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Okay...
Who was that one person that told Internext it would be cool to have the event again in Vegas during January?
Not that I have my thoughts I love to share...but goodness...
Every year it gets worse (for the gay groups) and I was hoping for a new and better Internext.
On the other side, guess the gosip from last year that Internext was looking to have the event the same time as the Phoenix Forum is wrong.
But they DID listen a little -- Internext is not the same time as AVN Expo nor at the same time as CES and its 150,000 sex-starved attendees. It is not right after the New Year and it is not on a weekend. I admit I have already looked into airfare and hotel; this time I plan to stay 5 nights instead of 4 and even with the extra night my airfare and hotel bill will be less than half what it was last year.
Hopefully they learned that the registration booth needs to be clearly marked. The show floor should not be in a basement storage room and the seminar room should be a real room, not a space in the basement with some sheets hung over clothes lines like some 1st grader's secret fort.
Then they need to really try and ATTRACT gay companies rather than just EXPECT them to show up. They need to have seminars that are not carbon copies of last year's seminars, complete with the same panelists giving the same self-promoting speaches.
A networking area OTHER than the hotel bar might be a good idea too. The Phoenix Forum's courtyard was a very popular place to hang out and network, with not much noise and the bar close by. Webmaster Access in Toronto utilized a conference room that was just for attendees. Internext Florida has the pool area.
With so many shows, the free market will choose winners and losers. Shows that do not cater to the needs, wants and desires of attendees will lose market share to shows that do. Just like you can no longer put up a static webpage of hardcore pics and expect the money to roll in, AVN can no longer offer a trade show that is not well thought out and responsive to those paying to attend.
I don't think the March date was a rumor... someone from AVN posted it here as a possibility, and it was immediately shot down.
Honestly, I think they're somewhat clueless as to what to do, but decided to try this. And if anything can save that show from going totally down the tubes, this might be it. I'm guessing a lot of people passed on the idea because it was so expensive to stay in Vegas last year AND there were so many people, so the new dates might help attendance.
Now... if they'll just do more than the one token gay seminar with the same people they've had for the last 20 years, make the price reasonable, and take all of Chad's suggestions, they'll be well on their way to redeeming themselves.