Since 2001, we have been producing Gnomedex, a conference that brought to the stage hundreds of thought leaders and many influencers before they were influential. We started Gnomedex 10 years ago in Iowa, and the conference has since grown to one of the premier tech conferences in the nation. After last year’s event, I announced it would be the last Gnomedex – but we’re now bringing it out of retirement (if only for a day) to join the Seattle Interactive Conference on November 2, 2011 in Seattle (naturally).

As always, this year we will continue to feature even more exciting and innovative speakers, including John Wilbanks, Kent Nichols, Michael Haley, Christopher Burgess and Pascal Schuback. Granted, this will be more of a Gnomedex Lite, considering we are working within the construct of another conference for just a single day.

If you think we’re excited to bring back Gnomedex, we can’t wait for you to see what we’re doing this year. Tickets for the event are available via the Seattle Interactive Conference site, but we’ve got a way for you to get two FREE passes to this year’s Gnomedex. All you have to do is enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a pair of tickets to Gnomedex. The rules are simple – just follow me personally on Twitter at @ChrisPirillo as well as the LockerGnome Twitter account at @LockerGnome. You can also earn an extra entry by “Liking” the LockerGnome Facebook page, too. Don’t worry, you’ll see more from us on Facebook soon.

The giveaway is open now and will run through 12:01 a.m. next Monday, 10/24/11 (EST). We’ll announce the winner on Monday – and may even have a special offer for everyone else who enters the giveaway, too. And if you don’t like giveaways, you can always register for Gnomedex and the Seattle Interactive Conference outright.

Enter below for a chance to win a free pair of tickets to Gnomedex on November 2, 2011!

Can You Get Gnomedex Tickets for Free? Maybe!

In a strange twist of Fate, it is currently cold as hell and snowing here in Seattle. Kat is busy gloating, since it was 74 degrees (F) and sunny in Indianapolis today. Normally our weather is opposite, but in MY favor. I usually brag to her that it’s nice and balmy here on the west coast while she’s whining about the freezing temps and snow (ice!) in the midwest.

However!

All will be well by the end of the week. I’m told that the midwest will be back to normal for this time of year. It’s reportedly going to be cold and snowy by Friday in Indy. She won’t be able to gloat then, eh?

Have you gotten any snow yet? Are you even a fan of Winter?

Let it Snow in Seattle

On Tuesday, November 16, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (PT) in Seattle, WA, local IT pros should come to RetroDex 2010 (and use code “LockerGnome” for 25% off the already-low price of $38.00)! I will be on stage throughout the event as the emcee with Larry Walsh speaking.

IT professionals, service providers, vendors, bloggers, and media come together to hear predictions from leading technology industry thinkers and discuss the present and future with their technology industry peers. During 2010 virtualization and tele-presence made their mark and Comdex returned to a virtual Las Vegas. RetroDex 2010 is the perfect place to meet real live technology people whether or not you are participating virtually in Comdex.

Leading up to the event we will be conducting a One Question survey of IT decision makers where we ask: What one technology product changed your business computing the most in 2010? And what do you think it will be in 2011? We will be presenting the results of this survey at the RetroDex 2010 events. RetroDex 2010 events are being held simultaneously at incredible venues across the country on the evening of November 16th, 2010.

Register for RetroDex 2010 (and remember to use code LockerGnome for 25% off)!

Seattle IT Pros Should Head to RetroDex

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At 400 Broad Street in Seattle stands the Space Needle. It’s an observation tower built in 1961 for the World’s Fair. I was able to build my LEGO version much faster than the real one was created. This kit is part of the LEGO Architecture Series. This isn’t just some toy… it’s a piece of art. I can shelve it in my home and let people talk about it when they see it. It’s truly well-made and looks great.

The LEGO Architecture Seattle Space Needle is an inexpensive and simple way to own a piece of Seattle history. The finished product measures a little over 8.7″ tall and 3.1″ wide, so it will fit easily onto a table or shelf. It comes with a book detailing the history and design of the original building, and is only around twenty dollars.

I admit to being a LEGO addict. What things have you built lately?

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LEGO Space Needle Review

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Michael Foley is one of those people that everyone loves to stop and talk with. We’re very grateful for that fact, since he managed to interview many of the movers and shakers who attended Gnomedex last month. Michael was kind enough to give us his raw footage, and Uncle John worked his magic to stitch it all together. Ladies and germs, meet the people of Gnomedex!

