Domainer Meeting Paris
Domainer meeting in Paris has finished and ICANN is in full swing but I find myself on the TGV fast train to Luxembourg. The day started with a group of domainers including Jay & Susan from Domain Intelligence (ie. TrafficZ), Dan from Fabulous, Roland from Domain News plus a few others getting together to head off to Versailles.
Versailles was an incredible statement to the height of opulence and extravagance from the bygone Kingly eras of France. There's nothing like priceless works of art, incredible furniture and gold to get your attention.
The day was hot and after walking what seemed miles down into the lavish gardens Susan, Dan and I had the brilliant idea of hitching a ride back on a golf cart driven by a really helpful Versaille employee. He offered to take us back almost to the front gate as long as his boss didn't see, ahhhh France, you've just got to love it! We felt like the kings of old as we saw face after face longingly look after us as we sped past. After a nice relaxing lunch we headed back to the hotel where I picked up my bags, flagged down a taxi and headed to the TGV train station. This is what brings me to the here and now. It's really the first chance that I've had to really think about how Domainer Meeting went.
Other than a few minor delays at the beginning the event itself was really well run and congratulations should be extended to Melanie from EuroDNS and the rest of the team for their supreme efforts. Contrary to what some people believe it's not easy putting on a show with hundreds of international guests.
One of the challenges I often face at events like Domainer Meeting is getting a chance to experience some of the sessions. I often end up going from meeting to meeting doing some great business but missing out on some excellent content.
For example, I heard that Dan Warner's session on domain economics was outstanding. Dan spends days working through statistics and thinking about the domain industry and his insights are invaluable. I feel really fortunate to call Dan a great friend and there is nothing quite like sitting down with him and discussing domains over a nice bottle of wine. He would have to be one of the most generous guys I know with his time.
I also had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with Jothan Frakes and his wonderful wife Melissa. Like Dan, Jothan is an exceptional thinker and is happy to spend hours with you to share about his thoughts on domains. Spending time with Jothan is always a tremendous educational experience and his breadth of knowledge on ICANN related issues is just incredible. By the way, Jothan turned 40 in Paris so welcome to the 40+ club!
I also had the pleasure of getting to know both Michael and Sig from Parked.com. Both of them a great guys and a lot of fun! Michael was a part of the group that did a café crawl around Paris (you've just got to try that some time) and Michael joined Dan and I on our journey to Sacre Curr and La Defense (IT Museum).
Conferences are about people not events. Whenever I go to a conference I'm meeting with old friends, getting to know new ones and conducting a great deal of business in the process. If you plan on running a transactional business where you do one deal after another and keep on moving on then you really don't need relationships. On the other hand if you plan on building your business then I can think of no greater way to do so then by spending time with people and really getting to know them.
I keep on saying to my own business partners that there is no more important thing to do in the domain industry then to get to know other domain owners. It's just so much easier doing business with a friend that you can trust rather than a stranger. In th meantime if you attended the conference then I would encourage you to send an encouraging email to EuroDNS....they did a great job!
Source: Posted on WhizzBangsBlog by Michael Gilmour -- Reprinted with permission -- June 25, 2008
Versailles was an incredible statement to the height of opulence and extravagance from the bygone Kingly eras of France. There's nothing like priceless works of art, incredible furniture and gold to get your attention.
The day was hot and after walking what seemed miles down into the lavish gardens Susan, Dan and I had the brilliant idea of hitching a ride back on a golf cart driven by a really helpful Versaille employee. He offered to take us back almost to the front gate as long as his boss didn't see, ahhhh France, you've just got to love it! We felt like the kings of old as we saw face after face longingly look after us as we sped past. After a nice relaxing lunch we headed back to the hotel where I picked up my bags, flagged down a taxi and headed to the TGV train station. This is what brings me to the here and now. It's really the first chance that I've had to really think about how Domainer Meeting went.Other than a few minor delays at the beginning the event itself was really well run and congratulations should be extended to Melanie from EuroDNS and the rest of the team for their supreme efforts. Contrary to what some people believe it's not easy putting on a show with hundreds of international guests.
One of the challenges I often face at events like Domainer Meeting is getting a chance to experience some of the sessions. I often end up going from meeting to meeting doing some great business but missing out on some excellent content.
For example, I heard that Dan Warner's session on domain economics was outstanding. Dan spends days working through statistics and thinking about the domain industry and his insights are invaluable. I feel really fortunate to call Dan a great friend and there is nothing quite like sitting down with him and discussing domains over a nice bottle of wine. He would have to be one of the most generous guys I know with his time.
I also had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with Jothan Frakes and his wonderful wife Melissa. Like Dan, Jothan is an exceptional thinker and is happy to spend hours with you to share about his thoughts on domains. Spending time with Jothan is always a tremendous educational experience and his breadth of knowledge on ICANN related issues is just incredible. By the way, Jothan turned 40 in Paris so welcome to the 40+ club!
I also had the pleasure of getting to know both Michael and Sig from Parked.com. Both of them a great guys and a lot of fun! Michael was a part of the group that did a café crawl around Paris (you've just got to try that some time) and Michael joined Dan and I on our journey to Sacre Curr and La Defense (IT Museum).
Conferences are about people not events. Whenever I go to a conference I'm meeting with old friends, getting to know new ones and conducting a great deal of business in the process. If you plan on running a transactional business where you do one deal after another and keep on moving on then you really don't need relationships. On the other hand if you plan on building your business then I can think of no greater way to do so then by spending time with people and really getting to know them.
I keep on saying to my own business partners that there is no more important thing to do in the domain industry then to get to know other domain owners. It's just so much easier doing business with a friend that you can trust rather than a stranger. In th meantime if you attended the conference then I would encourage you to send an encouraging email to EuroDNS....they did a great job!
Source: Posted on WhizzBangsBlog by Michael Gilmour -- Reprinted with permission -- June 25, 2008