This was the best domaining conference I have ever been to. Ok, so this is also the first one I’ve ever attended, lol.
Seriously though, this was a great show. I not only suggest anyone in the industry attend at least one TRAFFIC event, but attend several if possible. I will definitely be attending at least one of their shows in 2010 with the strong possibility of attending up to three. I’d like to make the Las Vegas, Ireland and South Beach shows. To view the full 2010 schedule visit targetedtraffic.com.
On a personal level, I felt a little like a celebrity. Corny as this may sound, it is the best way to explain how I felt. This being my first conference and still new to the industry I was extremely nervous going into it. All of that went out the window as soon as I stepped into the hotel lobby. I was recognized right away. How cool is that? The majority of the attendees knew who I was. Please don’t take that as me bragging. I merely mean that meeting all those people that recognized me made me feel like all the hard work I put into my blog is worth every minute and only motivated me more.
Here are my personal pros and cons about the show:
Pros
Amazing networking opportunities. Let me just do a quick name drop of the people I spent time with outside of the conference. Spending time with these people is worth the price of admission alone.
Rick Latona – 2008 Domainer of the Year
Ammar Kubba – Owner of Thought Convergence
Castello Brothers – 2009 Domainer Hall of Fame, Geo Geniuses!
Gregg McNair – Just featured on DNJournal.com
Mike Roberston – Fabulous.com
Craig Rowe – WhyPark.com
Richard Douglas – Nominated 2009 Best Developer of the Year
Brian & Charlotte Gilbert – Brian Nominated for 2009 Domain Hall of Fame
Daniel Dryzek – One of Poland’s leading domain investors
And soooo many more!!!
To continue, the networking was great. I collected at least 50-75 business cards, met people in person that I’ve chatted with before and met a few people I didn’t know. I also had the chance to work on a few new advertisers. Once the deals are confirmed I’ll be happy to introduce you to those companies.
Watching an auction first hand was nice. I sat only 3 seats away from the purchaser of Rio.com for $450,000 during RickLatona.com’s auction.
The Skenzo.com PARTY was off the charts. We arrived at one of New York’s best clubs by way of limousines. There was an open bar, which I took FULL advantage of. There were chances to win thousands of dollars in prizes. Attendees were able to collect raffle tickets to win almost every electronic gadget you could think of. Divyank Turakhia and his team know how to throw a party!
Cons
No goodbye. There was no closing to the show. Towards the end there was a panel session that ended abruptly to make time for Moniker’s domain auction.
Content. Not to take anything away from the speakers, some of them gave great information. But overall I feel there was not enough substance. Here’s an example of what I mean, the keynote speaker, Rick Sanchez of CNN.com basically told us social media (Twitter) is important and the future of communication is changing. That’s it, no details, tips or specific guidance. I would rather Rick talk about the traffic CNN.com gains because of social media and instruction how to build your accounts to accomplish the same.
Closing thoughts…
Rick Latona is taking over TRAFFIC events starting with Las Vegas in January of 2010. I am really excited to see the changes he makes. In what has become a competitive business (domain shows) I really believe Rick and his team can take these shows to the next level.
I want to send a BIG THANK YOU to everyone that made the show what it is and for making me feel welcome, I appreciate it.
