Gel is...

Gel is...

• an event that gathers a fascinating group of innovative and energetic individuals who are trailblazers in their respective fields.

• unexpectedly extremely relevant to how I approach my everyday job

• not like any other conference you will ever attend. It won't tell you how to improve your business or life, but it will expand your horizons enough so you can do it on your own.

• a great day with smart people

• the only conference you need to attend, no matter what you do.

• relevant and inspiring. brings the idea of "good experience" to life.

• an easy-to-use toolbox of views into the ideas and work of effective community builders.

• the un-conference. it is all about good experiences, of whatever kind, from jugglers to artists to handcolored electron microscopy photographs. it opens your mind, it's a lot of fun, and it might make you better at your work

• an experience in thinking, and consideration of ideas that I would not miss.

• The most unique "conference" experience I have ever known. The thought provoking nature of the event must be witnessed in order to fully appreciate the impact.

• an annual event that brings together a dynamic community of persons who are united in their enthusiasm for promoting/supporting good experiences. GEL offers an eclectic menu of "food for thought" for attendees - dim sum for thinking people....

• learning how to create great experiences for customers, coworkers, and collaborators. Fun, smart, and irreverent! I always learn many wonderful new things at GEL.

• one seminar that moves beyond the ordinary into the realm of extraordinary

• a place to go for inspiration and ideas on everything from innovations in the web world to art and entertainment. It is experience-based and so everyone takes their own impressions with them, but the welcoming atmosphere makes it easy to talk to loads of new people with a surprising number of them turning into lasting relationships.

• eclectic, eye-opening, and inspirational. It allows you to learn about new things and think about things in new and exciting ways. Gel always ignites new ideas and unbound creativity.

• a gathering of kindred spirits that aims to promote satisfactory but simple living.

• explores the user experience from websites to cities, and everything in between.

• A way to learn from, and meet, the people who will be changing the world next year.

• Hard to describe succinctly but a wonderful experience.

• a conference with an eclectic and engaging list of speakers from many industries who all care about creating good experiences. It's a good and fun networking forum for experience workers.

• Inspiring, Exciting, Energizing

• mind-expanding; relevant; eclectic

• an experience, not an event

• an action. Activity and experience. Learning while doing.

• an opportunity to think differently about the experiences of contemporary life. It is a convening that brings together individuals and perspectives from across the spectrum of human endeavor.

• an event to meet and be with innovators who connect humanity to the processes of how to be more included in the world and how it works as opposed to the way we have become a world of alienated people. Cutting edge guests bring you closer to what they are building in their businesses and artistry.

• not as abstract as it sometimes sounds. Through this conference and community, theoretical questions are substantiated with vivid examples and person-to-person dialogue replaces virtual communication

• where creators of good experiences in a variety of different disciplines come together to share their stories, and learn from each other.

• "all the cool things Mark found since he put on the last GEL."

• an epic journey through the eclectic nature of minds. It represents multiple cornerstones of thought, and does so in succint strokes of brush that leave you pondering the modern state of science, art, words, business for months and years to come.

• offers a unique forum for inspiration by mixing energetic minds from radically different fields and seeing happens!

• a gathering of diverse thinkers united by their love of the arts, their interest in technology, and their hunger for gathering good thoughts, intriguing solutions and mentally stimulating challenges.

• a time to get outside of your own world so that when you go back, you may dream bigger, think broader and honor your work with the gift of having experiences that expand your ideas and approaches.

• an eclectic mix of presenters and topics, with good experience as the unifying theme. I can't tell you exactly how, but you WILL get interesting and useful information.

• an idea factory ;-)

• a community of artists, technologists, businesspeople, social scientists -- people who are touching other people's lives and making a difference -- all coming together sharing with each other what makes a good experience and what matters in life. (Sorry, Mark, tried to skinny that explanation down into ten words or less, but couldn't).

• A fresh look at user experience that helps you look at the world and your personal work in new and interesting ways.

• a place for people to get new insights about the ways in which people can interact with places, things, and organizations

• thought-provoking and offers a diverse cast of experts in various fields that somehow come together to share insight in a way that marries your IQ and EQ in how you think about business and life.

• A "headful" -- a series of new lenses through which to view my business, the customer, product development, marketing, and, for that matter, my life. And yes, it's very, very hard to describe this to someone else. Now that I've lived it once, I don't really have a succinct way to describe Gel. And I am a copywriter!

