunset from across the world.�

During the day Andrew works with the Social Marketing and Digital PR Team at New Media Strategies (NMS). NMS is a pioneer and leader in the online intelligence, brand promotion and brand protection industry has been one of Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Companies in America for three years running. Andrew is also currently juggling his MBA coursework at the University of Kentucky. Sharing images of the world is at the heart of Andrew’s work. “I want people to look at In The Rest Of The World and feel emotion that would hopefully lead them to experience the vast beauty that lies beyond the US.’