Cirque du Soleil will perform on the second and final day of Mediabistro Circus. And because our goal is both to inspire and instruct, Cirque du Soleil director of creation Carmen Ruest will also talk about the high-wire act of starting a small company and spinning it out into a world-wide franchise.

That's Mediabistro Circus in a nutshell: fascinating presentations combined with practical lessons you can use in your own work.

And yes, the unicycle tango couple pictured will be performing. How adorable are those stripy socks?

Heard of TED? You'll love Mediabistro Circus. (I may be able to get you in, too :)

Mediabistro Circus is our premier 2-day event in NYC, June 2-3. The theme is Extraordinary Impact: Do more with less. In this crazy economy, we have lots of new opportunities and challenges. The goal of this event is to equip you to create those opportunities and meet those challenges. Everyone needs to attend, from editors and writers to sales, marketing, and PR people.

This isn't one of those sprawling "which panel should I go to now?" conferences. We've cut through the everyday onslaught of information to curate an event that brings you true innovators who you can really learn from. They've managed to make amazing things happen. That's the "Extraordinary Impact" part.

You'll meet Steve Duenes and Andrew DeVigal from The New York Times's groundbreaking online journalism team. Check out the recent feature on them in NYMag. (I love that they called them "renegade cybergeeks.")

You'll meet BusinessWeek.com EIC John Byrne, who has dragged his dubious staff into the twittersphere and welcomed readers into the newsroom, creating a "journalism of engagement" which should be a model for media people everywhere.

You'll meet Gina Bianchini, co-founder and CEO of Ning.com, who will take the talk about social media past the "get on Twitter" phase to show you why you need to have your own social network--and how to set it up.

You'll meet Keith Ferrazzi, who will show you exactly how to build a real-life network without being an annoying networker. His books Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back? are about creating meaningful connections, and after his talk we'll break for lunch so you can take your new skills for a test drive.

And there are so many more! Best-seller Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Workweek), internet phenom Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV), and Wired editor Jeff Howe (Crowdsourcing)...

Some of these folks you may not have heard of -- yet -- but you'll have to trust me when I tell you that their thinking applies to you, your work and your life.

I really want to make the Circus affordable because I know how valuable it will be and I want you to be there. That's why I've set aside 20 2-day tickets for $245--that's 65% off the early-bird price. To get the friends-of-Laurel discount, just use the code LT245 when you enroll. But you gotta jump on it, because when they're gone, they're gone.

You can read the full Circus program, but the clock is ticking. Better to click here to sign up now.

Questions? Email me.

-- Laurel Touby

If you've ever listened to John Byrne's podcasts or checked out a video on BusinessWeek.com, you'll know that he's bullish about the potential of social media for print publications.

With over 2000 videos on the site covering topics from investing to twice-daily market reports, the executive editor of BusinessWeek has immersed himself in the collaboration of journalism and the web, keeping readers engaged and informed about breaking news in real time.

Last year, three distinctive features were launched on Businessweek.com to bring readers into a larger conversation. In Your Face publishes the most substantive comments left by readers with photos of the contributors, Dialogue with Readers highlights conversations between readers and editors, and What's Your Story Idea allows readers to pitch the subjects they think should be covered. And it's no surprise that the Jack and Suzy Welch podcast has been a hit.

In a NY 360 interview, Byrne says that he considers the web a more a utility than a medium:

Q: Tell me what the challenges have been for you bringing print to the online world and merging those two worlds.

A: I am utterly transformed by the experience. I love the medium, in fact I don't even consider it a medium. I consider it much like a utility like electricity because it's print, it's radio, it's TV and it's more than that because of the interactive elements and the social media that you can provide online.

At the upcoming Mediabistro Circus, Byrne will discuss social media and how he got his reporters to use Twitter. BusinessWeek is one of the strongest brands on the micro-blogging site.

After the jump, check out the full NY 360 interview video with Byrne:

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I first met Keith Ferrazzi at TED, when he asked me to join 5 people I didn't know for lunch. I'd just finished reading Never Eat Alone, his bestselling book about the power of connections, and was excited to see his method in action.

