Florida, Day One

So far, so good here in good ol' Hollywood Beach, Florida, where the weather is muggy and the boys are smooth and pretty. It looks to be a damn good Internext show this year... or maybe it's just the fact that we're able to do business by the beach. Who knows? Tomorrow night is the big opening night party (featuring the band Lit), and tonight we picked out three hot dancers who will be strutting their stuff at the big closing night GAYVN party on Sunday. If you're going to be in Florida, make sure you look me up and say howdy. And check out some of our panel discussions this year. With all that's going on with 2257 right now, it looks to be a very interesting roster of discussions.

I haven't been to Florida in over 10 years. I hadn't realized how much I had missed it. I LOVE this state. Every town is a beach town. Water and palm trees everywhere. And hardly any of the men are wearing shirts. Too bad it's such muggy weather. :)

I will be moving their soon, you are just south of where I want to move FT Lauderdale, you have to hit the clubs while you are there man. God I am so ready to Escape From LA, its just been a working nightmare here I am ready to get some down time when I can leave.

save me a dancer!

Yeah I love the Florida show and haven't missed any except for this year. I just love the ocean and the hotel is very nice. Did they get the extention done on the hotel? They were adding a ton of rooms last year. I hope you guys have a good time.

Mark

Post Pictures, Pictures, Pictures :D

What happened to day 2?

Regards,

Lee

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Originally Posted by Lee

What happened to day 2?

Regards,

Lee

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maybe it's all a blur :D

With all the money this industry makes, IMHO there is not enough lobbying done in Washington.

Hey there,

Sadly, I just didn't get around to posting anymore updates. Aside from all the seminars, workshops and parties I had to attend, there was the show floor and dinners with webmasters to keep me busy. Oh, and the HOT HOT HOT guy I met and spent two bliss-filled nights with. Alas, it's bittersweet, as he lives in another city and it's not to be. But we'll always have Internext '06, right? :)

The show floor was pretty small this year -- probably about as small as it was in Vegas earlier this year. Gay attendance was down as well. The great thing about that was that the gay companies that did show up got much more business done as a result. Just about every gay webmaster I interviewed for my Gaydar column said how busy they were holding actual meetings and getting actual work done for once instead of just partying their nights away and agreeing to "get back to people." Some pretty big deals will be announced in the next few weeks -- many of which originated at Internext.

The GAYVN-hosted Bon Voyage Bash was a huge hit; it was pretty much the ONLY pfficial gay Internext party this year, which was a bummer for me, but I still enjoyed myself immensely. It's only too bad that so many of you didn't show up so we could have really gotten wild and wooly! :)

We have some very interesting plans for Vegas Internext '07. It's going to be a much different show than ever before, if I didn't already say that. The industry is changing more and more; there are too many shows going on. We're addressing that with our plans for our next show.

Ken

Thanks for the update Ken, sounds like you had a good time hehe.

Mark

Like I said...not enough lobbying on the hill and too much partying in "the mill".
( I just made that up ).
:high:

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Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude

Hey there,


We have some very interesting plans for Vegas Internext '07. It's going to be a much different show than ever before, if I didn't already say that. The industry is changing more and more; there are too many shows going on. We're addressing that with our plans for our next show.

Ken

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I would have to say I have never had a show where I did so much work and so many substantive meetings. The gay attendance was down but that gave me /forced me to spend more time with straight companies. I even got collared into writing a contract at 1 in the morning that was negotiated earlier in the day.

I remember Florida Internext with huge booths on the show floor and lots of parties, booze and sex. This year really seemed to reflect the "professionalizing" of the industry. There were still some parties and booze and sex, but a lot more business. There was still a casual atmosphere because I took part in quite a few meetings shirtless around the pool bar. The industry is changing the way it works and this show was a very good indicator of how we do business more professionally than even 2 years ago.

Registration was easy and no lines and the spaces available were very good. I didn't mind the redacted party schedule [although I kind of missed the Boardwalk bash :-( ] and the only complaint I had, a very small one, was that the complimentary brunch had such a small selection. I guess I shouldn't bitch about a complimentary meal~


Other than that tiny tiny thing, it was a great great show!!


Oh yeah, and the panel on Offshore Incorporation rocked!!!!

Hey Chad,

You'll be happy to know that we are planning several brunches for the Vegas show. If anyone's interested in sponsoring any of them, let me know... :)

Ken

Hey all! I met a few of you there, but not enough.

As to the professionalizing... it seems like the attendees have caught on, but the sponsors have not. I was really not into the lap dancing, the bikini contest, or the wet t-shirt contest.

If sponsors want these events to be big booze filled frat parties - perhaps they could provide us with a few MALE dancers (GayVN excluded of course....) -

Its like the people in the industry have grown up, but the sponsors havent quite caught on. Frankly, I really HATED having to wear an ad on my neck 24/7 that said "pussycash". Yuck.

:)

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Originally Posted by shaun

Hey all! I met a few of you there, but not enough.

As to the professionalizing... it seems like the attendees have caught on, but the sponsors have not. I was really not into the lap dancing, the bikini contest, or the wet t-shirt contest.

If sponsors want these events to be big booze filled frat parties - perhaps they could provide us with a few MALE dancers (GayVN excluded of course....) -

Its like the people in the industry have grown up, but the sponsors havent quite caught on. Frankly, I really HATED having to wear an ad on my neck 24/7 that said "pussycash". Yuck.

:)

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What kind of things would you recomend.. not sure how many here are familiar with it, but we were advertising it at the show too our Costa Rica Bash is in Feb (22-25) maybe if you give us some suggestions we can do something about it & suggest to anyone that sponsors with us too..

Well... at least for the stuff we are forced to wear - like badges and neck ribbons, (Florida's security was so tight, you'd think it was a G8 conference!), please keep it cool! Just like "whatever expo" without any naughty stuff! I got such strange looks whenever I ate at Nikki's!

As to other suggestions, well... maybe lower the volume on the music so that we can talk without shouting at the parties, and perhaps some more parties more condusive to meeting and talking rather than getting drunk. Honestly, the attendees were skipping the parties and going off into the hallways to chat!

As to entertainment, maybe some male models and dancers as well as the ubiquitous half naked babes?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shaun

Well... at least for the stuff we are forced to wear - like badges and neck ribbons, (Florida's security was so tight, you'd think it was a G8 conference!), please keep it cool! Just like "whatever expo" without any naughty stuff! I got such strange looks whenever I ate at Nikki's!

As to other suggestions, well... maybe lower the volume on the music so that we can talk without shouting at the parties, and perhaps some more parties more condusive to meeting and talking rather than getting drunk. Honestly, the attendees were skipping the parties and going off into the hallways to chat!

As to entertainment, maybe some male models and dancers as well as the ubiquitous half naked babes?

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The badge necklaces were sponsored by PussyCash, so of course they are going to put their logo on it to brand their name. Not really much you can do about that. :)