Scott Berkun

Why you should go to the GEL ‘08 conference

I’ve been attending or contributing to GEL (Good experience live) for several years now – sadly I can’t make it this year (it’s 4/24-4/25/08), but I have to say, it’s my favorite conference. The early registration deadline is tomorrow, so if you have the budget to attend a conference next year, I want to make my pitch to you to make it GEL.

Why GEL rocks:

• They pick great speakers. I’m a pro public speaker myself, and GEL has a high bar for the people they let on stage – they all understand experience, tell great stories, and earn their slot on the program. This year they have Bobby C. Martin Jr, Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Garrett Oliver, a Brooklyn bar owner, Phoebe Damrosch, author of the bestseller, Service Included, and Alex Lee, CEO of OXO (makers of good grips line of kitchen gadgets), not to mention the day one experiences. The full agenda is here.
• It’s a NYC conference run by new yorkers. All of the day one experiences, where you get to experience design first hand, are run by local designers, curators and other experience creators. No other conference I know of pays so much attention to locale and teaching experience through places and activities, instead of presentations. Many conferences move every year, like nomads, never taking full advantage of their locale – not GEL.
• It’s single track. Ok, like, no big deal. But when was the last time you went to a design conference that said “our speakers are so good, and so fun, you can stay in your seats, and we’ll bring the good stuff to you?”. Like a good UI design, a single track shows a high commitment to quality and faith in the program.

Until Dec. 12th, It’s $1000 to attend. Hey, why pay less for forgettable generic conferences, when you can pay a little more for a true experience you’ll remember? More info and registration here.

• Posted Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 12:57 pm


• in Design, Recommended | 1 Comment » |