Here at Layar, we like to stay busy creating new concepts, improving existing products, and sharing our hopes, dreams and coolest new endeavors with our community.

Some days we do all of these things at once—and last Thursday (Sept. 1) was one of those days.

First, we hosted a webinar for developers interested in the Creation Challenge, and had a great turnout! You can download the audio file for the September 1 Creation Challenge webinar as well as a PDF of the presentation here.

If you missed last week’s webinar, do not despair! We’re hosting another one, this time an Introduction to Layar Vision, this Friday, September 9. Register now!

After the webinar, we kicked off another Augmented Reality Thursday (ART), a monthly meetup we host to share news, exchange ideas and visions, and meet others interested in Augmented reality. 

Check out this video of last week’s ART presentations from Layar Co-founder and General Manager Maarten Lens FitzGerald, Layar Research and Development’s Michael Hofmann and renowned ARtist Sander Veenhof. These fellas show off some cool new Layar concepts!

On the first Thursday of the month, Layar hosts Augmented Reality Thursday (ART) at our headquarters here in Amsterdam. The objective of this monthly event is to inspire and update people about the current field of Augmented Reality and Layar’s position within it. 

Next to that, we want to connect developers, publishers, brands and (of course) our employees to exchange stories, visions and ideas. 

The setting is very informal (so NO chairs, long presentations or tea-breaks), and the event is free (plus, we supply the beer, wine and snacks) so it’s always a lot of fun! 

We took a short break from hosting ART this summer while bearing down on some exciting new projects, but we’re back with a vengeance on September 1!

Speaking of those “exciting projects,” this coming ART features an introduction by Layar Co-founder and General Manager Maarten Lens-FitzGerald as well as a presentation about the new Layar Vision beta from our R&D department’s Michael Hofmann. Also, just added to the lineup, ARtist Sander Veenhof will showcase one of his new projects, Augmentizer, that he recently introduced at the Lowlands Festival. Come check out the demos, ask questions, and tell us what you think!

After this (as we don’t like to hear ourselves talk and are very curious to hear what you are working on), we’ll resume asking the community to give a short presentation or two each month. If you’d like to present at one of our ART events, please drop us an email at events@layar.com. 

Cool demos, free booze and a chance to make some great connections—what are you waiting for?? RSVP now!

With the most recent Layar upgrade we added the ability to share layers and screenshots with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, so we’re no strangers to social networks. You can follow us Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up with our day-to-day activity and find links to interesting augmented reality-related content, but recently we’ve been expanding our social horizons.

You may have noticed already if you follow our Twitter feed but Layar has branched out to some new social networks: notably Tumblr and Instagram. On the official Layar Tumblr, you can find a plethora of AR and Layar information - including the stuff we find on the web and share on our internal email. We figured, why not share this with our fans? You’ll find interesting videos, pictures, quotes and other bite-sized snacks for your augmented world.

And on Instagram, you’ll get a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Layar, as we post photos and snapshots from the office here in Amsterdam. We’ll also share other interesting images we might find around the web, but for the most part, Instagram will be your portal into what happens at this fun-loving Holland-based startup. We think you’ll enjoy it, so come join the Instagram fun and tag your photos or Layar screenshots with #layar and we’ll check ‘em out!

Of course you can still find us at our usual online stomping grounds: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare and MeetUp. Is there anywhere else you would like to see a Layar presence? Let us know in the comments below, or drop us a note on Twitter or Facebook, or even Tumblr!