Next DOMAINfest Global conference just a few months away.
For three years DOMAINfest has been defined by a single event: its party at the Playboy Mansion.
Don’t get me wrong. The conferences were great and packed with excellent sessions. But when people talked about the conference it inevitably came back to that one party.
The 2012 conference will be different. The final party will be at a different (and less controversial) venue, The House of Blues. I suspect the big discussion after the conference will be different, too.
Here are some of the highlights I’m looking forward to at this year’s conference:
Workshop: Everything You Need to Know About New TLDs – barring any last minute legal action, the window for applying for new TLDs will be open when this session takes place. I think we had a great new TLD session at Domainer Mardi Gras last year; I hope this is something similar where it’s not just loaded with consultants and service providers.
Panel: Affiliate Lead Generation Best Practices – this panel typifies how DOMAINfest is moving away from just a domain monetization show. It’s also good to see former Oversee.net employee Jay Weintraub on the bill. He’s now an expert in lead gen and runs the leading conference in that space.
Keynote Fireside Chat with Biz Stone – DOMAINfest is tops when it comes to landing big name keynote speakers. This year is no different with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
DOMAINfest takes place Jan 31 to Feb 2 in Santa Monica.
Isaac says
I am not attending domain fest this year, but it has nothing to do with the playboy mansion.
I am what you would call an “industy veteran” I grew up selling dot coms.
The current audience at these conferences are, to put it simply, noobs.
They think they are going to hit it rich on this jackpot called “new TLDs” and I just would love to get on stage for 5 minutes and explain why ICANN is corrupted, and new TLDs are creating a more volatile marketplace giving the future of the space LESS credibility.
But, it’s their party anyway.
Sam Aidun says
Rumor has it there may be another Foul Play show this year during DomainFest.
Andrew Allemann says
@ Sam – looking forward to it!
Jason Thompson says
Your title definitely sparked my interest Andrew! Yes it is the post-playboy era. This reminds me of the cancellation of the Playboy Club on NBC. Just like the show the Playboy brand just might of outlived itself. The DOMAINfest Playboy party was one to remember, but chock full of girls who were simply complaining how they were brought in without any sort of compensation.
My first DOMAINfest experience was a great one, where the final party did end up at the Playboy Mansion “Backyard”. This time around, if I do indeed attend this event my mind won’t be thinking about the party. It will be thinking about the great experiences to come. 🙂