Female students speak out on social media in the classroom at the recent 140 Character Conference in New York. (#140conf) They talk about how they use Twitter and other tools to share information about homework, books they’re reading and more.

Flex Mathews and Kosha Dillz perform for the 140 Conference audience. They took cards, names and badges to incorporate into their ‘free style’ rap on the fly in front of the audience today. See if you can identify the companies and brands you can hear? Traveling Geeks and Answers.com are two of them – see if you can hear the others.

Free stylin’ rap at the 140 Characters Conference in NYC this week.

In the interacting with television in real time session at 140 Character Conference, Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) chats with CBS Backstage LIVE Producer Rick Borutta (@CBSborutta) and NBC’s Gavin Purcell (@gavinpurcell).

Answers.com unveiled a new Twitter service code-named called Hoopoe this morning at the 140 Character Conference in New York.

Answers.com Hoopoe, now in alpha, delivers instant instant to users who tweet their questions to @AnswersDotCom or include the hashtag #answersdotcom. Answers.com will search for a good match and offer a reply with a snippet and link to the full answer, if available.

People are spending more time communicating through Twitter and other social media, so it’s a perfect extension to Answers.com service on the web. Some example tweets might be:

• @AnswersDotCom What is Jim Carrey’s Twitter username?

• @AnswersDotCom – What caused the Eyjafjallokull volcano in Iceland to erupt?

• @AnswersDotCom Who is Ashton Kutcher?

Since its currently in alpha, they would love to receive feedback on the service, and for you to follow them on Twitter.TechCrunch covered the announcement and here’s a quirky, fun demo of the Hoopoe service on YouTube.

San Francisco’s Landmark Theatre showed an early screening last night of 2012: Time for Change, which is a new film directed by Emmy Award nominee Joao Amorim. It follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck’s quest for a new paradigm that integrates the wisdom of tribal cultures with new scientific methods.

From the movie, their suggestion is that “as conscious agents of evolution, we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a better world, one which works for all of us. 2012 heralds the birth of a regenerative planetary culture where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge.” No grave surprise that this hit San Francisco early.

Below is a teaser from Amorim.

2012: Time for Change -Teaser from Joao Amorim on Vimeo.

Following the film screening, there was an after party at Sera Phi Lounge on Howard Street, which was facelifted for the event; additional neon lights set the mood for philosophical, tribal and scientific chatter in both a hip and hippie environment. Below, the short video footage will give you an idea of the background design and the music in motion.

My first dialogue was with an astrologer and musician, my second with an anthropologist who develops programs using ‘design thinking’ for Fortune 500 companies, the third with the founder of a Solar start-up and the fourth with a Burning Man enthusiast and horiculturalist. When I told someone I was a ‘rainmaker,’ I was asked how and what methods I used, which quickly led to a discussion on Shamanism. Lesson 101: always know your audience before you choose your language :-).

Below is a beautiful variation of an accidental performance I saw in the lobby of the Westin at TED 2009, where Eric Lewis played piano and Xtracycle Founder and Inventor Ross Evans jumped through ropes.

On the Wheeler Auditorium stage yesterday at the first TEDX event in Berkeley, they joined forces again. Ross entertained us as he created energy and synergy on-the-fly with his lasso, while Eric performed a wondrous jazz piece. Later, they are joined by TEDXB organizers and volunteers on-stage.

Artist and social entrepreneur Drue Kataoka played flute on stage in Berkeley’s Wheeler Auditorium as part of TEDX Berkeley.

Eric Lewis on piano at Berkeley this weekend.

Berkeley’s UC Men’s Octet Part II this past weekend.