Chris and Ponzi Pirillo’s conference for bloggers, podcasters, and über-geeky technologists starts in earnest today. This year’s lineup of presenters includes Ben Huh of iCanHasCheezburger, journalist Sarah Lacy, the best of Ignite Seattle, artists, security researchers, and much more.

One of the coolest things about Gnomedex is hanging out with a dynamic group of overtly friendly and sociable geeks. The sessions are thought-provoking and the hallway conversations are engrossing. However, If you can’t make it, don’t worry. With all the new-media alpha-types in the audience, it will likely be one of the most photographed, blogged, and twittered conferences of the year.

(Disclaimer: I volunteer for the conference.)

As I type this, I’m getting ready for day two of Gnomedex 2007. Gnomedex is a fantastic conference, but if anything’s better than the actual conference, it’s the post-Gnomedex events on Sunday. This year, Kaliya Hamlin, aka Identity Woman, and Raines Cohen are organizing UnGnomeCamp, an unconference follow-on, where anyone is invited and the attendees will set the agenda.

Closely linked with UnGnomeCamp will be MeshWalk, organized by Shannon Clark. I went on last year’s inaugural MeshWalk and really enjoyed myself. A MeshWalk is basically a roving conference. The attendees walk the city, talking about a pre-determined theme and taking inspiration and ideas from the physical space around them, which is constantly changing. It’s a very stimulating way to spend a day.