- Jason Fried
- Founder, 37signals
- Posted: 02/23/10 | Recorded at Gel 2006
"Less" is a competitive advantage, explains Jason Fried, especially in software development. Fried's company 37signals, which authored the book Getting Real and has created several popular Web applications, lives this philosophy and has enjoyed great success as a result.
- Erin McKean
- Lexicographer, dictionary editor
- Posted: 05/27/09 | Recorded at Gel 2006
- 1 comment
Words rock. So does this lexicographer. At the time of this talk, Erin was serving as editor-in-chief of The New Oxford American Dictionary - and here she describes the process of making, and editing, the words in the dictionary. Well worth watching.
See also Erin's blog Dress A Day and her online dictionary startup Wordnik. (She also made a brief on-stage appearance at Gel 2007.)
- Seth Godin
- Bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change
- Posted: 04/21/09 | Recorded at Gel 2006
- 11 comments
Why are so many things broken? In this entertaining talk - one of the favorites of Gel 2006 - Seth Godin gives a tour of things poorly designed, the reasons why they are that way, and how to fix them.
See also: Seth's Blog, where Seth writes daily on marketing, business, and other issues
- Linda Stone
- Writer and consultant
- Posted: 02/19/09 | Recorded at Gel 2006
Having coined the phrase "continuous partial attention," Linda has many thoughts about the effects of pervasive digital technology. She was previously an executive at Microsoft and Apple and has seen the technology landscape develop for over two decades.
- Ji Lee
- Founder, The Bubble Project
- Posted: 01/29/09 | Recorded at Gel 2006
- 5 comments
(With subtitles now!.. -mh) Not long ago in New York City, cartoon "thought bubbles" began appearing on print advertisements in the subway. Interested passersby wrote in text, beginning a dialogue about the ad, its message, the city, American culture, and with each other. Ji Lee's low-tech, decentralized Bubble Project needed no instructions, no moving parts, no planning, and almost no investment - and yet it yielded a rich set of commentary from and about the people of New York (and now other cities, as the project has spread to four other cities). A brilliant example of good experience in the city.
See also the Good Experience interview of Ji Lee from 2006.
- Geoffrey Canada
- President, Harlem Children's Zone
- Posted: 12/09/08 | Recorded at Gel 2006
- 2 comments
In one of the all-time most popular Gel talks, Geoffrey Canada describes how his nonprofit, the Harlem Children's Zone, works to help young people in inner-city Harlem. Canada issues a sober indictment of failing schools, then describes the solution he has created.
Canada was recently profiled in the book Whatever It Takes, on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and two years ago on 60 Minutes. If you don't know about Geoffrey Canada, you should. This video is a good place to start.
- Marc Salem
- Mentalist
- Posted: 12/02/08 | Recorded at Gel 2006
- 9 comments
Marc focuses on "how the mind creates reality and meaning," according to his site, and this presentation shows how. Chiefly by observing non-verbal communication, Marc is able to distinguish truth from falsehood in a very engaging exercise with audience members.
