TRAFFIC / Orlando – Day 1 – A great networking event!

Despite a surprisingly rainy morning that lasted until noon, Orlando was sunny and dry when I hit the road driving west, towards the Disney Resorts. After getting lost twice in the maze of entertainment parks that good old Walt Disney decided to build in the middle of the swamps in the 1960’s, I arrived at the Grand Floridian at around 1:30pm.

At the registration desk I met Christian Higgins of Parked.com who just happened to be there, sporting a “PARKED.com” shirt. After registering, I met Rick Schwartz who was busy making sure things were going smoothly.

Soon after, I met with other members of Parked.com, including Donny Simonton and Michael Ward. It was great meeting in person with people that in the past I only exchanged emails with (some of which were not so nice!) and we all headed for lunch at a restaurant within the resort. The Parked guys were all very friendly and energetic despite the 90 minute haul from Tampa and we had a nice conversation about – what else – domain parking. As an extra bonus, Donny paid for lunch and by 3pm we all headed back to the conference area.

Usually at that time, people that are newcomers to TRAFFIC were given some sort of introduction to the features of the conference; this time we were left to our own devices and met others as they were casually walking by. Sahar Sarid was just like in his pictures – all-smiling and friendly and very recognizable by most people. I met with Michael Collins, executive director of the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) and co-founder of Afternic. We talked about the problems that the domain industry will be facing in the years to come and about potential methods that can be used to raise awareness in the domain community, in order to protect our assets.

Soon enough, our small discussion circle broadened as others joined in while we were anticipating the 5:30 cocktail party. Bill FitzPatrick, president of Boston Domain Exchange described the challenges of monetizing themed domain portfolios. Michael Gilmour of ParkLogic came to Bill’s rescue, discussing the methods and features that his company uses to generate revenue for its clients. Divyank Turakhia of Skenzo talked about how the current range of domain conferences around the world require him to fly for 18 to 24 hours at a time, something that he seemed to handle pretty well.

Ron Jackson arrived with his wife, and at long last I had the opportunity to meet him after 6-plus years of online interaction. Ron publishes the most authoritative source of domain sales at DNJournal, along with very well-written articles portraying icons and pioneers of the domain world.

Despite our late lunch, everybody seemed to be getting hungry and at 5:30pm the main exhibits lounge opened up, serving a variety of buffet delicacies and drinks. Finally I got a chance to have a full picture of the attendants and the exhibits and to further discuss industry matters with fellow domain investors. Ron Jackson sported a brand new Sony camera that gave him a hard time only for a short while, before he proceeded to take pictures of the event. The exhibit booths were colorful and each one had its own distinct corporate color and identity. It wasn’t hard to walk up to virtually anybody and strike a conversation – although at some point the three-member band playing live was a bit too loud!

I met with the people behind Domainer’s Magazine and discussed the opportunities that exist in the domain market for real print publications. They seemed to be very excited and aware of their contribution to the industry via a printed medium.

Market Leverage, one of the web’s largest “Cost Per Acquisition” (CPA) networks that enables web Advertisers and web Publishers to harness the power of performance marketing, featured a great-looking booth and very friendly hosts. The company is based in Lake Mary, FL and despite the fact that they originate from an industry not directly related to the domain market, they were eager to be present in such a big domain event. Sal Guarino, president of Market Leverage, had the cunning ability to tell that I am Greek, simply by looking at my name on my business card!

I must have walked several miles in that exhibition lounge, as my feet started to hurt! To my salvation came the 8pm bell, which marked the beginning of the Moniker domain auction. We all moved to the auctioning room that featured round tables and comfy chairs – along with the opportunity to do more networking before the auction started. I sat at a table with Bill FitzPatrick and four folks from Grimbsy, England who claimed their small town was probably unknown to the rest of the world. Except that an old friend of mine lives in that town, so naturally a new conversation about 8-bit home computers, Sir Clive Sinclair and Crash/Sinclair User/Your Computer magazines brought back great memories!

The auction started with several low-priced names ending up in the hands of new owners, some after several rounds of competitive bids. Monte Cahn of Moniker and the auctioneer in charge were able to keep up the spirit of everyone, thus motivating more bids at this relatively low profile auction. My domain Julio.net was sold for $3,500 (pending verification) and that added up to my personal excitement.

The clock was ticking past 9pm when the day ended – but not without yet another surprise for me. After meeting with Dr. Christopher Hartnett, chairman of Tedhens Limited he introduced me to a fellow Greek who owns Lease Domains, manager of a large domain portfolio. What are the chances that two Greeks meet at their first TRAFFIC conference? Let me tell you, less than having three instead – and yet, that one in a million syzygy became a reality when Nick Spanos, president of Bapple.com joined us for a loud-mouthed conversation in Greek!

It was the perfect ending for a great, busy and rewarding day. Looking forward to Day 2, tomorrow.

You can view some quick snaps from Day 1 here.