Well, it’s the first Tuesday of September, and that can mean only one thing…tonight was the September NY Tech Meetup.  This month’s session was once again held at the NYU School of Medicine Farkas Auditorium, not to be confused with the September Fark Party held at the NYU Meetup Center.

Tonight featured another interesting set of new and old tech companies across a variety of different spaces.  Without further ado, here's a quick summary of the night with some personal thoughts interjected:

Mexuar – Though it's hard to pronounce their name, the product is simple to describe.  They are building a cross-platform Java-based technology called Corraleta that allows customers to easily integrate VoIP across a variety of technologies.  The app is a server side java application based on Asterisk.  The example the presenter showed featured a 'call us now' button on an ecommerce website.  When clicked, a window pops up and initiates a call with a landline phone on the other end.  If the port is blocked, the user can enter their phone number and the system can alert the recipient to make that call.  Unfortunately, the app failed to work, so we weren't able to see the goods in action.

PSS! – PSS, or Personal Search Syndication, created by Septet, is a clever tool that allows users to “create specialized search engines and Web directories in 4 easy steps.”  The idea is pretty simple – define the content of a custom search and PSS’s technology builds it for you for syndication on your website.  As of now, the product is free and supported by Google ads.  The search tool integrates well into third party sites such as MySpace or personal blogs.  The technology itself isn't revolutionary, but its a simple tool that definitely can add value to a lot of topic-focused websites.

Ether – A new service by the creators of Keen.com that allows people to charge to receive incoming phone calls.  It’s a clever way to allow individuals who provide services to make some extra cash by providing 'talking services'.  The interface is intuitive and allows for the seller to easily manage the calls that are forwarded.  The inevitable 'will this be used for XXX stuff' question came up and the presenter said that for both branding and moral issues, those kind of uses won't be allowed.  For now, the company is pitching the product to people who already provide paid consulting services.  In the long term, they hope that a closet industry of specialists can use this to share (and charge for) their personal knowledge.  I'm not sold on the idea completely as there are a few flaws in the execution, but it does provide an easy mechanism for people to sell their intellectual wares.

MindPetals – An online Entrepreneur network that allows entrepreneurs across the world to share their advice and strategies on becoming a successful businessperson.   At its heart, it’s a blog and information network, like many others.  However, they are planning on adding various services (events, publications) on top of the blog aggregation that will be designed to help budding entrepreneurs to get started.  As an entrepreneur, I do find lots of value in this concept.  The collective knowledge of this community is scattered, and if MP can help bring the people and their ideas together, we all can win.  I'm looking forward to seeing the community grow.  As someone in the audience pointed out, it'll take contributors of all ages and experience to make this truly valuable.

Wikiworth – A wiki site dedicated to pursuit of finding real prices for automobiles, not just the MSRP and dealer invoice.  As a Manhattanite, I must admit I’ve never needed a site like this, but knowing others who have gone through the hassle of buying a new car, having a site with factual, community driven information can be very valuable.  As a wiki (or pseudo-wiki, noted by an audience member), it does run the risk of having dealers and manufacturers submit incorrect, skewed data, but if the community works to keep it factual, this site could be really valuable to lots of folks out there.  As for the look and feel of the site…it has some work to be done.  Not the prettiest interface, though it's functional at the least and collects enough data to allow users to make informed decisions.

Kinjunction – And finally, Kinjunction.  It's a genealogy website that allows users to build up a family network to track its history and to communicate with other members.  It includes a basic family tree mapper, contact book, and journals that allows a family to create a living history.  I was VERY impressed with the overall look and feel of the site.  The contact entry system (borrowed from Facebook) is smooth and browsing it is a snap.  The three best features were the Family Timeline, Family Tree, and a really nice Family locator using Google Map APIs.  It's a smart blending of typical genealogy websites with social networking components.  While its a thoroughly covered topic on the net, these guys seemed to have hit the nail on the head with their concept, look, and feel.

All in all it was another fun night at the NY Tech Meetup.  My personal favorite sites were MindPetals and Kinjunction, which seemed to be the crowd's favorite as well.  I'm always impressed with the work that local techies and entrepreneurs are coming up with.  While Silicon Valley still gets most of the press, there are clearly some great ideas being born on the streets of the Big Apple.  Can't wait to see the next batch of new companies and products in October...