The Trend Junkie

Gnomedex 2007 Wrap Up

I just got back from “popping” my Gnomedex cherry This conference has been on my radar since number 2 or 3, I am not quite sure. Either way, it has been quite a while since I have stated that, “I really want to check this conference out.” That said, I just returned from my first Dex, and am finally back on the east coast vibe after being away for 5 days.

So many people have been asking me, “so what did you learn at Gnomedex?” “Was it worth it?,” etc… So, I say to you all, in short, yes, Gnomedex rocked, and was definitely worth it. Let me drill in to a bit of my Gnomedex experience, to put some perspective on my trip.

The Sponsorship:

First, not only did I decide to go to Gnomedex, but I also decided that Blue Sky Factory, Inc, should sponsor it. It was a bit last minute, but not only did I want to support the event, but the attendees are an audience whom I thought may see some value in Blue Sky Factory. It was a light sponsorship, logos on the website, the live video stream, on the bags and the stage, the banners, etc.. It was good. Whether I personally connected with you or not, hopefully you at least recognize our company name…. its all good.

Who Was There:

Gnomedex attracted A through C listers (Whatever the hell that means!) The real deal, is that everyone was treated like a VIP, just as Pirillo says. Seriously, there were incredible individuals from all walks of life at Gnomedex 2007. There was everything from revolutionaries & visionaries, technologists, VC’s, entrepreneurs’s, to curious, local, inspired individuals, etc… More or less, it was an incredible group of individuals. All of them combined created an extremely interesting ecosystem of thought, experience and conversation.

At the same time, I would like to point out that there was a definite “brotherhood” within most of the attendees. The Canadian’s and immediate locals were VERY kind. Your hospitality was very well received from all of us who traveled far and wide. Seattle is a great city for sure!

What Did I Learn?

Well, this is the good part, what did Greg learn at Gnomedex? I learned a bunch of things…. Aside from the fact that Dave Delaney pretty much wrapped up my collective learnings in this post right here! I also learned a few things on my own. Here is a random list of what I learned at Gnomedex:

- Chris & Ponzi Pirillo put on one KICK ASS event!

- Chris needs to definitely consider carefully who he places as the Keynote speaker for such a kick ass event (As an opener for Gnomedex, Robert sucked, Chris you know that for SURE by now.)

- Darren Barefoot Rocks.

- Guy Kawasaki was the real keynote speaker of Gnomedex 2007. Hands down.

- Cali Lewis & her husband apparently gave an amateur 101 presentation. (I wasn’t present)

- Tajee from Japan absolutely rocks

- Michael Lipton is one COOL dude….and made me think differently about money.

- I am looking forward to checking out Ignite as it spreads throughout the land….

- Dave and Marcus from EMMA are two cool bros. It was great meeting and hanging with you both!

- Derek Miller is one brave brother. Glad you could tune into Gnomedex. Rock on my friend!

- Kris Smith kicked down some incredible audio and I banged out some video podcasts throughout the entire event.

- Justin.TV is pretty much coming to an end soon because its boring (in his own words, and I agree).

- The Jason Calacanis drama with Dave Winer is 100% over-rated and widely over-read, and at the end of the day really means nothing at all.

- I am looking forward to Gnomedex 08 already, and am going to put this event on my regular annual schedule of “must attend” events.

But what was truly amazing in terms of knowledge acquisition for me, was that I also learned from Jason Calacanis, that apparently email marketing is dead! Yes, its dead, a dead industry. Email doesn’t work, give up on it, there is no business in email. Why? because email is dead, didn’t Jason tell you already??? (There will be more from me on this particular point very soon.)

Will I Go Back?

Are You kidding? Gnomedex rocked 100%! Chris & Ponzi Pirillo know how to put on an event! Period! Here is the bottom line, if you are someone who is down with tech, an early adopter, a social media evangelist, participatory type, you must attend Gnomedex 08 (Actually, it doesn’t really matter who or what you are!). I personally am looking very much forward to future Gnomedex’s no matter where Pirillo may bring us next.

The net net of it all is that Gnomedex 2007 ROCKED! See you next year!

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Tags: gnomedex, gnomedex07, gnomedex2007, conferences, lockergnome, chrispirillo, experience, seattle, technology, podcasting, socialmedia

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