DOMAINfest draws crowd despite downturn.
Official attendance at DOMAINfest Global 2009 has topped 600, solidifying its position as the largest domain name industry conference. There are over 30 sponsors and 20 exhibitors.
Yesterday evening most conference goers headed out to Universal Studios for an exclusive event. They were treated to studio tours, dinner, and drinks. Even better, DOMAINfest reserved two of the rides exclusively for attendees (no waiting in line).
After returning from Universal Studios, at least a hundred people joined up for an impromptu gathering at the Renaissance Hollywood lobby bar.
Although many people are already looking past today’s events to the party at the Playboy Mansion tonight, today’s programming will be excellent. At 11 am Google will take the stage to talk about traffic quality and its view of the domain channel (check back for coverage later). Then the Moniker live domain auction kicks off after lunch, and at 5 pm Google and Yahoo representatives will be on hand to talk one-on-one with domainers.
Chatter at the event is mostly positive. A number of people have commented on how professional the conference is. For example, the sessions are all starting on time — imagine that.
I stopped by yesterday cause I had a couple free hours and chit chatted with some people. Must say, I’m definitely disappointed I couldn’t go to the actual event. Next year is a definite must!
Very impressive.
600 attendees including exhibitors, staff, etc.
I wonder if last years number of 700 also included exhibitors, etc.
DomainSponsor had more employees last year, I wonder if that effects the numbers.
I congratulate them for putting on a successful tradeshow. Especially, considering the economic uncertainty and the decline in ppc revenue and domain sales.
I wonder if Aftermarket’s show in June will be as successful?
@ Domainer – I think they had about the same number of paid admissions this year. I’m impressed by the turnout, although sitting the auction right now it’s not a happy feeling. It’s a bloodbath.
I think the smart money has learned to wait to grab bargains in the extended auction rather than compete with each other in the live.
Just returning from the multiple day event, it was very professional. The combination of both professional and social functions was great.
I do have to say that the live auction was a slower than expected. It is a direct reflection of the economic times.
I do think that many got incredible deals. In fact, europe.travel for $5,000….great domain, super keywords, and great investment.
That is a lot of heads!! 🙂
The auction sucked…
There, I said it… But is it really a surprise?
People are very picky right now with their “investments”
Mike
Still some good names in the extended auction.And some good opportunities to get some names to develop.
Did anyone see anyone from GoDaddy or Verisign at the show?
@ JP – I can confirm that GoDaddy was NOT there. I’m not sure about VeriSign.
So what message does that send that GoDaddy didn’t care to attend the biggest industry event for their industry. Have they attended in the past? I wonder what percentage of Domainers have their domains at GoDaddy.
They had no problem coughing up big bucks for superbowl advertising, even when the ads don’t get shown.
I think Moniker does a LOUSY job of promoting its auctions, particularly to the general public, which should be heavily targeted to bring new money into domain resales. No press releases were issued for DomainFest Global. If you somehow know that there is an online auction going on now, you have to search their Marketplace page to find the hidden line – Extended Online Auction Info – in order to see the list of domains being auctioned. God forbid the Marketplace page should be changed to have a bold headline: SEE THE ONLINE DOMAIN NAME AUCTION LIST AND BIDS HERE! Well, I’ve started a blog to try to make up for their lack of PR – visit domaineer.blogspot.com.
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