My buddy Oz from The Adult Webmaster wrote another masterpiece last week about how to get the most out of your adult tradeshow experience in an article called “Conquering Las Vegas,” (http://www.theadultwebmaster.com/articles/conquering_las_vegas.phtml) which is the next venue for the largest industry tradeshow (Internext).My buddy Oz from The Adult Webmaster wrote another masterpiece last week about how to get the most out of your adult tradeshow experience in an article called “Conquering Las Vegas,” (http://www.theadultwebmaster.com/articles/conquering_las_vegas.phtml) which is the next venue for the largest industry tradeshow (Internext). Do yourself a big favor and read Oz’s article, and re-read it if that happens to be the case. The upcoming show in Vegas is a golden opportunity to literally kill 10 birds (or more!) with one stone, and unfortunately for some, Internext will be a wasted opportunity. It’s important to play hard, but more important to work harder.

Even though Oz did cover pretty much everything you need to know about how to prepare yourself for Internext, I am going to add my $.02 here, since I am coming from a completely different perspective. While I am in agreement with what Oz wrote, I will add that I am not a veteran of this industry and I personally do not run a company. I will not be incurring major personal out-of-pocket-expenses; I am like a lot of you out there: enjoying the event on the company’s dime. While I am a relative newbie like so many people, I would like to draw on my own personal experiences. Before I move on, please allow me to take this opportunity to publicly thank YNOT for footing my bill. OK, that being said…

The hype surrounding this event is ENORMOUS, and rightly so. Internext is THE event to go to. Even if you never leave your house all year except to start your car to see if it works due to months of neglect, you MUST go to Internext. Months of faceless communication explodes in this three-day, bi-annual event. This will be my third event of its kind, and I will say that it is still somewhat overwhelming for me, but in a very good way, due to the sheer volume of people I will be meeting face to face for the first time. My goal this time around will be to actually try to be in THREE places at the same time.
The event itself is totally what you make of it. Ever had high hopes for a kick-ass New Year’s celebration in the past only to be met with total disappointment? The same can happen here if you aren’t careful, and you would have nobody to blame but yourself. And I’m not just talking about looking to get laid or party harder than anyone else. I’m talking about benefiting your business, yourself, and the company that paid handsomely for you to attend this wonderful event. Much of what will happen on the floor at the Sands Expo, and happenings at the numerous well-planned out parties that go way into the morning are spur of the moment. But still, my advice is simple – plan ahead the best you can for whatever it is that you are setting out to do. It’s a zoo in there. Be in control of what you are setting out to do with a solid game plan well in advance, otherwise the event itself will control you. Trust me, the diversions are infinite.

Booth space ain’t cheap. Throw in employee airfare, rooms and meals, etc., and we are talking a lot of money – in some cases a healthy six-figures for some of the companies involved in this event – judging by the ostentatious display of wealth. (Or throwing away money – however you want to interpret it. I’ve always wondered where the return on investment in those situations can actually make a difference… oh well, that’s another story.) But if you are fortunate enough to be working for a company sending you there, kick serious ass while you can. Hangovers and sleep deprivation aside, with the steady stream of foot traffic passing your booth, you’d have to be a fool to just sit back lazily and ignore it, or worse yet alienate it. It will make you look really bad. Do you do this to surfer traffic on your sites? Sounds ridiculous, yet I see it happening over and over again on the floor. Are you ethical and have a great product and nothing to hide? Get to know everyone. Traffic is key here, too.

Like the last Vegas Internext, and the one in New Orleans before it, personally one of my many goals is to get positive mainstream press out of the event. The reporters are going to be there anyway, so I may as well find out who exactly it’s going to be, and if I don’t know that reporter personally, it would behoove me to find out what their attitude towards the adult Internet is, and how liberal the publication is that they write for. If the “good” types of journalists are scarce for a particular event, then I need to go and find someone locally and call their attention to the event myself quickly. If we’re going to get press – and we will – then we need all of the good press we can get. Since Las Vegas is a fairly large city with a huge number of tourists, if handled properly, positive press published early enough can mean plenty of extra foot traffic for everyone. Of course my main focus will be highlighting YNOT, but many other companies will stand to benefit in the process.

So in conclusion, plan ahead, know your limitations, work like a frickin’ dog, and party like a frickin’ dog in heat. You will be fried by the time you get home and feel like you gargled with broken glass, but it will be well worth it. I guarantee it.

THE COMMENT CORNER

An anonymous webmaster rants: OK, I’m not trying to be a whiner here, but how come my questions never get answered on the boards? I’m talking about several boards, and not just here. Everyone was a newbie at one point, and now I would like to be helped out too, or just said “hi” to once in awhile. I would just like to not be ignored whenever I post somewhere. I don’t even get blasted either. I have emailed a few people directly before, but I hate to have to do this to the same webmasters every time. It’s hard to meet people in this business, but harder to make friends with them. I’m shy, but not an asshole. So all I’m saying is, please help out newbies.

Got a rant for “The Comment Corner”? Please keep it at 200 words or less and submit it to jay@ynotnetwork.com . All submissions may be edited by YNOT for content and clarity.