If you want to know the "great big secret" of the internet, there are plenty of conferences ready to sell you a bottle of snake oil. But the Mediabistro Circus takes more of a three-ring approach, featuring freakishly successful web stars demystifying media's digital dimensions. Spend two days, May 20-21, 2008, in New York City soaking up insights from the minds behind BlogHer, MySpace, FEED, Google Apps and Hearst Magazines Digital Media group.
http://www.mediabistrocircus.com

Design means deadlines, and March 28 is one worth scribbling down. It's the last chance to register for the conference half of the Annual National Student Show & Conference in Dallas April 3-5. Unlike many other design events, everything here caters to college-age creatives. There are studio tours, portfolio reviews, a job fair and speakers from sought-after employers such as VSA Partners, Starbucks and Modern Dog Design Co. Plus, the price tag doesn't bankrupt the MacBook Air fund—registration ranges from $50 to $175.
http://www.dsvcstudentshow.org/

The name isn't sexy, but The Economist Marketing Forum: Mastering Brand and Marketing Strategies in the Digital Era just might help you get inside the minds of clients … especially if your roster includes big corporations or you want to land Fortune 500 work. Sponsored by Landor and Microsoft, the event takes place March 11-12 in San Francisco, and the speaker list includes bigwigs from Clorox, Bank of America, AT&T, General Mills and Hewlett-Packard.
http://www.economistconferences.com/roundtable/public/con_common.asp?rtid=1122&rtRegion=1&area=1