Gel 2005 Attendee Comments

GEL was fantastic. It's difficult to describe to others, but it's fantastic.

Like customer experience, GEL is important, original, and enjoyable, but very difficult to describe to others. My wife loved hearing about Theo and his PVC creatures, the flying Ks, the robot ribbon dancer, and even your story about the letter in Annapolis, but still had no idea what GEL was. She wasn't even sure that it was a conference, because it did not seem like any conference she's ever seen.

- Z. Ahmed

The conference was unbelievably great.

- Bob Mankoff, Cartoon Editor, The New Yorker

Great job again on the conference. This was my second year and I thought it was terrific, although my wife was disappointed when I told her that we didn't win the trip to Iceland. (Next time I won't tell her.)

Your questions (and my answers):

Does good experience originate in careful planning, or can it come from random chance... or even from mistakes?

All of the above (of course). Your question reminded me of a quote from Stravinsky: "The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution." I think creativity (as the creator or observer) is enhanced by structure. GEL was tight. I never lost interest, and felt totally free within its "constraints."

Are creators inspired by the events of their time, or by the timeless?

Yes! Perhaps it is the application of the timelessness within a specific cultural and historical context that makes a unique experience.

Are experiences better with one creator or many?

Hmm, do I detect a theme here? A similarly provocative question might be to compare the same experience experienced alone or in a group. And to further explore the nature of experience itself from the point of view of the creator and the observer.

Is this awareness of experience, and desire to create, chiefly an intellectual or spiritual endeavor?

Pity he for whom there is a difference.

When you got home, how did you describe your Gel experience to your friends and family who weren't there? Were there particular details or anecdotes that stood out?

My descriptions concentrated on the word "experience." I found that a much more useful way to talk about it than referring to it as a web, geek, or e-commerce conference. FKB stood out, as did the variety of presenters and media within which they worked.

What will you do (or think about) differently, at work or in life, based on your Gel 2005 experience?

I have already started to reconsider and recast how I describe what we do. For me, it's all about the story. (What a pleasant and affirming surprise it was to read Seth's book on the plane ride home.)

Thanks again, Mark. See you next year!

- Mike Baron

Gel was spectacular.

- Phoebe Espiritu

The Day 1 Street experience, run by Counts Media, was absolutely amazing. I'll never forget it.

- David, Blast Radius

AGE is my new acronym for "A Great Experience," inpspired by the fabulous GEL speakers. I found the entire day to be inspiring, edifying and stimulating: qualities that one does not find easily in one's day-to-day existence. I loved the fact that these people were in different stages of their lives, from different disciplines and with different perspeactives. The conference definitely has a humanitarian focus that is too often lacking in desgign and technology symposia.

- Simone, Tai Ping Carpets

Every year I go to Gel I am more than inspired and full of awe of an event that is at once 'quirky' and brain-quenching (you know I say quirky as a big compliment!). Mark, you should feel proud and celebratory - today the Equitable Building, tomorrow Madison Square Garden!

- Beth Temple

What a wonderful assembly of thinkers and do-ers that was just a joy to be a part of. Thank you. It is always humbling and inspiring.

- Andrea Simon

Gel 2005 was fantastic. It was easily the best so far. So glad I could be a part of it.

- Sam Brown, explodingdog.com

I want to commend you on the wonderfully successful GEL 2005. It was really a great experience! The work that you and others put in really showed. I can not wait to attend GEL 2006 and I'll certainly be bringing others with me!

- Chris E., Capital One

Thank you so much for the opportunity to experience the Gel Conference! It was wonderful and I am already looking forward to next year - both days it at all possible! It really made me think about the various experiences of my life, especially the "good" ones, and how I can be truly present with them in a more meaningful way. Also, how to create more of them!

- Cathy G.

Thank YOU - once again an amazing, inspiring and completely mind expanding conference.
Can't wait til next year :-)

- Susan Aminoff, three-time GEL attendee

I just want to thank you for such a fantastic experience at Gel 2005. It was a really inspiring, positive conference for me. Congratulations on creating 1.5 days of such enriching experiences for everyone.

- Melinda Williams
Senior Director, Creative and Strategy
Web Team
Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Thanks for a fantastic first GEL experience. This was certainly the most eclectic, and interesting, conference I have ever attended. It really got my right brain working! When I've described the event to my friends and colleagues back home, I usually tell them that it was an eclectic mix of great thinkers from all walks of life: artists, scientists, historians, performers, and others. Honestly, when I try to put the experience into words I usually just get a blank "I don't get it" stare in return, to which I reply "It was just really cool. Maybe you should go next year and you'll see."

