Have you heard of the State of NOW’s #140conf? According to the website, it “exposes you to the power the Internet has to disrupt businesses, change lives and create serendipity.”

And it’s happening in New York right now.

Jeff Pulver is the conference creator and event emcee. You can learn all about him in this piece covering a social media breakfast that Mr. Pulver hosted recently. To label him a social media visionary would be an understatement, but will do for now (read the link).

The current conference, taking place in New York, can be followed on Twitter via the #140Conf12 hashtag. There are plenty of pearls of wisdom floating around. Here’s are a couple favorites:

You can also watch the 140 Conference “State of Now” streaming live here. Or you can visit the page to watch recorded presentations when you have some free time.

Why haven’t I explained exactly what this event is yet? Well, I’ve been watching the live video off and on today trying to do that and find the website description is dead on when it says “the state of now can not easily be explained, you just have to experience it for yourself.” It’s pretty eclectic.

Our schedule is unique and fast paced. It is our intention to provide a platform for as many people as possible to share their thoughts and engage in conversation with the attending delegates. You will find individual talks set to: 10 minutes and most of the panel discussions set for 10 to 20 minutes.

You’ll see lots of people hugging (not the best conference if you’re like me and would rather pick splinters out of your hand all day before having these repeatedly awkward moments) and beyond that, you can expect to “laugh, cry, connect and learn as each “character” shares authentic stories about how this new medium has effected their lives.” Shudder.

Don’t be dissuaded, please. As I noted above (before the splinter thing), there’s obviously some great thinking going on. And many well-adjusted folks love this stuff though – so check it out if you count yourself among them.

From barn yard to board room, our eclectic group of speaks may be using the real time web differently but their stories all share one thing in common. The Internet is helping to connect people from all walks of lives who have nothing in common except that we are all humans who are experiencing the same moment in time, together.

The goal of the event is for participants to “leave with a fresh outlook on how the real time web can be used in your business or personal life to actually do something meaningful.” And that’s something we could all benefit from. Even the touch adverse.

Have you ever attended one of these events?

(Hugging image from Shutterstock)