It was a low key gathering at a deli during the conference lunch break - everyone paid for their own food, we sat at a small corner table with paper plates & plastic forks. And while Keith knew everyone (or knew enough to invite us), no one else knew one another. My lunchmates included Keith, Lawrence Bender, Theresa Brown , an investment banker, and a VP from P&G. An interesting mix of people who otherwise may not have met, and an unexpected opportunity to make memorable connections.

In programming Circus this year, I thought Keith would be an inspiring and timely speaker, considering the economic climate and state of the media business. And though meeting people is a primary reason to attend a conference, it's not always easy to do. On June 3, Keith will show Circus attendees how important it is to connect, and how simple it can be.

Here's a sample:

Find more videos like this on Greenlight Community

First, a crowd-sourcing cheat-sheet:

1) You know what crowd-sourcing is even if you don't think you do. Wikipedia is a classic example of crowd-sourcing, "the process by which the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the province of the specialized few."

2) Jeff Howe literally wrote the book on Crowd-sourcing, based on a 2006 article he wrote for Wired.

Now you're ready for advanced crowd-sourcing:

Jeff recently gave a talk at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab, said, "Think of the book as a DVD and this talk as the bonus features. Specifically, the director's commentary." Check out the video below.

And to hear Jeff talk about social media and social change, come to Mediabistro Circus 2009.

Jeff Howe on the role of incentives in crowdsourcing from Nieman Journalism Lab on Vimeo.

Gary Vaynerchuk made headlines in The New York Times recently. In a business section interview, Gary discussed how Twitter trumps direct mail and a $100 video camera is all you need to get started. Here's what Gary said about how to work the internet even if you don't have the calm charisma of Barak Obama or the maniacal energy of a wine salesman from Jersey.

Q. You and the president have very distinctive, outgoing personalities. Suppose a business owner is shy, terrified of speaking into a camera?
A. I got very lucky in the DNA lottery, but content is king. The introvert can write a blog, offering expertise and making a personal connection with the customer. Charisma or an over-the-top personality wouldn't mean anything in the wine business if I didn't know a zinfandel from a Chardonnay.

Though he recently delivered the "unofficial keynote" at SxSW, Gary says he turns down 90% of the requests he gets to speak or consult. But you can hear him at Circus 2009.

Here's Mediabistro Circus in pictures. If you took any of your own, and you have a Flickr account, upload and tag them "mbcircus."

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

New York Times Digital's Jim Roberts is just wrapping up a great keynote focusing on taking politics online with amazing web apps on nytimes.com. For a play-by-play of the session, follow Mediabistro Circus and FishbowlNY on Twitter

Click photo to see the Mediabistro Circus photo stream on Flickr.

Community Manager and circus freak Seamus takes you on an impromptu tour of Mediabistro Circus before the doors opened on day one.

Behind the Scenes at Mediabistro Circus! from Seamus Condron on Vimeo.

We shot a lot of video last night during the All-For-Nots set. This is our favorite: a drum solo, by Shirley/Erica followed by an encore. Love your drummer folks, love your drummers.

We've put the day's photos in a nifty slideshow. We'll be adding more tonight at the All-For-Nots event at 92Y Tribeca. Be sure to come by and say hello.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Chris Anderson just delivered a great keynote that focused on building online communities. Check out the coverage on the Mediabistro Circus Twitter Page.

Click photo to see more pics from Mediabistro Circus on Flickr.

Former mediabistro intern Julia Allison returns her roots with pals Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin. Um, we said bring us coffee, not doggies. Thanks anyway, Julia!

More fun photos and conference coverage on Meghan's blog.

Photo above and more on Mary's blog.

Staff and volunteers at the Circus are wearing cool T-shirts featuring a circus parade by Michigan artist Yolanda Gonzalez. If you've been on the mediabistro site recently, you've seen Yolanda's spindly critters crawling across our banner ads.

Yolanda is a natural at parades--check her out riding atop a "poster artist car":

continued...

Noah Shachtman of Wired's Danger Room speaks during the blogging session.

Click the photo to view more pics on Flickr.