Why Metalheads need to flood Gnomedex this year!
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
by Mark Carras
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Why Metalheads need to flood Gnomedex this year!
As a metal loving geek, I am always asked what Gnomedex is and what bands are playing. Ok, first off Gnomedex is not a festival and no bands are playing. So why do I care? Because I am also a geek. Gnomedex is an annual tech conference in Seattle Washington (USA). It’s main focus is the social aspect of the internet. More then anything it helps put a real face to social networking. They have speakers get up and talk about things that social networking geeks are interested in, but where I learn the most from is just from talking with the other people there. The attendees always teach me more than any speaker could.
So why should Metalheads go? Because if you are in a band, work at a label, are an online music journalist, or just a fan that wants to help promote your favorite bands, this conference will tech you how to use sites like Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed smarter. It will show you how to get the word out on what ever it is you are trying to push. I have found that people in the music industry are either frighteningly behind the times or horridly misguided. Going to this conference will teach you how to do things right and stop spinning your wheels. Do you like wasting time? I don’t. So I go to this conference so I can learn from people way smarter than I am.
The biggest reason you should go this year is because they have greatly reduced the costs. For $300 you can get a full pass for both days. This includes includes two very classy lunches, seating in the main Auditorium, and access to your very own power outlet to keep that laptop running all day (internet connection included). If you feel cheap you can do just one day for $100, but once you pay to get there you might as well do the full experience. Plus that $100 only gets you the conversation in the lobby. Sure that is (in my opinion) the most important part of the conference, but there is not a ton of people to talk to when we are all in the main auditorium. So get the full access pass. It’s well worth it.
Who will be there? Well last year I met people from CNN, Google, Microsoft, and a ton of very high profile bloggers that are a hundred times more powerful than I am. The face time with these people combined with being able to pick their brains for knowledge was priceless. This year I notice that there will be people there from Intel, Jeff Barr from Amazon, Verizon Wireless, Network Solutions, CNN, Microsoft, RealNetworks, T-Mobile, Expedia, University of Washington, Go Daddy, Discover Magazine, Eric Schmidt, and tons more. Most of those are not speakers, but they are still there to talk to and learn from. Many of the people there you have not heard of, but are full of information that can help you.
My wish has always been that people in the music industry would get more tech savvy. I think this would be the best start. Plus it would really freak out all those Radiohead loving geeks if a bunch of us rivet heads showed up. I bought my tickets months ago, so who is going to meet me?