Domainer epidemic: How NOT to get the flu

I’ve been reading a lot of domain blog posts, since the realization that during Domainfest a lot of attendants got sick from an apparent flu bug.

I too got sick after attending TRAFFIC in Las Vegas a year ago and I learned a lot of things from that experience, which kept me sick for two weeks and loaded with antibiotics.

First of all, when one attends a conference of that magnitude – 700 people – chances are that a percentage of the attendants are already sick, especially in the heart of winter.

Many people don’t realize that the majority of the flu germs are passed around by direct contact: handshakes, touching public areas that others touch, using items that others use.

To minimize the possibility of catching the flu, one must definitely keep physical greeting to a minimum. Handshakes instantly transfer germs. Unless you aren’t concerned about been seen washing off your hands with antibacterial gel IMMEDIATELY after a handshake, then simply don’t greet that person by hand; offer an alternative method of greeting and perhaps explain in the process why you do this.

Touching escalator rails or even pushing elevator buttons can also get you contaminated. You then pass those germs onto utensils and the germs instantly multiply.

Washing your hands often, with soap and hot water is a must: the process must be thorough and needs to last for a minute.

It’s not easy to be both social and cautious when attending an industry conference; the sight of people wearing surgical masks is something that could be deemed an extreme case of snobbery. Not to mention, you won’t be recognized in the pictures!

Again, the majority of germs are passed around via direct contact; although there are situations that the culprit is airborne. If your immune system is weak, the flu bug *will* get you pretty quickly; when that happens ensure you receive proper treatment and most important, don’t pass it on to others.

Domain conferences are unique opportunities to meet and greet many great entrepreneurs of the domain industry; try to play it safe even if that means less handshakes and not participating in the “speed networking” round robin. That’s where I got my own flu bug.