DOMAINfest Global 2010 Day 2 and Day 3 (My Final Thoughts)

The agenda for day two, January 27, 2010 was the following:

9:00am – 10:30am
Structured Networking – Ask the Experts and Interact With Peers

11:00am – 12:15pm
Keynote – Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com CEO

1:45pm – 3:00pm
Session 3 – Turning Killer Domain Names Into Killer Websites

3:30pm – 4:45pm
Session 4 – Domain Names: How Prime Internet Real Estate Builds SEO and SEM Success

6:30pm – 10:30pm
DOMAINfest Networking Dinner Party  At The Getty Center

I decided to start this entry of with the agenda from January 27th because I didn’t actually have the opportunity to attend every session.  I want you the reader to be fully aware of when I arrived to DOMAINfest on the second day and to learn about what I had the pleasure of experiencing.  On Wednesday I arrived while Tony Hsieh (Zappos CEO) was on stage.  I could kick myself for this because I stayed out longer than I expected to the night before at the welcome reception and dinner.

Tony discussed why the building a culture in your business is important and also stressed that you should recruit people who are natural fits for your company.  In other words your workforce should identify with your brand and represent your brand at all times, whether it be in our out of the office.  He identified that a great deal of his success has come from studying consumer behavior.  He takes pride in making both his customers and employees happy.

Tony is known for turning Zappos.com into a $1 billion a year enterprise and for acquiring clothes.com for a purchase price of $4.9 million.  This was an inspiration keynote session.  I wouldn’t call it a speech because Tony was interviewed by the CEO of Oversee.net during this time period.  I have always felt that Tony was a revolutionary and believe he understands consumer behavior better than most CEOs out there in today’s world.

Session 3 focused on how the panel members were able to turn killer domain names into killer websites.  Its not rocket science here folks nor will I get into the specifics.  They shared what worked for them and I am a firm believer that the formula is different for everyone.  The right plan and team is needed to complete any development project!

Session 4 zoned in on the SEO aspect of things.  Some panelist felt it was important to register a domain name which identified specifically with the keyterms you are optimizing for and other panelist stressed the importance of social media.  With all fo the tips which were provided in this session you are bound to either be overwhelmed or you are on your way to developing a very successful presence online.  Organic and paid traffic can both stimulate the growth your websites need.

The Getty Center was spectacular, the entire museum was closed to the public and all of the conference attendees had the chance to view some of the greatest works ever created.  I had the chance to catch up with a few associates while taking a liking to some of the best artistic masterpieces I have ever seen.  Great food, open bar, amazing networking opportunities and world renowned artwork set the bar high for this night.  Little did I know the nightlife festivities for the next day would top it!

The agenda for day three, January 28, 2010 was the following:

9:30am – 10:30am
Structured Networking – Ask The Experts And Interact With Peers

11:00am – 12:15pm
Session 5 – LAUNCHfest: Vote For The Best Website Idea

1:45pm – 2:00pm
DOMAINfest Global Farewell Remarks

2:00pm – 6:00 pm
Moniker Premium Live Auction Powered By SnapNames LIVE Technology

8:00pm – 1am
DomainSponsor Party At The Playboy Mansion

By this day I was getting extremely exhausted.  You’ve got to remember that I had just come back from Las Vegas the Sunday before DOMAINfest and we also had our Southern California Domaining Meetup the following Monday.  I did not have much time to sleep and for this reason I have decided to book a hotel room for DOMAINfest Global 2011.  This will allow me to sleep a bit more and partake in more of the festivities.

On the last day of DOMAINfest I decided to spend a few hours at my gym, The Sports CLub LA.  I rested in the jacuzzi tub, steamed in the steam room and relaxed in the sauna.  After doing this I proceeded to take a nap on one of the many lounge chair located next to the jacuzzi tub.  After waking up I hopped into the shower put on my suit and drove to DOMAINfest fully relaxed and ready for the day’s activities.  By the time I reached the Fairmont Hotel, the auction had been going for about two hours.  I missed all of the other activities that day and was outbid on several of the domain names I wanted to buy, but all was not lost!  I still had the DomainSponsor party at the Playboy Mansion.

As much as I would love to describe the Playboy Mansion in words nothing I can say will do justice for the overall experience.  What I will say is this was the best nightlife experience I have ever had!  This put the perfect icing on the cake for the last day of DOMAINfest Global 2010.  It was an AMAZING experience!  I want everyone to know that I paid for my tickets to the conference and it was well worth the price.  If you are debating on attending next year don’t debate too hard as it will come and go quicker than you can imagine.  The networking at this conference is unexplainable, everyone is willing to share information and exchange contact information with you.  I have my days set ahead of me shooting emails to those that I met at the conference.

Today alone I was able to contact a few people from the conference who will now be business associates for life.  One person has stated that we should work on a few domain based projects together and guess what?  I am going to take that person up on there offer.  I was able to spend enough time with the new associate at the conference to see that we would be great business partners on future projects.  Enough of my rambling, the conference was GREAT and everyone knows it!  Since I don’t plan on shedding anymore light on the Playboy Mansion, for those of you who would like to receive a private link to the pictures taken that night feel free to provide your contact information in a reply to this blog entry.

If I don’t know you, please do your best to identify yourself!