"I've never been a fan of global conferences to solve problems," writes floating mustache Thomas Friedman in his newspaper column today. Really?

What is the secret to unlocking your personal potential and creating a more harmonious society? A San Francisco company says you can find it between every woman's legs. Gawker's Nitasha Tiku investigates, step by step.

This news story about advertising people at an advertising conference talking to each other in person about how much they talk to each other on Twitter is perhaps the least alluring news story of the day. This one is better.

Depressingly popular right-wing conspiracy theory site WorldNetDaily has dropped its own columnist, crazy-talkin' lady Ann Coulter, from its upcoming conference for her decision to headline an upcoming gay conservatives' party, Homocon 2010. How will Ann Coulter survive?

The annual Netroots Nation conference for liberal bloggers starts today, in Las Vegas. (Prostitutes, man your call centers!) And to fête the arrivals, the Democratic Governors Association has produced this Arcade Fire-backed motivational movie montage. Get. Pumped. Bloggers. [via]

Declarative PBS host and multimedia phenomenon Tavis Smiley is ending his "State of the Black Union" conference after ten years, because he needs time for other projects like—seriously—publishing R. Kelly's memoirs. Post-racial world, you're a wondrous place! [AP]

Even though the "Values Voters Summit" was just last week in DC, Conservatives had themselves a "Take Back American Conference" this last weekend. This one sounds even crazier.

Did you attend the fourth annual Values Voters Summit at Washington's Omni Shoreham Hotel? No? You missed some awesome Breakout Sessions.

Whoo! CPAC! It's CPAC season! Let's meet the future of the Republican party, everyone!

For nearly twenty years, the Demo conference has been considered the place to be for tech startups seeking attention for their new products. Instead of speeches, companies are required to give live demos of brand-new products, basically launching them onstage. Demo organizer Chris Shipley has a reputation for picking…

Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Hornik's invite-only dealmaking conference, The Lobby, takes place again next week at a plush resort in Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. Camp Cyprus was nothing compared to this funeral pyre of cash. Who cares that twentysomethings spent their own money to vacation…

After a weak start last year, trade mag and conference company IDG's attempt at a trade show for videogames looks to be an outright flop. Staff at AOL's Big Download blog contacted all the big game makers and came up with a pretty thin attendee list for next month's show in Los Angeles.

"The poor economic conditions have created a very different and difficult dynamic for us this year," says an email explaining the cancellation of next week's DigitalLife Expo in New York. But don't you quit your startup in a panic. Our gadgethound buddies at Gizmodo don't buy the economy excuse. "We think it's lack…

The buzz at the Structure 08 reception yesterday evening on Pier 38 was surrounding a scheduled speech by communications network heavy James Crowe, CEO of Level 3, who rarely appears in public. The speech has started — but late, and without Crow, who complained of the flu. Vice chairman Buddy Miller took the podium…

$1795 a head is a lot to pay for a sex ed lesson, let alone a tech conference, so why not combine the two? That was apparently the idea behind "Liquid Conversations" at Supernova, which nearly ran off the rails when panelist Loic Le Meur demonstrated his startup Seesmic, which the ebullient founder describes as "…

In this morning's otherwise sleepy session the "brave new world" of entrepreneurship at Supernova, Vipin Jain of Retrevo offered the analogy first — that for startups, attracting venture capital is like dating. "When you first start there’s some excitement. Then, the unknown!" Jim Greer, CEO of the epic timewasting…

Oh, fine. Your supportive emails dragged me back onto the Internet — tempting as Leah Culver and iJustine's offer to link arms and walk off the Internet with me into the sunset was. Someone reminded me that my contract specifies I'm bound to write for one hundred years or until my first gray hair, whichever comes…

Red Herring's magazine has not been regularly printed in ages. Today, its its website has been displaying error messages — not that readers are missing much of the understaffed RedHerring.com's output. Herring's conference business alone has been sustaining Alex Vieux's rocky tech-publishing empire. But that, too,…

Giving every junketeer who might have over-imbibed a good excuse to blow off chores and work once they get home, conference organizers at Sun's JavaOne developer fest at the Moscone Center are now warning attendees that the City has released a public health warning about a virus on the loose.