Gnomedex

Gnomedex is a single-track technology conference hosted by Chris Pirillo, the owner of Lockergnome, LLC and is produced by Chris Pirillo and his staff at Lockergnome. Pirillo was the co-host of the show Call For Help on the former cable television channel TechTV. Gnomedex started as an outgrowth of Pirillo's technology newsletters, IRC channel and web site. The conference name is a satirical portmanteau of Pirillo's Lockergnome and the now-defunct Comdex technology trade show, which was a massive and influential annual event at the time of the first Gnomedex conference.

Gnomedex has grown into a conference exploring new and emerging technologies with influencers, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts as the primary audience. It bills itself as the crossroads between producers and observers, between users and developers. The conference format is meant to serve the needs of the attendees, many of whom are prolific bloggers and podcasters.

The first Gnomedex took place in October 2001 in Des Moines, Iowa, while the tenth Gnomedex took place in August 2010 in Seattle, Washington. Gnomedex organizer Chris Pirillo announced that due to the difficulites in operating such events, that the tenth was likely to be the last Gnomedex unless additional backing and resources were brought forward to help spread the administrative and organizational overhead. A Gnomedex stage was included in the first Seattle Interactive Conference in November 2011 after Jake Ludington reportedly convinced Chris Pirillo to continue the event. In March 2015, Chris Pirillo announced that Gnomedex will be making a return sometime in 2015.

The first Gnomedex was held Friday, October 12, 2001 through Sunday October 14, 2001 in Des Moines, Iowa. Originally scheduled for the weekend after 9/11, it was postponed for a month to allow people to adjust their travel plans. Despite the uncertainty, nearly 200 people attended from all over the United States, Canada and Europe. The keynote was delivered by Steve Gibson, president of Gibson Research Corp. Presentations included:

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