This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

A few months ago, Marc Andreessen wrote a now-famous essay in the Wall Street Journal about "Why Software Is Eating the World." If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend you do so. Marc's thesis was that more and more industries are being run on software and delivered as online services--from movies to agriculture to national defense--and tech startups will increasingly invade, disrupt and overturn established structures in these industries.

Right up there in the list of important sectors vulnerable to disruption are government and politics (and about time, I say!). To learn more and dive deeper into the nitty-gritty of technology's impact on politics and government today and where it's headed, go check out the Personal Democracy Forum conference (organized by our very own New York Tech Meetup chairman Andrew Rasiej) today and tomorrow at the Skirball Center.

For all ye Ruby afficionados out there, the annual Gotham Ruby Conference (aka GoRuCo) is back on June 23. More details here.

And now let's see what crazy shenanigans the NY tech gang is up to this week...

Personal Democracy Forum (PDF) 2012
Speakers include Todd Park (US CTO), Ben Rattray (founder and CEO, Change.org), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alexis Ohanian (cofounder, Reddit, Hipmunk and Breadpig), Jane Holl Lute (COO, Department of Homeland Security), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), John Perry Barlow (cofounder, Electronic Frontier Foundation), Emily Bell (director, Columbia Journalism School), Yochai Benkler (co-director, Berkman Center for Internet & Society), David Binetti (cofounder and CEO, Votizen), Susan Crawford (professor, Harvard) and others.
Monday (Jun 11), 9 a.m. @ NYU Skirball Center, 566 Laguardia Place

NYC Gaming June Meetup: Demo Night
Demos by Noah Sasso (BaraBariBall), Sam Glassenberg (The Hunger Games Adventures), Patrick Cremin (Little Legends), Jesse Freeman (Jetroid), Ashley LeBlanc (Strange Clouds), Jess Haskins (Guns of Icarus) and Brian Chung (The Universe Within).
Monday (Jun 11), 7 p.m. @ Microsoft Offices, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor

Venture for America 2012 Summer Celebration
Featuring guest speaker Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos and founder of the Downtown Project in Las Vegas). Hors d'oeuvres, open bar, and entertainment.
Tuesday (Jun 12), 7 p.m. @ IAC HQ, 555 West 18th Street

Investor Feedback Forum and Pitch Showdown
Panelists include Somak Chattopadhyay (Tribeca Venture Partners), Weston Gaddy (Bain Capital Ventures), Marc Michel (Metamorphic Ventures) and Micah Rosenbloom (Founder Collective). Startup Pitches include Jess Brondo (The Edge in College Prep), Hissan Bajwa (SpotlessCity), Mahe Bayireddi (iMomentous), Amy Schrier (MISSION.tv), Charlie Rubin (Property Tax Database), Marc Guldimann (Enliken), Chris Kieran (Zokos), Brett Goldberg (TickPick) and Bjorn Holte (bMobilized).
Wednesday (Jun 13), 3 p.m. @ Javits Center, 655 West 34th St

Startup Weekend Partnership Series - The Most Creative Deals
Explore how to make strategic partnerships work with startups and established companies. Speakers include key decision makers from Amex, Billboard, ESPN, and Pepsi.
Wednesday (Jun 13), 6:30 p.m. @ Microsoft Offices, 1290 6th Ave

Northside Entrepreneurship Festival
Rockstar panel of speakers including GZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Dennis Crowley (cofounder & CEO, Foursquare), Anthony Casalena (founder, SquareSpace), Zach Sims (cofounder & CEO, Codecademy), Avner Ronen (founder & CEO, Boxee), Phin Barnes (First Round Capital), Jerry Colonna, Brian Schecter (cofounder, How About We), Bre Pettis (founder & CEO, MakerBot) and many more.
Thursday (Jun 14), 9 a.m. @ All Across Town, Brooklyn

Green and the 2012 Election
With Christine Todd Whitman (Former NJ Governor), Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President) and Yetsuh Frank (Director, YR&G). Moderated by Ellis Henican (Newsday and Fox News Channel).
Thursday (Jun 14), 6 p.m. @ PricewaterhouseCoopers, 300 Madison Avenue (at 42nd), PwC auditorium

NY Tech Meetup Change the Ratio Womens Demo Night #1
Opening Remarks by Rachel Sterne (Chief Digital Officer, City of New York). Featuring Demos by Fathom, The Mission List, HonestlyNow, ElectNext, Incline, VenueBook, Paperlex, Findings, Hourly and ReadSocial.
Thursday (Jun 14), 6 p.m. @ Microsoft Offices, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor

The Hatchery Presents: Investor Series with Joanne Wilson
With Joanne Wilson, an angel investor in 17 startups and wife of VC Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures).
Friday (Jun 15), 12 p.m. @ The Hatchery, 500 Seventh Avenue, 17th Fl

Hack 'n Jill
Why Montauk when you can Manhattan? #HackYourSummer is about building something cool around summertime fun in the world's greatest city, focusing on food (and drink!), fitness, music, and travel.
Friday (Jun 15), 7 p.m. @ AppNexus, 28 W 23rd St

NYC Fashion Hack Day 2012
Hosted by Gilt Groupe, Tumblr and Apigee. Prizes will be awarded and a party will follow!
Saturday (Jun 16), 8 p.m. @ Gilt Groupe HQ, 2 Park Ave

More on the horizon...
Fireside Chat with Ed Gilligan, Vice Chairman of American Express on Jun 18 @ General Assembly
Games for Change Festival on Jun 18 @ NYU Skirball Center
For Startups: When Hiring, Don't Give Away the Company Store! on Jun 19 @ Marks Paneth & Shron LLP
June NY Enterprise Technology Meetup on Jun 19 @ Cooley - The Grace Building
VentureForward 2012 Conference on Jun 20 @ The New York Academy of Sciences
Executive Council Presents: Healthcare Transformation & Innovation Summit on Jun 21 @ Hearst Tower
NJ Tech Meetup 25 on Jun 21 @ Babbio Center at Stevens Institute Of Technology
AngelHack Summer 2012: New York on Jun 23 @ Microsoft Offices
NYC Tech Picnic on Jun 24 @ Lawn at Chelsea Piers

Until next week. Stay thirsty social, my friends! ;)