Tag Archives: Gnomedex

Gnomedex 6.0

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I am tingly with anticipation of Gnomedex 6.0, a three-day geek-fest in Seattle at the end of June. I’m just a geek wannabe but my money’s good so they let me in. I won’t even try to describe Gnomedex except to say everyone will be talking about all of the things I find interesting/important. The format of this year’s event is a little different but the line-up of “discussion leaders” is A-List all the way. And this year’s trip will be even a little more fun with Learfield COO Roger Gardner along for the ride. I believe they stream the entire conference live and I’ll try to find/post a link as we get closer.

Couch Change: 02.19.06

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Single-digit revenue gains for commercial radio (US) forecast for 2006 (iloveradio.org) … Friday was Rick Sellers’ last day on the the air at KMRY, Cedar Rapids, IA. I knew Rick during his WMT days. Rick owns and manages KMRY … Hadn’t checked on the Frappr map for a few weeks but delighted to see that didgeridoodler Jamie Nelson (Larkspur, CA) has made it coast-to-coast. Looking forward to seeing Jamie (and all the rest) at Gnomedex 6.0 in late June … Jim Mathies is developing a feed reader. I don’t pretend to understand what he’s doing but I can tell you that he’s a clever boy and likely to come up with something wonderful. Stay tuned … Andy Rooney wonders if we should be honoring all presidents. Me too.

Chimps and Geeks

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If you also missed the careerbuilder.com chimp ads in the Super Bowl, you can see them here. I’d pay a hundred bucks to spend the day watching those commercials being made. Nothing on god’s green earth is funnier than a chimp in a coat and tie.

Did I mention I’m all registered, booked and reserved for Gnomedex 6.0? It’s five months away and I can hardly wait. For three days I won’t have to explain or defend blogging and podcasting and RSS and all the rest. I will be be among believers. Not just believers, but those who are creating and applying these revolutionary technologies. I have no idea who the speakers will be or what they’ll be talking about. But everyone in the room will have a clue.

Don’t need no stinkin’ press release

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I only go to one technology conference a year: Gnomedex. It’s small, as such events go. Just 300 attendees and sort of a tough ticket. I’ve been going since Chris Pirillo started holding them in Des Moines back in the late 90’s. I’ve gushed about it here so I won’t bore you with why I love this conference. This year Chris is doing something unheard of: No press release.

This year’s conference has sold one-third of its available seats since opening registration a mere week ago. Despite having not yet unveiled speakers or sponsors, the conference is well on its way to being sold out for the second year in a row.

If you’re planning on attending, let me know.

Gnomedex 5 wrap-up

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We’re standing here on the upper deck, sailing away from Gnomedex 5.0, and tossing our lei into the digital ocean. If it floats back to Gnomedex, we will one day return. I’ve been attending assorted conferences (most of them broadcasting related) for 30 years and I have *never* been to one that I found more interesting…more relevant…more important. That might just be the geek wannabe in me but I don’t think so. A new Web is bubbling out of the magma and it’s molten mix of syndication/subscription and podcasting and personal media. And I believe it is becoming a digital tsunami. And the first waves have already started to come ashore here on Radio Island. And I think the waves will get bigger.

I wish I could tell you everything I heard or saw at Gnomedex and why I think it’s so important. But it’s like… like “trying to tell stranger about rock and roll.” If you’re really interested, all or most of the sessions will be online (audio for sure, maybe video). I urge you to listen. I’ll post links and assorted “after-thoughts” as they become available.

Gnomedex: Day One.

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You’ve heard the old joke about the guy that robs a bus full of Japanese tourists but the police catch the guy within 10 minutes because they had more than 500 photos of the thief. That was the first day of Gnomedex 5.0. Almost 400 people in attendance. All online, blogging every word.

But not smays. My Thinkpad wireless refused to work which might have been a good thing since I could pay attention and not worry about blogging the event. Pretty big announcement by Microsoft on how they’re integrating RSS in IE 7 and Longhorn. Looked pretty cool to me.

Gnomedex 2005

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Gnomedex officially gets underway tomorrow but there was a gathering of the geeks tonight at the opening reception. I chatted with half a dozen co-attendees and the common thread running through every conversation was a passion for blogging. I was reminded of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. All of these unconnected people (Steve Lacey, Steve Duncan, Jason Laskodi), irresistably drawn to this common location. They didn’t know what or why, they just knew they had to get there. Similar vibe.

Phineas

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Phineas is a nine-year-old parrott and has a life expectancy of about 60 years. All pets should live so long. Phineas is attempting to do a hand-stand despite not having hands. A real trooper. The woman in the background is probably not a bird person. [flickr]

Perfect Day in Seattle

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No-sweat e-ticket check-in. Barely had time to take off my shoes before I was through security. Zero delay on the flight to Seattle. And now I’m sitting in the bar of the Edgewater Hotel, sucking down micro-brews (and free wi-fi). Christ, can life get any better?

On Wednesday, I’m meeting The Other Steve Mays for drinks. Tomorrow we do Pike Place Market. Watch for photos.