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The
inaugural edition
of THE
Domain Conference (TDC)
continues to take (and change) shape
as the September 26-29, 2015
event at the Hyatt Regency Pier
66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida draws closer. In an
announcement that will surprise
many, TDC announced today that the
venerable DOMAINfest
brand (acquired from Oversee.net
by NamesCon
last year) will be part of the show
in South Florida.
The
revised agenda still has pre-show cabana
networking kicking things off
Saturday morning (September 26), but
Sunday, September 27 (when
only cabana networking and the
opening night party were previously
scheduled) now adds DOMAINfest at
THE Domain Conference day,
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featuring
a full slate of business sessions
and networking that will get
underway at 10am. That day will be
capped with the Sunday evening
Networking Welcome Cocktail Party
that will get underway at 5:30pm in
the famous revolving party room
that sits atop the Pier 66 hotel
providing a fabulous 360-degree
rotating view of Fort
Lauderdale and the Atlantic Ocean
beaches.
A
spectacular view of Fort
Lauderdale and the Atlantic
Ocean from the top of the
Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel where
the Welcome Cocktail Party at
THE Domain Conference will be
held Sunday evening, September 27,
2015.
Two
more full business days will follow
Monday and Tuesday (September 28-29)
to complete this first conference
staged solo by the Neu family
(Howard, Barbara and Ray)
who played such an integral role in
producing the pioneering T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
conference that closed with
Co-Founder Rick Schwartz's
retirement after the 10th
anniversary show last
fall on Miami Beach.
With
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ending after its
decade long run, and NamesCon
absorbing DOMAINfest (but keeping
the latter brand alive as a
globe-trotting one day special event
often tied to other major industry
functions), only NamesCon and THE
Domain Conference remained as the
industry's globally oriented
multi-day domain trade shows. I
think the fact that those two
forward thinking companies are now
working co-operatively is a
very constructive development for
the industry at large. In the past
there has been some rivalry between
the various shows (with Domain
Roundtable also part of the mix)
but the pairing of DOMAINfest and
THE Domain Conference signals that all
of the organizers intend to make growing
the industry at large their top priority
- a scenario under which everyone
wins.
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Jothan
Frakes |
I'm
sure NamesCon Co-Founder Jothan
Frakes, who has always
had that co-operative
mindset (we described him as
"the domain world's
leading diplomat" in a
July 2014 Cover
Story about his
career), deserves a lot of
credit for bringing this
about - as do the Neus, who
wanted to incorporate some
fresh ideas into stamping their
own imprint on
the new show. Jothan has
taken the reins of the
DOMAINfest brand since
NamesCon acquired it and has
already done some very
creative and productive things
with it - including staging
a DOMAINfest day in Sofia,
Bulgaria earlier this
month in conjunction with Bulgarian
Internet Week. If there
is an audience for domains
anywhere on the planet Jothan
will most likely find it!
While
DOMAINfest at THE Domain
Conference is a big value
add, you won't see it in
the ticket
price which
remains at $499
(until July 1 when it
is scheduled to go up
to $699). Hotel
rooms are also a
bargain, starting at just $109
a night. If you are
feeling generous, voluntary donations
will be accepted at
DOMAINfest at
THEDomainConference to
support two very worthy
causes - the Internet
Commerce Association
and the Water
School. |
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