• a different kind of conference. An event that draws together some of the best "people for people" viewed from a commercial/entrepreneurial perspective. The reason why Gel cannnot claim this in general is that it has to be humble enough to acknowledge that there are many many more great people around the world who might be working along the same principles that Gel follows, just that they do it without thinking about it. Because it's natural, it's the best way to do things.

• hard to describe: a collection of visionary thinkers and creative leaders gathered to hear other visionary thinkers and creative leaders describe ways in which they've been successful in creating "good experience."

• GEL rocks - it's smart, fun and provocative.

• inspirational, and not in some hokey, hold-hands-and-sing sort of way. Rather, the energy and vibe created by bringing together a critical mass of thinkers, all focused on how they can make living a little more interesting/better for the rest of us. The range of speakers and their interests is really only the kernel. It was the side conversations that left me in awe of what people are doing and the impact.

• a marvelous collection of innovative thinkers and doers ‹ inspires thoughtful connections

• about making things better.

• inspiring. It is a "shot in the arm" to your commitment to the user. It reaffirms that your focus on the user is the right thing to do.

• a conference that aims to bring people together from a variety of disciplines whose intention or motivation is create good experiences for others.

• Philosophical, thought-provoking, fun, inspirational in work and in life.

• a place to talk about the question "how does my work affect others?" with a varied group of people from software, retail, entertainment, philanthropy, and the arts.

• an event where people get together, have fun, gain exposure to a variety of experience related topics and opinions through a variety of speakers, bring personal experiences to the floor through the scheduled informal access to each other and the speakers. People leave inspired.

• kind of like a one-day grad school seminar

• a community of people who champion the support of people's genuine needs over technology and marketing driven fads.

• eclectic and inspiring.

• a new experience for me, and good enough to re-up

• a collage of people, places, and ideas.

• an opportunity to witness what works and doesn't work in the real world of human experience.

• an interesting experience, unlike any other conference I've been to.

• about creative experiences combined with discussions about excellent customer experience with an opportunity to meet brilliant, creative people from all different fields.

• a day of out-of-the-box thinking

• a way to feel inspired about life and work by hearing speakers you often have nothing to do with your specific industry. A glimpse into other successful people's view of the world.

• one of the rare occasions a professional can actually THINK for thinking's sake

• a magical experience that is the result of many people working together to sponsor and host an event that spotlights a wide array of people who have accomplished a high degree of success, and a good degree of experience. These individuals share their experience, insights, or something else that they are moved to share for 20 minutes or less. There is a great opportunity for networking. Gel reminds me of Stephen Covey's Habit 7 - Synergy.

• After you've been there, you have a greater appreciation for what it takes to create an authentic experience across different disciplines and media.

• a place to meet all sorts of people interested in all sorts of things

• a customer-centric conference that inspires you to think differently about how you approach your work.

• A community that celebrates the benefits and rewards of creating a good experience, whether it be professional or personal.

• a conference that focuses on bringing in a range of engaging speakers and participants together for 2 days. The speakers are professionals working across a variety of professions. It is not boring, there are no panels, your attention will be rewarded with insight.

• contacts, inspirations, good feeling, with a "good" attitude, about learning new things, the first crossover conference, (too short :-)

• an experience that delves into experiences.

• Unlike any other conference

• food for your head!

• a leveler, a window, a tool.

• both a revelling & teaching of good experience

• still difficult to describe after attending because you don't want to miss all the details of the experience

• an intense experience - and in that it is distinct from other conferences. It is provocative, wide-ranging in subject matter and fun.

• a buffet for the curious

• A creative venue for bringing people together from all disciplines...many of which you'd never meet through your typical interactions. GEL provided me with the ability to think different (thanks apple) and see how learning from others' opportunities and challenges can be applied to my personal and professional life.

• I'm stumped. It's kind of like Blue Man Group, impossible to describe, but I loved it.

• A dense network of fine particles dispersed with water. The ideas were the particles, the participants the water. Or vice versa. Perhaps a flawed analogy, but close.

• an opportunity for people to come together outside of the homogeneous conference or event -- to be exposed to others, to enjoy others, to see things through another's eyes and open up new possibility.

• playful growth through community and busines

• about seeing the larger picture/sense-making/understanding how it all fits in

• An event that brings together extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.It is like a conference of thought leaders from many different fields (business, the arts, techology, the non-profit community etc.) but it is more than that. It combines a half day of a unique "hands-on" experience where you connect with people on a personal level and that frames the day of speakers who provoke our thoughts about how to make the world a better place.

Also see...
• "Gel 2006 was..." answers
• Gel 2006 attendee list
• Full Gel 2006 recap
• What is Gel?