|
The
2008 GeoDomainExpo officially got underway last
night in Chicago with a wall-to-wall crowd packing
the welcoming cocktail party at the W Hotel - City
Center (part of the room can be seen in the photo
below). The turnout was truly stunning especially when you
consider that the dates and location for this show were
not announced until we did it May 20 - just 7 weeks
ago! Equally remarkable is the fact that this show is
devoted to just one sector of the domain industry - geo
domains - yet managed to draw a crowd on par with the last
two general interest domain conferences.
The
crowd was not only large, it was loud. The high volume
level produced by animated conversations throughout the
hall generated an atmosphere crackling with electricity. A
lot of the excitement stems from the fact that falling PPC
rates have caused interest in domain development to
hit an all time high and development is what geo domain
owners (especially those who are Associated Cities
members) are all about. In fact our current
Cover Story on AC co-founder Skip Hoagland
is devoted to that topic. This week's seminars will center
on how to develop geo assets and turn them into profitable
businesses. That theme appeals to just about all domain
owners, whether they own geos or not. |
|
While
the cocktail party was the official kickoff for the Expo,
there was actually a round of seminars earlier in the day.
A major benefit of Associated Cities membership is that
you get into a private series of informational
sessions held in the afternoon before the public Expo
opens with the evening mixer.
Just before
noon, Associated Cities chairwoman Jessica Bookstaff
(PigeonForge.com and Durango.com) welcomed
members to Chicago and introduced the first of five
private seminars that ran right up to the start of the
evening cocktail party. A scene from the first of those,
devoted to how you make money with a geo website, is shown
in the photo below. Scottsdale.com's Fred Mercaldo
is at the podium and you also see on the dais (left to |
Jessica
Bookstaff
Associated Cities
Chairwoman |
|
Today's
schedule begins with 10:30am State of the GeoDomain
Industry comments from Ms. Bookstaff and Dan
Pulcrano. The keynote address from local media expert John
Kelsey of the Kelsey Group follows at 11. I'll
be giving a brief talk at the noon luncheon then join
attendees for the three afternoon seminar sessions that
round out the day.
Tonight's
cocktail party/buffet dinner will feature a book signing
by Wall Street Journal reporter David
Kesmodel who recently released his book, The
Domain Game, to rave reviews. The night continues
with a big TrafficZ.com party at a local nightspot
that will run from 9pn into the wee hours of the morning.
I'll try to turn in early enough to get a Lowdown item
covering today's activity posted in this space Saturday
morning (wish me luck with that)!
(Posted
July
11, 2008) |