- Jared Heyman, founder, Infosurv

how did i describe gel to people who didn't get to go?
let's see ...
... it's a pretty sophisticated crowd so the speakers could freely use shorthand for big ideas and people got it pretty quick ... there were post-Marx-brothers intellectual jugglers for every session who were their own good experience and who tied all the good experiences together ... there was a mix of speakers i would expect to see at a user experience conference and speakers i would likely not get to see anywhere otherwise ... i was interested, amused and moved throughout the day ... and there were dinosaurs

like sending your brain on a cruise

the networking time and snacks and meals were timed just right

the crowd was the content as much as the speakers on the stage, and i think we were all secretly congratulating ourselves for being part of such a clever, fun gathering that is still small enough to have a bit of an "only the cool people know about it" feel, but gets bigger every year

- Laurie Kalmanson

While I agree with Barry Schwartz's premise that too much choice can lead to a negative experience, I disagree with another -- that, in today's world, it is almost impossible to find an experience that exceeds our expectations. I am sure that the GEL experience exceeded my expectations and those of my CEO, Dan, from Wirestone. It's not that we had low expectations. Quite the contrary. Dan and I are pretty tough to please. The GEL conference hit on all eight cylinders, and I found myself wanting more of the experience.

Thanks to you, Phil, and the rest of the GEL participants for putting this together and for broadening our good experiences.

- David Sarda
Wirestone, Co-Chairman
B2B Capital, Managing Director

Attending the GEL conference helped me to cross what we at McKinsey used to call an "inflection point" in terms of how I approach and create great customer experiences. It was also nice to spend time with old friends, make new ones, and reinforce existing friendships. What I loved most was that the conference was theatrical, real-time, performance-based, and focused on the creative process. VERY INVIGORATING AND UNIQUE.

- Herve Jean-Baptiste

I'll send you more feedback later but I thought the conference was fabulous and inspiring. You really thought through all the details.

I want to work for nearly every one of those speakers. Or for GEL! Of course the whole thing reinforced my suspicion that New York is the epicenter of all things good, cultural and intellectual, which I already knew by living there for 8 years.

- Cindy R, Fidelity Investments

It was really such a pleasure to be part of the Gel Conference. It blew my mind! I really enjoyed the way the people spoke and expressed themselves so freely about so many diverse things. I am so used to the typical way of presenting that it was truly inspiring to see what you can do you in 20 minute time space that will truly influence people and change them. In that way I thought a lot about the way sometimes we only get a short amount of time to influence people and what is important is to be as intense and give yourself with all that you have. I felt totally moved by the jugglers who almost transported me to another dimension :)

- Monica Hernandez, Studio Gaia

Wow. Wow! Thank you. Again. Loved GEL 2004. GEL 2005 was even better.

Congratulations on a successful event.

About your question: how did you describe your GEL experience...

Everyone has enjoyed a time with friends when life seems full of wonder and frolic. And the funny joke that had everyone in stitches plays like a dud the next day at work. You re-tell the joke, your co-workers produce an obligatory smile, and you end up at "I guess you had to be there." GEL is like that.

After GEL 2004, I returned to work (and life) energized, with an improved perspective and stronger purpose. I shared the story with anyone who would listen. I built a whole slideshow for my team, recounted the day's events (along with the rest of my amazing NYC trip), even gave out a prize (a coffee mug from the Hershey's Times Square store). They enjoyed it. Some said "sounds great." But they didn't get it. Not nearly. Well, at least I did. Between GEL 2004 and now, I had probably the best year of my career.

I convinced one co-worker to join me at GEL 2005, where she laughed, cried, wondered, stared, and ultimately, understood. Because it's an experience, I suppose.

This year, I suppose I'll again tell stories about GEL. But I won't expect them to understand. I'll be happier to watch the look on my co-worker's face as she tries to describe her GEL experience. Because then I'll know that I've shared something good.

Perhaps it suggests a criteria for a good experience: when the benefits cannot be extended through re-telling. Hmmm.

- Bob M., Sprint

I didn't answer the questions on printed program.

I've tried not to describe it too much but when I have I have said things like "this is one of the most incredible things I have ever been to and I've been at a lot of high voltage conferences". What I want to do is get the DVD and send it to selected people whom I think might come to 2006. I don't know yet but I am mightily encouraged in what I am already doing and I actually intend to do what I can to integrate with the GEL community (unlike me) and contribute according to my abilities.

Hell is the absence of love and Heaven is the presence of love. As I scratch my head and try to understand what happened on Friday I have to say that I think for a day I went to Heaven (for one thing so many people loved what they are doing). Actually, I spend a lot of time in Heaven and that may be why I recognize it when I see it.

Affectionate best to you and your awesome team.

- Adam Crane, founder International MindFitness Foundation (www.mindfitness.info)

Thanks for a fantastic conference. Returned completely energized (just like last year) with a much clearer head.

- Will Morris

Just wanted to say thanks for GEL 2005. I found it quite inspirational and thoroughly enjoyable.

It is really hard to explain to folks here what it was like... I'll let you know what I come up with!

- Kelly S., BBC World Service

Congratulations for hosting GEL 05, which to my mind was a resounding success! This is my second year in attendance and the second year that I was truly insired - the speakers were exalting, the topics were thought provoking, the crowd was captivating, and the whole experience exceedingly sui generis.

GEL has reinforced the notion that good design is as much about simplicity and beauty as it is usable.

