I'm really interested in hearing different people's reaction to domain name conferences. Each person has their own reasons for going, from partying to the small hours of the morning or just to hang, for me, I go to conduct business.
A classic example was the recent Domain Round Table conference. While I was there people were moaning about the fact that the number of delegates was really low compared to previous years. Yes, that may be the case but the bottom line is how much business did you do? I had one conversation that made the whole trip worthwhile followed up by another twenty or so that added cream to the top of the cake.
I like it because it means that due to the price every person that attends the conference will typically be high quality, high net-worth individuals that are there to do business. Sure, just because they want to do business doesn't mean that they aren't also going to have a lot of fun! From personal experience, I've found that a lot of deals are conducted in the bar or over a friendly game of poker. :-)
So what's the difference between $1,000 and a $2,000 price tag for a conference that provide an increase in wealth by about $500K? The difference is NOT the price but IS the people that choose to attend. On the other hand if the quality people don't attend TRAFFIC then sadly I won't be there either. It's all about the business. Does this mean that we can theoretically have a conference priced at $50K? Yes, it does as long as I do $5m worth of business. It's return on investment.....as simple as that.
This brings me to what's on a TRAFFIC Orlando. Although no speakers have been announced as yet a number of the sessions seem to be really putting the parking companies in the gunsights. Topics such as "The Future of Parking", "How parking will change" and "Turning Fear into Opportunity" will really focus the mind on the bottom line.
A number of the other sessions include discussions on the "Snowe Bill", "Finding opporunities", "Developing domains" and "Tips from insiders on how to monetize domains". Each of these will provide a lot of insight into the future of domaining.
The domain auction list looks outstanding and it will be interesting to see how much some of the domains sell for. Some of the names up for auction include: calcium.net, babyfood.com, oh.com and Israel.com.
This brings me to my final point. If you want to conduct some business then TRAFFIC is a great place to get things done and agreements moved forward. You'll learn from the sessions (which are improving and are no longer just sales pitches....thank goodness!) and from other quality domain owners. If you go with an attitude to that it's an investment then expect and look for a return. I know that I'll be there and I'll be wanting to conduct business, learn from others and have a good time.....heh, it's Disney....besides that a shuttle is lifting off a few days later at the Kennedy Space Center. :-)
Domain Wiki: Domain Round Table, TRAFFIC