AffSpot went to Affiliate Summit West 2010 in Las Vegas this past week. My first representing AffSpot. And about the umpteenth event of this type I’ve attended over the past 20+ years or so. After you’ve gone to more than a few of these things there is alot that’s the same… And alot that is different.
For me this was both a good and awful trip. A printer messing up a flyer for AffSpot (but they look fabulous on cardstock instead of catalog slick), the worlds worst flight cancellation in history (I will NEVER fly with United ever again) and staying awake for nearly 37 hours so I could do a little charity thing called “Bowling for Boobs” notwithstanding. The pluses far outweighed the minuses.
I had the opportunity to meet in person with many of the AffSpotters that contribute most to AffSpot. Renewed friendships with a few people I’ve known for years. And was able to meet many more people in much less time that would be possible in any other way. And was able to articulate my own personal vision for AffSpot that I’ve been holding “close to the vest” while all the pieces were put into place over the past six months or so. And no, I’m not going to tell you anything you don’t already know about AffSpot quite yet.. But very soon.
The biggest lesson for you that I can provide is that you MUST HAVE A PLAN for an event of this type. There is too much going on to just let yourself drift and go with the flow. I had made appointments with many, some more “loose” plans with others. And, a list of people that I hadn’t made appointments with but I would be able to introduce myself to when the opportunity arose.
The high points? Dinner with Sara and Brooke from Hayneedle, meeting Simon with Spotcher, getting to spend some seriously good time with Brad of Marketlite Affiliates, Wade Tonkin of GTO Management, Jamie Birch of JEB Commerce, Heather Paulson of PMG, Jivan Manhas of MediaTrust, Jen Goode (an AffSpot Moderator BTW, Michael Vorel of VastPlanet, Roger Snow and Randy Norton of Snow Consulting, and on, and on, and on…. And yes, there is no way I could namedrop everyone… With the exception of Trisha Lyn Fawver. She was everywhere and always busy, and always laughing. Maybe that something I need to tell her in person will wait for ASE10.
Another thing was that Greg Hoffman (of Greg Hoffman Consulting), Matt Enders (of MGE), and Todd Crawford (who just announced ImpactRadius) and I kept running into each other all over the place. Greg Hoffman accused me of stalking… I attribute it to “Great Minds Think Alike”. And we all kept laughing at the absurdity of it all and introducing each other to other people we know. Kinda like “old home week”.
Some things are always the same. Everyone is constantly contemplating everybody else’s navel. ID Badges tend to hang a little low, and they’re really big, and they end up covering your navel. When your looking for someone you tend to look at badges (as not to embaress yourself) and end up embarassing yourself because your looking at peoples navels instead of their faces.
Different? No matter how big Affiliate Summit seems to get, there is a familiarity, and intimacy, that Affiliate Summit hangs onto that other events just can’t pull off. Only one other event I’ve attended has been able to maintain “the feel”. And it went away along time ago. Affiliate Summit is special this way.
It was a good event for AffSpot. And for me personally as well.
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