- Hector Coronado

Thank you for a wonderful experience.

- Howard Jay Patterson, The Flying Karamazov Brothers

Had a great time at Gel! What a wonderful experience. I made nice contacts with such a wide variety of folks.

Looking forward to the next gel adventure!!!

- Yuri Lane, human beatbox

Thank you again for conducting a wonderful conference, again choc full of such interesting people. Its both humbling and inspiring to see so many people who are that passionate about what they do. I was particularly enamored of Theo Jansen and his Strandbeests. I wish I lived in a generation of people who had the capacity to devote 50 years of their lives to something they loved so much. I fear that our generation thinks more in the immediate gratification realm, making such dedication impossible.

Your conference has given me three years of inspiration, enabling me to be fearless as I embark on a new career of writing. It has taught me about what it means to be passionate and to always think about good experiences, both for myself and for others.

For me, the lessons I have taken from this year's conference, will be the idea that others need a way to show their emotion and if you can offer them that, it will make their experience meaningful. I was also taken with Ron Pompei's idea that a good experience must be relevant, authentic and intimate. These are ideas that I have been grappling with as I try to define the universalism of my experience in my writing.

- Abby Carter

Thanks again! Gel exceeded my expectations, and the feedback I heard all day from others was similarly positive.

- Gretchen

What a thoroughly refreshing conference the two of you created and brought to life for all Gel attendees. I was captivated and inspired by not just the program, but also by the love and professionalism you infused into each and every detail of the events of the days. So little in this world conveys, let alone encourages, an atmosphere of intimacy and trust that you created. Thank you so much.

- Cara Lowe

Oh my gosh, absolutely life-changing. I've told all my friends--they are so jealous!

We loved it so much we want to come back year on our own dime (since the company will send some other lucky folks). It's the first conference none of us wanted to sneak out of. :)

- Laura B., AARP Services

This was my first GEL and my expectations were high. I'm pleased to say you met them - and exceeded them in some respects.

When I review the questions in your Welcome essay, I mostly find myself thinking about the intellectual versus spiritual aspects. Creating good experience is vastly more about the spiritual than I have allowed it to be in my life.

GEL changed the way I look at the world. I suspect I will look back in a few years and realize that it changed my life.

Things that stand out in my mind. The hilarity of the New Yorker cartoons. 99% is the same, the humor is in the 1% twist. Contrast this with Ross Kauffman. The beauty of what he and Zana have done brings me to tears every time I think about it. I'm in awe of Theo Jansen. He's pure genius. What a wonderful balance of the intellectual and spiritual. Bruce Shapiro similarly exhibits this balance. I never thought a mechanical ribbon dancer could be so lovely.

Every time I tell someone about GEL I recount a different set of highlights. The juggling, the paradox of choice, Rick Smolan's story, it just goes on and on. If I can convey only a fraction of the wonder to others, I've done well.

- Elizabeth R., Sprint

First off I want to say THANK YOU so much for organizing a fantastic event, seeing the need for having such an event and being able to bring us all together.

The conference itself was amazing and so valuable and inspiring. I didn't know what to expect and even reading through the printed program did not prepare me for what I saw that day. I LOVED that because my best experiences have always been something that was unexpected. I don't think anyone going to Gel should be prepared for what they are going to see - it wouldn't be as good. I found that the best presenters of the day truly understood and capitalized on the element of the 'unexpected' in their work.

As for how I described it to my friends and colleagues - I couldn't. All I could say is that it was well worth it, inspiring, and that there was this messed-up dutch guy who creates these insane moving animal-thingys out of tubing that he then sets free onto the beach...( I lost them at that point.)

Best experience of the day: Beach Creatures (brilliant, brilliant dude)

Worst experience of the day: When the 'flying Karamazov brothers' ruined Christmas for me by saying that they weren't actually brothers. ;)

Over-all fantastic Mark - thank you so much for all the work you and your crew did to make this happen!

- Renee

Thank you for the great Gel experience. This was my second year at Gel, and I must admit, I was able to enjoy it more the second time around. After the 2004 Gel, I had mixed feelings about the experience. However, as the year went on I realized two things:

1. The concepts and characters from the conference kept ruminating in my head. The value of the experience takes some time to have meaning - for me anyway.
2. You are really building a community here, and through your newsletter, connections are made to new ideas and new ways of looking at things.

So when 2005 came around, and my co-workers asked about Gel, after a brief description of the conference, I would say, "I want to be inspired!", which is one of Gel's many purposes.

I came into the 2005 Gel with an open mind, and just sat back and sucked it all in, avoiding any filtering process until days later. The addition of the workshops really made Gel a much more valuable experience for me. I attended Phil's Customer Experience Track. It was great to be able to come to the conference and actually talk about 'Good Experiences' within the context of business. He shed a lot of light on the Listening Lab process, and gave me many solid tactics to use moving forward.

