Having their dates fall so close together will almost certainly cost each show some attendees as people, especially in the current economic times, have to make choices. For the promoters of the two west coast shows in parfticular, it is obviously not the best situation to be so close together in both time and locale, however most registrants who want to be at both will 

appreciate having them back to back on the calendar. That is especially true for those of us in the Eastern U.S. Rather than make two coast to coast trips, I can now fly to Las Vegas for T.R.A.F.F.I.C., then take the short hop to L.A. for DOMAINfest before returning home to Florida. That will save me time and money and still let me attend two shows whose programs differ enough and offer enough value to make them both musts for me.

Likewise, my experience at the first Domainer Mardi Gras conference this past February makes going back next year a no-brainer, especially since it is such a short hop across the Gulf of Mexico from Tampa to New Orleans. If you haven't been to a T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference or DOMAINfest Global event before, our reviews of their last shows (T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs in Amsterdam in June and DOMAINfest Global in Hollywood in January) will give you a good look at what they are all about.

Registration for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas will open soon. Early bird registration is already open for DOMAINfest Global and Domainer Mardi Gras. Signing up early for any of these shows will save you a lot of money. DOMAINfest also just posted the preliminary agenda for their conference.

This week's news has all focused on the start of the 2010 show season, but there is still plenty of activity left to go on the 2009 conference circuit. The second annual MeetDomainers show will be held in Poland at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel, September 25-27. English-Polish & Polish-English simultaneous translation will be provided at the Meeting

MeetDomainers organizer Daniel Dryzek said, "This meeting will be a great networking opportunity and a chance to learn from the best authorities in the field of domain name law, domain name monetization, advertising, affiliation, web development, SEO and more! You

will be able to meet lots of Polish domainers and company owners as well as specialists and entrepreneurs from other European countries." You can check out our coverage of the debut edition of MeetDomainers last year here. 

Sedo will be holding their always special SedoPro Partner Forum (a private event for clients) in Key West, Florida October 7-9 (I will be speaking there). The last SedoPro Forum held in the U.S. at New York's Mohonk Mountain Resort two years ago was one of the most enjoyable events I've ever attended. A scheduling conflict kept me from going to the 2008 forum on the French Riviera last October but the photos we ran from that event will show you Sedo's penchant for doing everything in style.

The grand conference finale for 2009 will be T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York, coming up October 26-29 at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott (also the location for last year's New York show). With a break of several months since the last major conference I am expecting a very strong turnout in New York. A few weeks before that event, we will be running a detailed preview to let you know what is in store there this year.