Request a beta invitation
Follow us on FacebookFor those of you looking to steep in some new ideas and meet people at the edge of your network (good idea), here are a few selected events to check out: 
Good Experience Live (Gel) — April 30-May 1
Gel is back next week. It’s Mark Hurst’s annual conference dedicated to studying and creating good experiences. Gel practices what it preaches — in addition to short presentations (I’m looking forward in particular to Barry Schwartz), attendees are treated to a selection of immersive experiences around the city. Things like Behind the Scenes at Danny Meyer Restaurants, Juggling with the Flying Karamazovs and How to Turn a Place Around with the Project for Public Spaces. AFAIK, tickets are still available.
LaidOffCamp comes to NYC — May 1-2
LaidOffCampNY is a user-generated conference (in the spirit of Barcamp) that’s coming to NYC beginning Friday evening May 1, then during the day Sat May 2. Chris Hutchins started the first one in SF a few months back. Since then cities all over the country (and in 3 other countries) have been self-organizing their own conferences. I’m proud to be one of the volunteer organizers here.
The best bit about these types of events is 
that they’re set up to be primarily about conversations. The attendees are also the presenters — but in this context, presenter = discussion leader. It’s a way for a whole bunch of people to come together around a common theme (in this case, making good on a down economy).
It’s not just for folks who have been laid off recently by the way. Switchers, hiring managers, recruiters, undergrads, and also people who want to take a day think about their career — whatever stage they’re at — are all registering. Given the registration pace, both Friday and Sat will reach capacity. The free tickets of course will go first. I hope you’ll join the conversation, and even better, come down to present (fact sheet pdf).
NYC Entrepreneur Week — all this week 
While all the events began this Monday, if you’re viewing the great recession as moment to start a company, you may want to check out the remaining events this week. I was up at Bloomberg today. More at NYU tomorrow and Friday.