The Feedback Mobile Lab rolls out for the Bonnaroo Music and Art Festival tomorrow! While the Mobile Lab may seem like any other RV, it will be transporting Feedback’s eyes and ears to the festival. This excursion mixes both business and pleasure, as @dbrowell, @ideaman and @alucas9 observe social media activity among Bonnaroo artists and attendees while taking in the sights and sounds of the festival.

While Feedback Roo-goers are out enjoying Bonnaroo, those remaining at HQ will be tracking social media trends both at Bonnaroo and the series of tubes at large.

On-site, we will be testing geo-location services to see which most efficiently handles a gathering the size and scope of Bonnaroo. Our field team will be using FourSquare for the iPhones as well as at least one of the many competing social gaming/geo-location apps including Gowalla, PlacePop, and SCVNGR. Weather services will also be put to the test, with comparisons being made among applications from The Weather Channel, WeatherBug, and Weather Underground. In addition to regular Twitter updates, we’ll also be sharing parts of the Bonnaroo experience live via Ustream, the popular video streaming platform.

DryDay.com's Rain Forecast

But don’t think we’re waiting until Bonnaroo starts to track the related buzz on social media!  We’ve already started collecting data, revealing a few surprising trends, including widespread use of @Bonnaroo in place of the #bonnaroo tag on Twitter.

Collection and observation of such trends will continue as the event unfolds, so check back here daily for updates covering any major phenomena in the world of social media. We’ll also be maintaining a YouTube channel with live clips taken by the Mobile Lab team at Bonnaroo!

Let’s hope that the weather stays dry for Bonnaroo, though! According to DryDay.com, a favorite of Dean’s, it’s definitely favored to rain on a couple of days during the festival.

Hoping it won’t rain on the Mobile Lab,

— Feedback Interns: Brad Carr (@bcarr) and Brittney Trimmer (@bntrim)