• Tac Anderson – “The most diverse and coolest group of speakers anywhere.”
• Steve Sorbo – “Gnomedex is about education in the world of social media.”
• Christopher Burgess – “I come to Gnomedex because out of hundreds of conferences I attend, this is the best .It’s the most humanitarian and technological event of its kind. When you leave here, you feel as though you can change the world.”
• Kristen Mitchell – “Gnomedex was the first conference I ever attended in association with my online identity. I was happy to feel as though I was amongst family.”
• Kat Armstrong – “It’s impossible to put into words what Gnomedex is like. Being here – being a part of this – WILL change your life in some way.”
• Brian Eisenberg – “I come to Gnomedex to meet people and have amazing conversations.”
• Kenji Onozawa – “Gnomedex has great content, but I love the conversation in the hallways the most. This event attracts an awesome array of people.”
• Jeff Shuey – “There are incredible people involved in this event, from speakers to volunteers to attendees.”
• Jeris JC Miller – “Chris has done an amazing job at curating who I feel are some of the most innovative speakers in technology and the social media space.”
• Pete Voss – “This was my first Gnomedex. A lot of past attendees recommended I be here, so here I am!”
• Veronica Wei Sopher – “I come here to get outside of my own thinking. I love to see what others are doing and learning. It gives me fresh perspective in my world.”
• Jamie Nelson – “I come here to find out what’s going on in the geek world, and get an idea as to what is coming over the horizon.”
• David Hoang – “This was my first time attending Gnomedex. I wanted to be here, because I heard it’s a great place to meet innovative thinkers.”
• Lacy Kemp – “This conference has a very cool crowd. It’s very different from other conferences – it’s more human. The content is different. It’s less focused on narcissism and more focused on how to create a better you.”
• Michelle Gamboa – “I volunteer at this event because it’s one of the places that I can meet amazing people and hear about the best ideas you’ll find anywhere.”
• Richard Wood – “This was my first Gnomedex. I’ve been to a lot of events surrounding this event in the past few years. There’s always such a high amount of energy to the people involved in this conference. I wanted to be a part of that, and their ideas.”
• Melissa Tizon – “I work with Swedish Hospital here in Seattle. We’re a non-profit hospital which loves technology. We’re using that to improve health care in the greater Seattle area.”
• Kevin Urie – “I come to Gnomedex because the people are great and the topics are all over the place. It’s always interesting, and I learn something from everyone.”
• Jen Joyce – “I come to Gnomedex because there are interesting people who attend. I love to learn new ideas from everyone.”
• Heather Fernandez – “I’m here because I’ve never been. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this conference, so I knew I had to be here.”
• Willow Brugh – “This was my first Gnomedex, and it’s been exciting. It’s not focused on one topic, and this is where true innovation lies.”
• Joe Pirillo – “I’m Chris’ Dad, so I’m here to help out behind the scenes, but I also really just enjoy being here.”
• Karianne Stinson – “Gnomedex is a conference where people talk about what they’re actually DOING, versus people telling about their grand ideas.”
• Shauna Causey – “I love to hang out with geeks because I am a wannabe geek. Gnomedex rocks for that.”
• Greg Young – “Television is moving more online every day. I like to keep up with current trends to see how new things can be incorporated into video and television.”
• Liana Shanes – “I volunteer with Gnomedex because Chris always brings amazing content which helps me learn about things I would never have thought of before.”
• Maya Bisineer – “The people here are brilliant, and the presentations are all intelligent.”
• Ken Yeung – “There are a lot of friends here at Gnomedex.”
• Chris Pirillo – “I come here because my face is on all of the badges! I put this conference on because it started out as just a way for my community to get together. This is a chance, though, to inspire others no matter what type of work they do, or where their passions lie. The idea of Human Circuitry is that our humanity is further influenced by the proliferation of technology.”

Thank you again to Michael and Uncle John for all of their hard work putting this together. Thank you to everyone who participated!

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The People of Gnomedex

I am afraid of heights. That fact has been established on more than one occasion. I also don’t much care for needles. Let’s face it: they’re a pain in the ass. We’ve also established that I adore my LEGO creations. What could be more amazing than being able to have a needle that I’m not afraid of… without having to go up a bajillion flights of stairs?

The Seattle Space Needle LEGO kit is a fairly detailed replica of the original landmark. It comes with a little book that will give you a peek inside of the design and history of the structure. This awesome little desk ornament only measures about 8.7″ tall and 3.1″ wide. It doesn’t take up much space here in my office. That’s a good thing, considering all of the other LEGO things sitting around in here.

I’m starting to think I need a bigger office. What do you think?

