Simply put, Cybernet Expo in Montreal last week was a smashing success and essentially everyone left the show feeling great (mentally, not physically!) Most importantly I think people left with a real sense of accomplishment.Simply put, Cybernet Expo in Montreal last week was a smashing success and essentially everyone left the show feeling great (mentally, not physically!) Most importantly I think people left with a real sense of accomplishment. Save for a few obnoxious complaints here and there, I think it’s safe to say that mostly everyone had an amazing time, got some serious business done, and have great memories of the show… those which of course can be remembered! I’d rather not say “I told you so” for all of those who had an opportunity to go to the show and chose not to and are now licking their wounds, but hey… I told you so!

With a lot of the local reporters running around at the hotel during the day and some at the dinners and other attractions at night, I think they were shocked to see how business is done in our industry. The press breaks from last week in Canada.com were definitely indicative of that as we weren’t vilified which we so often expect to be the case. The need for fanfare, noise and gaudy booth displays don’t have any place at the smaller events, aren’t conducive to efficient Webmaster networking anyway, and are a thing of the past. Several months ago it was looking like the show wasn’t going to happen, and as recent as a few weeks ago there was plenty of talk about people’s reluctance in going. Not sure why this was the case considering that last year’s show was also a success (with the exception of the showroom floor). My guess is the attendee list doubled during the last two weeks of May, and I am happy to say that everyone who consulted with me as to whether they should go to the show or not, chose to go.

Despite the fact that show organizer Fay Sharp as of this morning announced that she feels that this will be the last Cybernet Expo, I am inclined to believe that it will live on somehow, someway. Taking everything into account… the Delta Hotel, the city of Montreal, the seminars, networking areas, parties, dinners and events, it would be a shame for this show to die. I can understand how stressful and risky it can be to put together an event of this magnitude, but Cybernet Expo can and should live on despite all of the difficulties in putting it together.

This particular show in my opinion was successful partially due to several Webmasters stepping up to the plate and taking the initiative where it was needed… parties, dinners, seminars, etc. I got the impression that everyone who was there really wanted to be there and especially wanted to make this show the best it could be for everyone. There was always something to do, and people for the most part were willing to walk up to anyone and introduce themselves. It was that kind of a vibe.

Things kicked off with a bang on Wednesday night with an amazing welcome party (full list of sponsors can be found here) and then the after-parties sponsored by 2much.net and Triplexcash.com / Xnations.com. Back at the hotel, Platinumbucks.com and Spread4U.com kept the action going in their respective suites until all hours of the morning. Let me just say how generous and hospitable all of these people are! You can ALWAYS count on the Canadians for a good time, and for JFK from FUBAR to catch every moment of it.

By Saturday things were still in full swing with the Webmaster tour (full list of sponsors can be found here here) and the closing party sponsored by NatNet. Again, all in all to me it seemed like this show was all about giving.

And now, from a YNOTMASTERS and a personal standpoint, I’d also like to thank the following people who took the initiative to make this event the best it could be by their sponsorship, time, knowledge and/or generosity:

· Fay Sharp, Dave Gould and Alex Henderson for choosing to have a show this year back in Montreal and for their hard work in getting it together, and especially to Fay for giving YNOTMASTERS complete creative control in organizing, staffing and moderating the YNOTMASTERS morning seminars and afternoon roundtable discussions. These seminars were greatly received by everyone, and attendance was extremely impressive. By day three I estimate that our traffic / marketing / advertising seminar had nearly one third of all attendees packed into the room. Running our own seminars gave me, personally, an opportunity to be a speaker on the newbie seminar as well as delivering a keynote speech. The speakers all did a fantastic job and adhered to our strict requirements, and for that, everyone comes out ahead.

· George from PornProfit.com for agreeing to be a speaker at the last minute, and for your generosity. You are one hell of a cool dude.

· Gamma Entertainment and TopBucks for sponsoring their exquisite dinners that many of us were fortunate to be a part of. Both of these companies splurge when it comes to entertaining the masses, and the company and the restaurants were simply top notch. But how could you expect anything less from Gamma and TopBucks?

· A huge congratulations are in order to SEGuru and Brandy on their nuptials with Minister YNOT Bob officiating last Friday. It was truly a magical moment!

· And last but certainly not least, I would also like to offer a huge thanks (and so should you!) to all of the great people who stepped forward to help report on some of the seminars at Cybernet Expo and bring the goods back to you all, gift wrapped in this issue of YNOTNEWS. With all of the great information that was dispensed at the show, it is my extreme pleasure to be featuring the words, notes and thoughts from Mitch at NoCreditCard.com, Ellisa from PlatinumBucks.com, Lisa from TopBucks.com, Danny from SICCash.com and Tina from VideoSecrets.com throughout this issue. This issue would have been nearly impossible without their contributions given the time constraints. So read on, and feel free to send some traffic and love to these fine people!

That will wrap it up for this week. Everyone already seems to have Hollywood, Florida on their minds as Internext is less than seven weeks away and Montreal is but a blur for most of us. Next week YNOTNEWS will resume with the usual articles, tutorials and editorials, so thanks tons for your patience to everyone who is next in line to be published! If you are interested in being a YNOTNEWS contributor, or perhaps you run a Webmaster program and send out a regular newsletter, please be sure to hit me up at editor@ynotnews.com so that we can get you on board and published here or to work out a trade deal right away!

Enjoy this issue! — LAJ

Jay “LAJ” Kopita is the Editor-In-Chief for YNOT NEWS, Communications Director for YNOTMASTERS and Chat Board Administrator and can be reached at editor@ynotnews.com and jay@ynotmasters.com.