Gel Day Two: A great blend of performance, intellect, and fresh ideas. The highlights for me were:

1. Flying Karamazov Brothers - brilliant. To be so seemingly flippant and so expertly trained at the exact same time is just a wonder. Why can't all of the worlds processes work this way? Why can't all of our jobs be this way? Why can't the DMV or Post Office be this way? In an odd way, it reminded me of being a waiter back in college - when you are completely overwhelmed, doing 100 things at once, never missing a beat, and making jokes with co-workers and customers the entire time. You just get in this zone, and it becomes a living work of art.

2. Jimmy Wales - He really amazed me when he described how Wikipedia is really maintained by a tight community. It just underlined so many points about life and business. And there was a real connection here with how you run Gel. This is obviously a big community of your creation. Your friends are in the audience, your heroes are on stage, and you thank about 100 people by name throughout the day. This is not just a group of business-people, its a community.

3. Barry Schwartz - Its great that he was there. Enough said.

4. Theo Jansen - deservedly, he seemed to get the most passionate standing ovation. It was kind of weird to see someone who is just really creating something so unique. You just don't see this too often. And, what I found was a common theme throughtout the day, innovation through the most basic of tools or ideas. Technology and complicated processes did not yield his results. A simple concept, that he kept going deeper with.

5. Bruce Shapiro - similar to Theo, at first you are not impressed with his fascination with these little motors. Then you see what he has done with them, and you are astounded.

6. Charlie Todd - I had read that NY Times article about him, and heard of him prior to that. But he was just great. On a related note, the 'Improv track' was in the room next to ours on Day One. The whole 3 hours, you kept hearing these huge bursts of laughter and clapping. While I was very happy with the track I participated in, I have now really started thinking about the concepts of improv, and how they relate to the business world.

7. You - You are continuously one of the best parts of Gel. Your stories and comments bring it all together.

To answer the other questions that you posed:

1. Does a good experience originate from planning or chance?
It can come from either. I feel that good experience requires a sense of conscientiousness.

2. Are creators inspired by the here and now or the timeless?
I think that creators tend to have their own sense of time. Often, they are created with a sense of the here and now, but when well done, are timeless in their own right.

3. Which is better - one or many creators?
I think that a single idea is what is important. If it takes one or many to accomplish that, it doesn't matter. Christo and Jean Claude are of one mind, or compliment each other perfectly. They have a singular vision.

4. Is the awareness of experience and the desire to create an intellectual or spiritual endeavor?
I think that it requires empathy. I don't know the line between intellectual and spiritual, and I think it is different for everyone.

5. What will I do differently at work/life because of Gel?
I don't know. In terms of tactics for work, I need to find the time to really work them into our processes. But the real affect of Gel will just spin in my head and come out gradually throughout the year.

Mark, thanks again, I hope the feedback helps.

- Dan Blank

Thank you for another stellar GEL experience. I have worked in the web design and production field for almost ten years, attending a variety of conferences and meetings with the intended effect of "creating community" or "educating." Often, the experience is as disappointing as the overwhelming cost of registration. The problem as I see it is that the typical meeting coodinator attempts to gather a disparate and discordant group of speakers (half of whom are solely interested in marketing their own services) throw in a couple of incongruous side events aimed at "networking," and top everything off with an uninspiring speech from the CEO of any of the hottest software providers of the moment.

As the person who attends and must go back to a work environment and apply what has been learned or gained from the experience, I find that all I can recall are insipid powerpoint slides and a few random names of people with whom I shared no more than five or six words.

I must say that GEL consistently stands in stark contrast to the model I just described. My favorite part of your program is the advice to "come at the beginning and stay to the end." It implies a continuous journey more than a random mixing of unrelated topics and divergent experiences, and it truly is a journey. Each speaker is able to utilize those before (and does), helping give the audience a sense of scope and context to the overall experience. The mixing of practical discussions (Wells Fargo) with mesmerizing presentations on the spirit and power of invention (Theo Jansen) and emotional testimonies of creative purpose (Ross Kauffman) are the true brilliance of the GEL creation.

When I returned to the office, I found that it was difficult to describe the event in the elevator pitch that's often required of these answers. I wanted to say, "it's really quite an experience," realizing the unintended absurdity of the statement before I said it. So what I said was that it "made me want to get back to my desk and create something truly inventive and amazing and it gave me the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual tools to accomplish the task." Well, I didn't quite say it like that, but it was close.

- Chad Houghton

It seems GEL has an unlimited potential -- great feeling, experience and knowledge that is hard to find in one place. Congratulations!

- Ron Pompei

I felt an immediate connection with so many of the people I met at the GEL conference. I feel like Dorothy when she stepped through the door into the colorful Land of Oz! Obviously, easy to identify as a good experience.

I think, though, that some forms of good experience are not so obvious. I truly believe that the option to create a good experience exists within all wins & misses, successes and failures, perfections & frustrations. You just have to remember that this is indeed an option.

It can easily slip from being a priority when vision becomes clouded in the everyday goods and bads that occur naturally in the professional world. GEL felt like an opportunity to step back and observe the pure "wins" of people's worlds. That kind of energy coming from so many different sources and contained in one room is very, very powerful. A reminder like none other. I will now carry that reminder with me and at the top of my priority list.