The Only Needle I Don’t Fear: Seattle Space Needle LEGO

Enjoyed a sashimi dish with @HipsForHire at @hotel_max this afternoon.

Seattle Sushi at Hotel Max

So, the 10th Gnomedex conference has been scheduled for August 19 – 21, 2010 (and everybody is invited to attend, by the way).

Some of my Seattle-area friends have been asking if they could hold their event during the week of Gnomedex (assumedly, asking out of respect). That got me to thinking: why not string together some kind of loosely-official “Seattle Geek Week” to further make connections between the lot of us?

I started to write this post long before Andrew Hyde and the Startup Citizens of Boulder, CO announced Boulder Startup Week – but that endeavor is very much in the same vein, and should underscore my vision and serve as call-to-action for Seattle Netizens.

“Geek,” as defined by Wikipedia:

A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theater geeks, history geeks, music geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks, 2012 geeks, video game geeks, and roleplay geeks.

If you want to produce a gathering for your own community in Seattle (or any surrounding city), let’s do it. The Eastside can play, too – since that’s where I happen to live. ;)

This idea is not specific to technology groups – it’s for any one of our communities which have only grown stronger through tools like Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and the like. If anything, I’m hoping to create mutual awareness, helping various communities connect with one another – to help them escape their own echo chambers.

1. Any group can participate.
2. Any event can participate.
3. Any venue can participate.
4. Any person can participate.

There are no committees – just communities. I don’t even have a logo for the idea, though I did register the SeattleGeekWeek.com domain the other day.

I’ve set up a Google Calendar for the Seattle Geek Week Schedule (iCal) – but this is just an organizational starting point (Boulder used Plancast):

If you’d like to celebrate your connections and interests in a real-world capacity, why not do something that week? To be added to the calendar, simply submit your event details and we’ll get ‘er included:

All submissions are made public immediately, but many not be included in the calendar until a human volunteer gets to them. I don’t know who that volunteer is yet. :) HELP.

Seattle Geek Week

Have I ever mentioned how much I love living here in Seattle? This place is on the cutting edge of both technology and social media. We are blessed to have many companies with home bases or satellite offices here who are heavy hitters in one of the two “industries.” The city and surrounding area are filled with people just like me… scary thought, I know.

I didn’t realize until now, though, how much our city government has entrenched itself into these niches. Back in February, Code for America asked cities around the U.S. to submit their requests for applications – apps they wanted or needed to solve civic problems and engage citizens, specifically, apps that will promote transparency, participation and efficiency. For example, a city could have requested an application to help them connect neighborhood groups with emergency first responders. Seattle entered the contest… and was one of only five cities chosen to have their apps built for free. Once each app is finished in January 2011, it becomes free to use and share for any other city in the country.

City chief technology officer Bill Schrier explained yesterday what our city’s request was. Keep in mind that it’s more of a vision at this point:

The City is interested in an application which will help mobilize neighborhoods and communities to civic action. Ideally, the application would identify civic groups, non-profit organizations, social service and community organizations active in each neighborhood. It would serve as a continuous calendar of meetings, events and volunteer opportunities in neighborhoods, and then allow individual people to volunteer and connect with each other to do work on behalf of their neighborhoods.

Part of this would be better connecting the City government to individuals in neighborhoods, but it is really, also, more about giving communities a tool to connect groups and individuals with each other. Example projects might include clean green, maintaining traffic circles, blockwatches for drug dealing, connecting people to organizations like the rotary or local chamber of commerce or to resources such as senior centers. Ideally social media such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter would be used as well.

There would be an ‘information’ aspect for City government, e.g. getting the word out about a paving project or a community meeting about a proposed land use action.

Normally, an app such as this would cost upwards of $200,000.00 to have designed and created. However, the cost will be nothing thanks to the people at Code for America. They are currently seeking developers, designers and project managers to work on the projects for Seattle, Boulder, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The teams will work closely with each city to make sure that the app is designed properly.

Seattle Wins Free Civic Apps Through Code for America

If you are an Apple fan, nothing would be worse than hooking up with the “perfect” person – only to discover that they are a Windows user. That is likely the biggest deal-breaker of all. Thanks to new service Cupidtino, you’ll never have to worry about this again. The site promises to bring Apple fan-boys and girls together in a relationship nearly guaranteed to last:

Die-hard Mac & Apple fans often have a lot in common – personalities, creative professions, a similar sense of style and aesthetics, and of course a love for technology. We believe these are enough reasons for two people to meet and fall in love, and so we created the first Mac-inspired dating site to help you find other Machearts around you.

