Jacob Brought Up A Good Point In The Show Thread..

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I also noticed that a majority of the convention was straight people. I think we deserve our own convention. This will also help with networking so you know who you are marketing to.

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I know a year or two back Gary and I were starting to put some plans together for a gay webmaster convention but they never amounted to anything because of a lack of interest from potential sponsors, so i was just wondering, do you think the time is coming for those os us in the gay marketplace to have our own dedicated gay convention or tradeshow?

Your thoughts?

Regards,

Lee

Depends on the scope/goals of the show.. and the expected size/attendance targets. (how would it differ for a webmaster meeting?)

If it is "Internext, only gay" there would be a big financial burden.. the overhead of the facilities, etc.. along with the 'credibility of the fledgling show'

The January Vegas show (was it internext or AVN? They blurrr..) had that area towards the back..


What about using the "mainstream" show to absorb the majority of the overhead/risk and just campaign heavily within the gay community to have a greater level of participation? More booths, More speakers, more sponsors..

A show within a show with more seminars, meet & greets, and activities (aside from the parties) that were gay-market oriented? Grrr-ass roots marketing.

Once the attendance hits 'critical mass' it could spin off and stand on its own..

What would happen if something was scheduled a few days before a pride festival?

(Does "The Gary & Lee Xpo" include just industry.. or consumer aspects as well?)

Just my thoughts..

Wish we could do that.. and I think bringing in mainstream stuff is a great idea... I know that we deal with a lot of websites that aren't primarily adult but do sell adult DVDs.. love to have them there.

We deal with a lot of stores that dont' deal with online.. it would be great to have THEM there, too.

A gay show, I think, would rock, and if done right, would help everyone. So long as everyone showed up.. and you know.. gay people. showing up.. not always as easy as it sounds.

I don't think it will or can happen until the big players in this arena stop fighting and trying to out-screw one another.

If the show is a GWW event, a whole side of the community may not get involved; if it's a CS event, another whole camp won't have anything to do with it. And as a potential sponsor, I couldn't recommend to my company that we get involved in such a thing on a sponsorship level. I wouldn't want my company to be caught in the cross-fire of whatever war or drama might break out. And right now, in the gay adult online community, there's always drama - from all sides.

Until we grow up, I don't think this is a feasible idea. I think it's a much needed idea.

dzinerbear

I think it is deserved and would be great. I would defintely be there for your GWW convention Lee. From what I understand Phoenix started out as a mainly str8 event and now it seems mainly gay. I love the Phoenix event CCBill and Patrick do a fabulous job and I can't wait for it again.

Straight webmasters have a lot of good marketing ideas and I have quite a few clients that run straight sites. I also know a lot of straight webmasters who do a damn good job of running gay sites. Going to an all-gay convention means missing those people.

IMHO, as long as there is a strong gay presence with good seminars, marketing opportunities and the occasional party then I see no need for an all-gay convention.

cheers,
Luke

Phoenix has a huge straight side to it, as does the Internext events; remember that the industry is probably about 70-80% straight.

I've been tossing around this idea with various people for some time. There is definitely some interest out there and I think something may come of it before too long, but the other thing to remember is that many of the largest straight players are moving into gay traffic, and I know of several gay players that have some straight traffic and sites as well... so there are arguments to be made that keeping all of us in the industry together (gay and straight) makes sense as well... which is the viewpoint that some of the folks I've talked to have held. They like the idea of "cross pollinating" with the straight companies.

As far as the politics go, it's petty bullshit that people need to just get over.

Anyone who avoids an event because c-y-b-e-r-s-o-c-k-e-t is sponsoring or involved is an idiot, just as anyone who avoids a show just because GWW is sponsoring or involved is also an idiot. The gay side of the industry is way too small for anyone to hold onto grudges or act like children and "take their ball and go home" because they don't like this or that person... and those who do take that attitude will just end up losing out, which is fine for me, 'cause it will leave that much more business that AJ and I can snap up :)

I think when people mean a gay only event. They mean people that are marketing to the gay side of the industry. This not only makes it easier for us that have gay sites to market to other people that have gay sites or gay businesses.

I would never discriminate; most of my friends are straight. It is like this: I am looking to buy a BMW but I am at a Dodge dealership? I probably won't find a BMW there.

When I am at these events, I may not run up and hand out cards and talk to some people, because I could be wasting their time and my time if they own HotGirlsFuck.com. They would have no interest in leasing out gay twink feeds from me. Because of this mix marketing it does just the opposite of good networking, it keeps some of us in the same circles we are already familiar with because we don't know who is str8 and who is gay. It is just another kink that gets in the way of good networking, in my opinion.

Also you have to remember we only have 3 days per convention to do it right. There are only 3 or 4 conventions a year? It isn't like we have a lot of time to get our message out. So we need as few obstacles in the way as possible.

Just my few cents worth.

Live Twink Cam said it right!! We need a gay show -- for anyone into or wanting to get into adult or mainstream marketing to the gay community. The orientation of those attending isn't the definition -- it's the purpose of the show that's the definition.