I loved what Rod (Pavel Karamazov) said about juggling - if no one ever dropped anything, people would not be very interested in watching it. So in some way that makes the "mistakes" and the unexpected an integral part of the good experience of both juggling and watching people juggle.

I have to admit, though I have not stopped talking to people about GEL, it has been quite difficult to transmit the experience without them having actually had the experience. It seems like this is one good experience that has to be experienced to be fully understood.

- Rhonda Sable, The Flying Karamazov Brothers

P.S. Hello to all you GELers,

So many of you were so very complimentary and so appreciative about us joining you at GEL that we just had to let you know how we are all feeling now in our post-GEL mode. Each one of us met and had wonderful conversations with so many of you. Whenever we weren't on stage we just wanted to be sitting in the hall soaking up the energy. Being in a room with so many inspired people was the ultimate inspiration for us. We are so honored to have been asked to join your community. You really are stuck with us now!!!

We would love to explore ways to work with you. If you are working on any projects that you think might suit our involvement please get in touch. If you are planning a corporate event or conference of your own please think of us. We have lots of ideas too, and are always ready to explore new avenues of good experience.

We hope to have many more inspiring conversations and contemplations with you aboutÖ well, whatever we can both think of.

- rhonda@fkb.com
Rhonda Sable, The Flying Karamazov Brothers

I had a fantastic time on the Day one tours, met some interesting folks, and thoroughly enjoyed Day Two.

Some thoughts on Gel:

It was extremely difficult to succinctly describe the Yellow Arrow tour. The best I could come up with was that they effectively used both technology and our environment to create a compelling piece of street theater. The randomness of the city made the street theater exciting and, I'm sure, gives it a unique flavor each time it is performed.

As good as the tour was, the real highlight for me was sitting in a boardroom high above Times Square listing to Michael Counts tell us his brilliant vision for "The Ride". Understanding where Counts wants to take his already very good production was inspiring. It will surely be a "must-do" item on the list of things to do in NYC, and will probably spawn an interesting new genre of theater.
As far as Day Two is concerned... fantastic. The Karamazov Brothers were great--I liked the constant entertaining thread that they wove throughout the day.

The talks I was most looking forward to (see http://tinyurl.com/bm5ax) didn't disappoint. Barry Schwartz was the highlight of the day, for me. I've been using that 6/24 jams anecdote (which I first read about in an excerpt of Blink) for several months now to makes points about choice in software design, so to hear Schwartz lay out the case he was going to make, then proceed to do so in an engaging manner, made me wish I had more profs like him in college. The "less is more" and "embrace constaints" rules he talked about are ones that I have heard espoused by 37 Signals (www.37signals.com/svn) to develop software. Schwartz compellingly reinforced those ideas and I hope to apply them (and some others from his book, which is high on my list) to the software design and development work I do every day.

Yuri Lane, by the way, was fantastic. I've been a big fan of beatboxers (two notables are Rahzel and Scratch, from The Roots) and I've always thought it took incredibly talented and hard-working people to beatbox well, so I was tickled to see the well-deserved reception Yuri got.
One of the themes I found that wove through many of the speakers' talks was that of creating an atmosphere for play and discovery. Theo Jansen, Bruce Shapiro, and a couple others came across ways to create interesting experiences, seemingly by accident. I'm thinking about how to create a similar environment here at work.

- Kareem Mayan

The beach beasts brought me to tears.

- Liz Bennett

How did you answer the questions from my introductory essay in the printed program?

Both. Both. Both. Both.
These things cannot be separated.

When you got home, how did you describe your Gel experience to your friends and family who weren't there? Were there particular details or anecdotes that stood out?

I raved about what a neat and random collection of "interesting stuff" it was. I sent links to strandbeest and motion control to everyone I know.

What will you do (or think about) differently, at work or in life, based on your Gel 2005 experience?

1) science and art, which i've always perceived as COMPLETELY separate, do indeed converge in certain instances. A valuable lesson.

2) too much "freedom" (to choose) can be a bad thing

3) a corporate VP can learn as much from a juggler as a human beatbox can learn from Wells Fargo... Teachers come in the strangest and most unexpected of forms.

4) I've always perceived my personal pursuit of art as being at odds with my day-job. My day-job prevents me from writing, and I use my free time working in the pursuit of my ultimate dream. To see these incredible individuals who have given decades to the part-time pursuit of making a plastic creature walk, without caring that their work have a practical application...I stood in awe of it. In awe of mankind's capacity for passion.

GEL helped tear down some of the adversarial walls within my perception. It helped me realize that capitalism is not always an adversary of art--but a muse, invisible behind a clever mask.

- WW

I wanted to thank you again for the GEL conference. The conferences tend to be an intellectual and creative highlight for me each year - just because of the breadth of speakers and the different creative insights that the conferences bring.

