2008 GeoDomain Expo Coming to Chicago

Conference for “hot” sector of domain names returns in July.

It seems like everywhere you look, domainers are talking about “Geo” domains. Those in the geo space will tell you it’s been hot since the beginning, but they probably enjoy finally getting the respect they deserve. And that will be on display at this year’s GeoDomain Expo in Chicago July 11-12 at W Chicago – City Center. (There is a cocktail party the evening of July 10.)

I’ve decided to go to the conference for a couple reasons. First, I’m a closet geo domainer. I have a spreadsheet of city and state names, and when I come up with a relevant term (e.g. plumbers), I plug the keyword in and search for available domain names. I also own the name of a small Austin-area city called Lakeway. It’s a cool feeling whenever I drive through Lakeway. It feels like “I own this town”. I’m getting ready to develop Lakeway.com and want to learn from some veterans.

I usually don’t go to conferences for the content, but Associated Cities and co-sponsor The Kelsey Group have put together a program that looks appealing. A session on Friday will discuss getting local advertising dollars. The panel will include The Castello brothers. Later that afternoon is a discussion on how to develop geo domains. Also of interest is David Kesmodel, who will be there with his new book The Domain Game.

Of course, no conference would be complete without a live domain auction. Moniker will host a geo domain auction Saturday night.

I’ll be covering the event live on Domain Name Wire, but if you’re interested in geo domains, I recommend going to this conference in person. Registration is only $595 through May 31, which is just a fraction of the price of most conferences.