This may sound like some sort of weird scam, but it’s very real. The site is set to go live sometime in June, but you can sign up to beta-test it now. I’ve read a lot of commentary about this studly service today, but none of them sum it up better than Mike over at TechCrunch when he said that “Apple fans can be annoying when they’re on their own. The thought of them breeding and creating little Apple fans, a whole family of hard core hipster Apple lovers, is just not a good thing. On the other hand, making sure that Apple fans only date other Apple fans is a good way of stopping them from spreading their Apple fan genes to the general population, I guess. So maybe this site isn’t all bad.”

My only question now is: How soon will we see a Windows-only (and Linux-only) dating site? Which of you are going to step up and start it?

• Will the real terrorist on Facebook please stand up?
• ATM card skimming has grown by five times last year’s number.
• How stable is Windows 7?
• Brick Move for the iPhone reminds me of my favorite game of all time.
• Is Linux a religious experience?
• What software would you recommend to limit computer usage?
• The new IE 9 developer platform is available for review.
• What do you use to do web design on your Mac?
• Would you friend your parents on social networking sites?
• How can you be a healthy Geek?
• How do you recover your wireless network key?
• How do you scrape up the money to pay for all of your Geeky gadgets?
• Consumers still act like dummies online and share too much information.
• Exactly how does sunlight put a spring in your step?

Love of one platform or another is not required to grab some of the latest software and apps for your devices. We welcome all people!

Love is in the Air for Apple Fans

http://twitter.com/chrispirillo – It’s the Gum Wall at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle!

Seattle Gum Wall

It’s another Seattle Tweetup! Thought I’d show you a snapshot of what’s on the menu for tonight.

This particular event is being hosted by BlackPearlSEA, NorthESea and Seattle_Events. I was too busy eating to write much, but Northeast Seattle Life has a nom-nopsis. Contributions for the event were provided by: BlackPearlSEA, NWTotemCellars and GRLakeWine.

Also in attendance:

• @tarynmiller
• @JenKMiller
• @MyPartini
• @bananablossom
• @posiegirl
• @colbyjn
• @hnlmark
• @chefamadeus
• @belvoir

Seattle Dinner at Black Pearl

Seattle Net Tuesday is putting together a social mixer for techies and nonprofits in the Greater Seattle area. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 from 6:00pm – 8:30pm at the Taphouse Grill in Bellevue. The event coordinators hope to match altruistic techies in Greater Seattle with the nonprofits who need their cutting-edge skills.

If you’re a nonprofit who could use an extreme technology makeover in social media, Website design, software training, graphic design, mobile marketing or database management, this exclusive mixer is for you! If you’re a techie who can partner with these nonprofits to find low-cost technical solutions to social issues affecting us all, this mixer is for you!

To RSVP your spot and get directions, visit the Eventbrite Page.

SNT is all volunteer-run, just like similar Net Tuesday groups across the world, all affiliated to NetSquared (a project of TechSoup) a nonprofit in San Francisco, CA. These groups are all motivated by a single mission – to bring together people who want to use technology in the cause of social change.

Let me know if you plan to attend this event. It’ll be interesting to see how many people in our community are interested in events like these.

Event for Seattle Nonprofits and Techies

Quite a view! And here’s the actual sunset:

Looking Down on the Seattle Space Needle from the Top of Columbia Tower

Washington Wines are tasty!

• Tried @LatahCreekWine at #WAMerlot: very light, very smooth. Scrumdiddlyumptious!
• Tried “Shameless Hussy” @hardrow at #WAMerlot: sexy; it’s nibbling my tongue.
• Tried ’07 “Traditions” @milbrantvino at #WAMerlot: very cherry, calm splash against my twaste buds.
• Tried “Reserve” @MaryhillWinery at #WAMerlot: it’s like a summer day picnic without humidity or ants. Thanks, @SeaWineOutlet!
• Tried ’03 @wilridge at #WAMerlot: an isosceles triangle outlined with mistletoe. It’s a left-handed mathematician.
• Tried ’07 @HestiaCellars at #WAMerlot: A Soda Popinski body blow to my Glass Joe palate.
• Tried ’07 @PepperBridge at #WAMerlot: cheeky little bastard, this one. A bit manic, bordering on wallflower. Twasty!

I had a fantastic time at the “WA Merlot” tweetup, as you can tell from the above tweets (posted in real-time through my Twitter account and recorded here for posterity)!

Seattle Wine Time!