This year's conference was especially interesting with the quality of the speakers - I really enjoyed the differe The performers were great - Yuri Lane was awesome and TFK really incorporated their act into the show. In terms of your questions, I agree with your answer - "Yes or both alternatives are possible depending on the circumstance"

- SD

I had a great time at the GEL conference last week and made some very useful business connections as well.

- Rick G., Hewlett-Packard

So a friend asked, how was Gel 2005?

A simple question with a complex answer.

Exploring the "primary sources" of good experience, GEL walks you through the polarity of planned versus random, best practices versus unbridled innovation, process versus improvisation.

Whether it was riding the 7 train to experience all five senses of taste, smell, sound, sight, and touch on the NoshWalk in Sunnyside, Queens or sitting in transfixed awe throughout every story told in the Equitable Theater, GEL captivates the mind and challenges the convention of how to create good experience.

Jimmy Wales said "respect for the individual" fosters good community. Alexandra Schwartz revealed Lichtenstein's artistic "set of references." Relevancy, authenticity, and intimacy were the three "creative tenets" Ron Pompei pointed out in any good experience. Real "Aha" moments, however, come from customer interviews, said Sona Chawla.

"Keep it Simple, Stupid" was a sound reminder from Barry Schwartz when it comes to the "Paradox of Choice" we encounter everyday. With too many choices, selecting the "perfect" option is often impossible -- even paralyzing. "If everything is beyond the fish bowl, nothing is possible."

As the Flying KBs perplex and delight with their parables on the modern world, Yuri Lane complimented the senses with his urban soundscape and diverse rhythms of beat-box.

Dan Dubno showed how animation created dimension in journalism. Bob Mankoff revealed how humor is the art of "conceptual blending" -- taking two different associations and blending them together to create "originality" that didn't exist before -- the other side of the "Aha" moment.

Learning from one's mistakes results in the creation of something better -- "true innovation," told Theo Jansen in his creation of Strandbeasts. Laurie Rosenwald extended this concept inviting each of us to free ourselves of perfection and make mistakes to create new and original work.

Telling a story through pictures can bring people together. Capturing the true essence of life experiences can be heart-breaking. Rick Smolan and Ross Kaufman told us that.

Born into Brothels and the Kids with Cameras foundation gripped the hearts of every Gel attendee. Emotion is connected with art. Art is connected with emotion.

Bruce Shapiro showed persistence and passion can create art in motion control. But is this a lie? Seth Godin says "tell an authentic story or be a liar."

But everyone has a story and Charlie Todd encouraged everyone to create their own. Dee Breger proved that, showing that even microscopic elements have multi-layered stories unseen to the naked eye.

And that leads to "wonderment," said Russell Shorto -- initial wonder -- that spark, diligent, painstaking research and focus even in obscurity, leads to big findings, new understanding, and challenged convention. "These are the problems of a modern translator." -- Charles Gehring

- Heather Dority, Viaspire

The Flying Karamazov Brothers - great to have them. Interesting on their own, and they kept things light with the recurring performances. A whole day of presentations is tiring, so it's good to have light/entertaining. Yuri Lane too was a great change of pace. Love having performers included in the line-up.

Barry Schwartz was fantastic. Great speaker, great subject. Theo Jansen too was amazing. Humble and inspiring, and a real surprise. Why should giant tinker-toys be moving? But his work was so beautiful it inspired tears.

Bob Mankoff was great, and he tried hard to answer it. As did Jimmy Wales.

Loved Laurie Rosenwald and Charlie Todd, who like Theo Jansen are worth seeing because the work itself is interesting, regardless of what they say about it.

And as always, the conference itself was a good experience. The networking was great--fantastic attendees, lunch was good, prizes good, (even though I still haven't won anything!)

The bottom line: I woke up the next morning filled with ideas and inspiration, ready for another year's work. That's what I pay for. So thanks again for running a great show. I'll be back again next year.

- JS

GEL 2005 rocked my New York City visit with an impressive gathering of enthusiastic people with meaningful stories, speakers with amazing experiences to share, and some fabulous tasting ahi tuna to spice things up a nicely. GEL also captured an overall experience by having "experience tours" the day before throughout NYC. GEL 2005 was simple, sweet, and stunning.

- Aaron Tang

Gel was fascinating and out-of-the-ordinary.

- Laurence Holt, Stikky books

I can't begin to express how wonderful the conference was - from the Improv session on Thursday, to all the the speakers and entertainment on Friday. This conference was, by far, superior to any conference that I have attended. I especially loved how all the speakers brought their own experiences to light and so cleary showed how they were creating meaningful experiences in the work they were doing. Each speakers' passion was contagious.

I feel inspired to create my own 'experience' and share my passion with others! Also, Mark kept the conference on such a tight schedule and did an excellent job of keeping the energy high.

- Adrienne G., Cablevision

Well done and thanks for Gel - it was excellent.

