Last month Alcatel-Lucent (my new gig) announced the $40,000 Location-Based iPad App Challenge. The premise was remarkably simple, make an iPad app that uses our LBS API, if it rocks you win. Well, it’s been 31 days, the contest has ended and boy do we have some cool apps to show off.

With some help from our friends over at TopCoder (Veredox, I’m looking at you) more than 70 developers registered for the contest and we received 17 shiny new app submissions. Developers from around the world took part in this contest; we saw folks from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania, Russia, United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States. There was even one developer registered in Antarctica; our SWAT team of researchers are still trying to verify this one.

I know, enough yammering about the contest, get to the apps. Of the 17 submissions we chose 4 apps that best utilized the LBS API, appealed to our fine sensibilities, were highly functional and well implemented. Check out some screen grabs from the apps below. Developers, your checks are in the mail (well, as soon as we pay our Top Coder bill… heh).

Peer Peer – legendapps, United States

A fun mashup that displays geocoded Flickr photos that are close to your friends. LBS + Flickr = sweet visualization to tap into the national zeitgeist. This app also begs the question, “What if you happened to peer on a peer on a pier?”

GeoTrack – dhbellol, Colombia

Use your iPad to track people, vehicles, field/sales employees or even family members via an interactive map powered by the LBS API. GeoTracker also allows you to make calls and send SMS messages via a swift Twillio API integration.

Radar – loveislife, India

Discover who’s around you in an immersive game like experience. Friends and enemies appear as dots moving around in a radar scope complete with toggle switches, rotating bezel to zoom and scanning overlays.

GeoTracker – subchap, China

Use your iPad to track your friends, family and coworkers. GeoTracker also utilizes the LBS API’s powerful “geofence” methods to send email alerts when users enter and exit specific areas. Get an email notification when Dad leaves work, your boss is near the office or your pizza delivery dude is near.

As a new member of the Alcatel-Lucent team, it was pretty exciting to see the company pony up some serious cash for this contest. The APIs are clearly in demand and can support some wicked cool apps. Keep an eye on the Open API Service site for more contests and hack-a-thons coming soon.

If you haven’t already, please donate to the relief efforts.

Born out of a single, undeniable precept, “Reach our audience wherever they are,” with the implied sub-text of “or somebody else will.” The MTV Networks Content API launched in September 2008, having completed six months of limited release, private beta with a handful of developers. The API gave third-party developers access to the entire MTV music video library, with standards compliant (MRSS, Atom, OpenSearch) and easy to integrate REST services.

This was MTV’s first stab at reaching out to third-party developers and growing a community of technical users. The integrations were fast and furious, growing the off-site video traffic substantially for the MTV Music & Logo Group and giving users a glimpse into the data services that would soon be used to power MTVMusic.com.

The concept is simple, load a series of Flash-based displays into a widget container. Mix and match as you see fit, add some Flex styling and you’re ready for launch. The container handled all of the communication between displays, via PureMVC, and the share functionality, thanks to our good friends at Gigya.

Here’s a presentation that gives a good overview of the product:

The site was re-launched on WordPress using a highly customized version of the Mimbo theme. The design was simple and matched their existing printed marketing materials but it gave the committee many new tools to reach out to both new members and facilitate communication between existing church groups.

About a year later we revisited the site design and made some small improvements based on user feedback and metrics gathered through Google Analytics. We also added video sermons to the site, hosted by Vimeo but integrated into the overall site design. There’s a nifty solar counter widget, too, that tracks the amount of carbon saved to-date by the church’s newly installed solar panels.

The goals were quite simple, along with fashion writer Farrah Weinstein, turn Javier the intern into Davey Havok from AFI, and Danielle into the girl from “The Grudge.” Get creeped out with these photos from MTV News’ Halloween makeover.

MTV News was producing the VMA Preshow and I was tapped to produce the Instant Fashion Profile with Diddy’s latest start, Cassie. The goal was to shoot photos while Cassie and her team prepped for the VMA red carpet and get those photos online and on-air in time for her live interview with Suchin Pak.

As you can see, the on-air interview went off without a hitch and the photos (below) came out beautifully.

MTV.com Overdrive, August 2005

I joined the MTV.com Digital News team during July 2005, to pilot news production on “MTV Overdrive.” This was MTV’s first “broadband video channel,” a non-linear television channel you could watch on your PC. (Sorry, no Macs at the time of launch due in part to Windows Media DRM.) It was programmed and scheduled like television, meant to augment, and in some ways replace, the linear viewing experience. As part of the digital news team I produced, shot, edited and published video news updates to the site on a regular daily schedule and supported breaking news and live events around the clock.

“MTV Overdrive” delivers a sleek, new video screen to viewers at broadband speeds and features exclusive and dedicated content including: continuous MTV News updates, artist interviews, music videos, live music performances, original and newly created short-form programming, MTV and MTV2 show footage, movie trailers and much more. “MTV Overdrive” is the latest addition to MTV’s multi-platform strategy, delivering content to viewers everywhere they demand it: on-air, online, wireless, VOD and more.

The Diary of Gideon Yago in Pakistan, October 2005

The team was recognized for its innovation by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with an Emmy Nomination for “The Diary of Gideon Yago in Pakistan.” We lost to the New York Times. Yes, MTV News was up against the New York Times, Washington Post and National Geographic for original news and documentary programming created specifically for non-traditional viewing platforms. To be nominated was quite an honor (It was also a good excuse to uncorked some champagne and celebrate with the team!)

Here’s what MTV had to say about Overdrive in their press release declaring, “2005 Is Highest Rated Year In MTV History Reaching Viewers On-Air & Online.”

MTVs success in 2005 extended well beyond the TV screen as MTVs online, broadband and multiplatform initiatives connected with larger audiences than ever before. MTV.com posted its highest average monthly unique visitors ever, up 30% from last year. 2005 also saw the launch of MTVs first broadband network, MTV Overdrive in April. Since its launch, MTV Overdrive has generated more than 125 million streams of unique MTV content including breakout music events My VMAs and the premiere of Unplugged: Alicia Keys, continuously updated MTV News programming, plus exclusive companion programming for hits Laguna Beach, Made and more.