For two days last week, Internet marketing experts, SEO specialists and tech nerds from around the world huddled in a darkened conference room at the Standard Hotel Downtown for the BlueGlass LA conference to listen to presentations and panel discussions on the best ways to cut through the online clutter and reach the right audiences. more ›

Imagine you are invited to give a TED talk at the big conference in Long Beach. But just as your talk on the topic of the "unexpected" gets underway, you're plagued with that Apple computer "spinning beach ball of death" and your total AV package is frozen. Gulp. more ›

While the common adage suggests everyone has one book in them, it fails to mention that book will average 28 rejections. Or that publishing it might take as long as writing it. Nor is it even insinuated that your one book, once it’s published, will hopefully make you about $1 per book—that is, if you can sell 7,000 copies first. So yes, everyone might have one book in them, but getting it published warrants an entirely different—and perhaps less optimistic—outlook. Thankfully, this past weekend, the LA Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association made it their mission to bring some clarity to the often-murky realm of publishing. more ›

Mega conference Comic-Con will stay put in San Diego through at least 2015, organizers announced last night. Officials in both Anaheim and Los Angeles were hoping they could woo the conference, which would be a major boost to tourism. The four-day summer event draws 125,000 people annually. Although the bids were confidential, rumors surfaced that L.A. offered the convention space at no cost. Even if the Comic-Con moved to L.A., some believe downtown doesn't have enough hotel rooms to complete with San Diego. Previously: Photos/Video: The Girls of Comic-Con. more ›

Comedy, politics, exploring the city, food and even religion. This is life, day by day. But this week, they are all also topics being covered by some 70 panels of social media mavens throughout this week for Social Media Week L.A. more ›

Dwell on Design, self-touted as the largest design event on the West Coast, is back this weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Although solely focused around the theme of home and design, the event itself cannot be described by one activity. From home tours to expert panels to the exhibition floor, we present you with LAist's favorite activities, as based on experiences at Dwell over the past couple years. more ›

This week is the California Homicide Investigators Association (CHIA) conference in Las Vegas, an event and organization created in 1968 when homicide detectives from Los Angeles and San Francisco met over dinner to discuss the Zodiac Killer investigation. Today, it's the largest organization of homicide and death investigation professionals in the country. more ›

Who knew that simple messages of 140 characters long could change the way the world communicates? Maybe Biz Stone did. Find out tomorrow as the Twitter co-founder gives the opening keynote speech at the first Twitter Conference at the Skirball Center. He’s just one of the big-name presenters and panelists on the two-day conference agenda to talk all things Twitter. On the program are panels focusing on music, comedy, celebrity and brand-building sessions. Besides @Biz, speakers include Tony Hawk, Dr. Drew, Greg Grunberg, Tucker Max, Robert Scoble, Alex Payne and Ryan Sarver of Twitter, and Mike Prasad of Kogi BBQ. There are too many other speakers and attendees to mention, so just check out the conference website for all the deets. more ›

Dwell on Design officially started today with design, architecture and other industry folks visiting the convention center today. Come tomorrow and Sunday the public will be attending the large event full of booths, speaking events (read LAist's picks here) and a great mobile food event tomorrow evening at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. more ›

Last week during the 9th annual Americans for the Arts convention the Public Art Year in Review panel revealed their 40 picks for the best public art works in the United States from 2008, which includes projects from 32 cities in 15 states. Five of those works are right here in the Los Angeles area: more ›

The tech lover’s “unconference” BarCampLA-7 is being held this weekend (May 2-3) at OTX Research in Culver City. For the uninitiated, BarCamp is an international network of user-generated conferences for people to share and exchange information in an open environment. The weekends are part party, but are highlighted by intense discussions, demos and interaction from attendees. But unlike corporate conferences where you get talked at, and get bad hotel food for thousands of dollars to boot, BarCamp is free. more ›

By the time dozens of LA-based bands descend on Austin for South by Southwest next week, LA's greatest freaks and geeks will have already mad an impact at SXSWi. The interactive component of SXSW, which begins tomorrow (along with the opening of SXSW Film) is a long weekend packed with panels and conversations regarding the future of new media, technology, and entertainment. Now in its 16th year, SXSWi has grown more notable in recent years for the sheer number of happy hours and parties (at least 85 at last count) that span the 5-day conference with product launches flowing as freely as the beer. more ›

No, he didn't get take a new job, but he can't guarantee he will be stolen away at some point. Chief William Bratton is traveling the world today starting off with a trip to Amman, Jordan where he will meet with King Abdullah II and law enforcement agencies to exchange ideas, he says. Along with the LAPD's Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence top cop, they'll be discussing law enforcement, security, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence and community policing tactics and philosophies, to name a few. Then he'll be heading to Washington D.C. to attend two police conferences which will seem to focus on how departments should handle budget cuts while still reducing crime. more ›

The annual Women's Conference in Long Beach is going on right now and is making big headlines with Maria Schriver and many others by inspiring and empowering women during this heated election season. The Los Angeles Moms' Blog has been liveblogging the event since last night, proving themselves as a blog to be taken seriously. From a small protest outside on the sidewalks to inspirational bathroom art to Christiane Amanpour's speech, they are really giving readers a sense of what's going on at the sold out event. more ›

The newest and hottest trends in new modern design and eco-friendly building are hitting the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend at Dwell on Design. Over 200 exhibitors will display their outdoor, indoor and prefab wares including new products being launched this weekend. Additionally, there will be displays (ex., the Nomad yurt), sixteen private home tours and after hours parties. more ›

We ran into former Microsoftee and current FastCompany.tv man and ubiquitous Web 2.0 presence Robert Scoble at Hollywood & Highland today, in front of Level 3 Nightclub, where Community Next: The Next Generation of Media and the Web is underway. more ›

Capping off four days of panels at SXSW's 2008 Film Festival, (which also included Mark Cuban interviewing Michael Eisner, and a conversation with Billy Bob Thornton), Doreen Ringer Ross of BMI interviewed Moby. The meat of the interview is posted above and concerns Moby's take on licensing music for film (and the concept of mobygratis) as well as a look at his unlikely rise from a punker on Manhattan's lower-east side to a corporate party-playing DJ to a world-renown commercial artist. more ›

This sounds fun... or not: the Apartment Owners Association Convention is this week at the convention center downtown. more ›

The third iteration of BarCamp LA is in full effect with a record number of attendee/participants. BarCamp is an ad-hoc un-conference produced, attended and presented by enterprising media/tech/Internet junkies, worker-monkeys, and inquiring civilians as an alternative to the overly-corporate, overpriced mega-conferences that commonly occur at the Convention Center, Loews Hotel, or somewhere-in-the-Bay Area. Still don't get it? Just come on down, BarCamp is free (thanks to sponsors) and its fun. Day one is winding down... more ›