- Max Gadney, Head of Design, BBC News Interactive

Just wanted to congratulate you on providing an amazing experience this year at GEL2005. This was my third time attending GEL and while the first two shows were remarkable and informative on so many levels, this years conference far exceeded any expectations I had. From the restaurant tour on the first day to the unexplainably great presenters on Friday you have truly taken GEL to a whole other level good experience.

Thanks for all of your hard work - it is truly appreciated.

- Benjamin Carter

Throughout the day on Friday, I was asking people of their impressions of how things were going, and not a single person was bored or unexcited. Everyone wanted to come back next year if they could. A few people mentioned the Swarthmore professor's presentation as being memorable (freedom of choice vs. freedom from choice) and nearly everyone was astonished by Theo Jansen...

- Mark Chackerian

Just wanted to tell you how great the conference was this year. I chose to take the MoMA tour. We were fortunate to have an extremely well-versed guide and I felt that I learned more about art in those two hours than I have over the past 10 years. I met some lovely people on the tour too.

One of the things that I've already started to think about differently (and I believe this came from Pompei) are the different types of intelligence. I also loved Mankoff's presentation, and gained better insight into what it is about humor that makes us laugh. And with Schwartz, the issues around choice really hit home. The woman (her name escapes me now) from Wells Fargo also gave a good presentation.

I was in tears watching Born into Brothels, and plan to see it soon. There's something so powerful about kindness and the ability of the human spirit to stretch beyond our expectations.

I loved the passion of the microbiologist and her joy in the work she does.

I think overall I left the auditorium feeling elated. The MoMA tour, the presentations, the delicious meals, the fabulous give-aways and the generous GEL messenger bag made for great experience.

A huge thanks to you and your staff for making it all come together so flawlessly.

- HC, Senior Editorial Assistant, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

My impressions of the GEL conference - I thought it was wonderful! The first day, Thursday, I went to the MOMA museum where I enjoyed a fantastic tour - she was so knowledgeable and passionate about art; I learned so much from her and it was inspiring to be in the midst of someone so obviously doing what they were meant to do.

I guess for me this was the underlying theme of the entire conference - when people are following their passion and talents, their enthusiasm radiates into what they produce and energizes everyone around them. This was certainly true of Bob Mankoff and Ross Kauffman, two of the speakers I found most inspiring and *wow-ish.*

So, in closing, thank you for organizing a conference that personally left me feeling uplifted and recommitted to paying attention to what energizes and inspires me, for this is data that nudges us toward what we are meant to bring forth in the world.

- R.B., VP, User Research Manager, Wells Fargo

Great Thursday session and wonderful Friday conference. I had a number of strong epiphanies that I look forward to moving on in my work this coming year. Of course my reading list has collapsed under the weight of all the books I need to pick up at this point :)

- Don M., CarMax

My AOL colleagues and i agree this was the best year yet for gel, and one that moved me in ways unexpected.

- Rick R., AOL

How do you go from leadership, networking, juggling, beat-boxing, and cartoons all at the same time? That's GEL, Good Experience Live Conference 05.

A cornucopia of great experiences that leave the mind crackling with creative ideas til days end. You'd just have to be there to really get the GE for sure!

Q - Were there particular details or anecdotes that stood out?
Barry Schwartz! and all the people I met from various walks of life. There is no lack of rich ideas and creativity. We talked business, branding, marketing, life, sports, and the paradoxical choices that allow us to procrastinate on several of these options!

- Taiwo Odunsi

GEL2005 was a tremendous experience, meeting great people and absorbing the amazing presentations. Keep up the good work!

- Andrew Koch, co-founder, The Ladders

Mark -

What a great opportunity to participate in the Gel conference this year! I was very impressed with the range and quality of speakers and the number of times I found myself picking up an idea or questioning my assumptions over the course of the day.

Here are my thoughts on your questions:

Does good experience originate in careful planning, or can it come from random chance... or even from mistakes?
A resounding yes. Like evolution, the random chance is essential, it opens the path to an unplanned experience - the young man who lived in your former house and happened upon your note leading to a series of events you could not have predicted when you planted the note there all those years ago. At the same time, directed experimentation and planning forms the basis of much good experience from the evolution of beach creatures to the scripted pranks of Improv Everywhere.

Are creators inspired by the events of their time, or by the timeless?
I think creators are inspired by the context of their time but often by timeless ideas and aspirations . For example, the creation of the beach creatures responds the wide availability of the plastic tubing components (contemporary context) but is motivated by the timeless desire to animate, to give life, create and direct evolution.

Are experiences better with one creator or many?
I think the question is really about vision. I think that many creators working on one creative vision can create experiences as good or better than a single creator but many creators working on different visions don't create as powerful an experience as one creator focussed on one goal.

Is this awareness of experience, and desire to create, chiefly and intellectual or spiritual endeavor?
I would say it is chiefly spiritual (in the sense of connecting with the human spirit). In some cases the intellect is the methodology by which the spiritual connection is pursued. For example, Dee Breger's exploration of the microscopic world is undeniably spiritual for her even though she pursues it through an intellectual/scientific methodology.

When you got home, how did you describe your Gel experience to your friends and family who weren't there? Were there particular details or anecdotes that stood out?
Ironically I described it as a unique and valuable experience. I emphasized to many people the diverse perspective and the fact that the structure of the conference encouraged the sharing of inspiration and ideas both from the speakers and within the attendees. I spoke with many people about Theo Jansen's beach creatures and described Charlie Todd's Dancing in the Windows and Tower Records pranks to several acquaintances.

What will you do (or think about) differently, at work or in life, based on your Gel 2005 experience?
Here are some tangible changes. I signed up for online banking. I started to notice retail and public space environments and what they said about the kind of experience I was supposed to be having. I have started to consider more seriously the environments for the performing arts and what they say about the kind of experience we expect people to have. I have thought about choice a lot more - both personally and as it relates to the work that I do. I am looking out for the simple ideas that evolve. I keep my eyes open for pranksters everywhere I go....

Thanks for the opportunity and the good experience.

- Anne D., Principal Associate, Arts Action Research

Thanks so much for both the wonderful experience and for inviting my participation. You're very very good at what you do! Here's my feedback -

Gel was a great deal of intense fun, learning, meeting, networking, and a very rewarding use of time. The atmosphere of high accomplishment mixed with exuberant friendliness was outstanding.

This conference was an exercise in lateral thinking, even more than depth, and as such will expand all sorts of my mental and emotional horizons. And finding out that there can be fun in business was a revelation to my academia-cloistered self.

- Dee Breger, microscopist, Drexel University; Gel 2005 speaker

Well, this is a great opportunity to say I loved Gel. When I try to describe Gel to people, I always end up comparing it -- and I'm sure I'm not the first -- to one of those phantasmagoric 16th century wonder cabinets full of natural specimens, religious relics, science oddities, etc... Thanks for such an inspiring and mind-bending experience.

- David H.

I loved every second of GEL.

- Eloise Jackson

The most impressive aspect of Gel to me is how well orchestrated the event is. One is alternately amused, intrigued, challenged, and enlightened, in a cycle that keeps one both focused and at ease.

I could of course praise the content of the presentations, learning about communities of wikipedia users and Barry Schwart'z examples with the one expensive pen and two cheap pens was terrific. What was more impressive is the consistent quality of the speakers, and how each one indeed had something to do with experiences. Experience is about perception, and each speaker was either an artist skilled at effecting the audience's perception, or someone who studies perception ... or both ... as artists must be.

- Alex Shapiro

I just gave a presentation to the e-commerce team at Bank of America about the GEL conference. I described it as this:

It was about exploring what makes up good experiences - not just good customer experiences in the context of companies selling or servicing customers - but good experiences for humans. When you think of creating good experiences in this broader context, you may think of things you wouldn't have otherwise.

A sub-theme of the conference was about inspiration, creativity, learning how to get in the "zone" of creation, being passionate about what you do.

The speakers I highlighted for the team and how I interpreted their talks to apply to our work:

Barry Schwartz - are we putting too many product choices in front of our customers and thus overwhelming them?

Ron Pompei - Are we shoving things in our customers faces (through pop-ups, splash pages, etc.) rather than creating an environment online that encourages customers to explore and find solutions that are right for them?

Laurie Rosenwald - How can we create an environment that allows and even encourages mistakes? This could support our efforts to create a prototyping platform, that allows us to experiment with different solutions - and make mistakes at a low development cost.

Sona Chawla - Wells gets senior execs to attend usability sessions. Why can't we convince our execs to watch customers interact with our site more?

Thanks again for a fantastic, inspirational day!

- Kim M., Bank of America

I had a great day - inspiring, troubling and always stimulating. Aside from admiring how smoothly it all ran, the mix of people was terrific - both on stage and off. I will definitely recommend this to others and I'm making plans for next year.

I think I had a sense coming in as to what the format would be. I did not expect the diversity of speakers. I very much liked the theme of primal sources. In some cases that concept was easy to grasp, in others less so. I'm not sure that you were really aware what take they would offer on the theme - defining what a primal source is for them, to what extent it can be manipulated without being diluted, how they relate to the sources and how the end users (themselves or others) are affected by the primal sources.

Particularly for those who 'produce' experience, this question of what exactly is the primal part of a user's experience and to what extent must it be left untouched, is key.

Some obvious highlights for me were Barry Schwartz (obviously practiced at speaking and teaching, with very interesting implications for arts presenters), Ron Pompei (was really drawn to his argument about the change of the cultural mindset over time and potential implications for those who direct experience), Bob Mankoff (for his willingness to analyze a real primal experience - humor and laughter), Bruce Shapiro (I thought the 'silk ribbon dance' was beautiful and emotionally evocative) and Theo Jansen (for the truly strange endeavor he pursues - I thought the language about creatures to be almost off-putting at first because it was so self-indulgent, although the logic of it became clearer. I was glad to see people interacting with the creatures, otherwise it would have been left in the realm of the 'artist in the ivory tower' syndrome with little relevance to the world in which we live).

Again, many, many thanks.

- G. D.