As owners of a growing affiliate program, AJ and I are always interested in meeting new up-and-coming affiliates, as well as deepening relationships with existing affiliates and encouraging affiliates we haven't yet worked with to give us a try.

I think there's a HUGE opening for a show specifically designed to attract newbie webmasters. Gay Phoenix Forum did a lot to try and address that, but I believe that a lot more can be done for upcoming shows in that regard. It's a challenge to get a crowbar and pry these new guys out from behind their computers and get 'em to come and meet people when they may not know anyone else (in person), but it can be done and it should be done.

At the same time, there's also an opening for existing sponsors and larger affiliates to do more deals with each other (sorta what Phoenix Forum was 3 years ago, small and cozy) and specialized events, perhaps with nice perks for affiliates sending large amounts of traffic, would be a good way to approach that.

The revenue models for the two shows could be different, but with the amount of money thrown around by large sponsors, there really is no reason why *any* event needs to charge attendees more than a small-but-reasonable amount ($50-150 per ticket), and perhaps a lesson from the magazine sales model would be useful here... give away subscriptions very cheap so you get your reader (attendee) base up so the advertisers (sponsors) will be willing to spend more to reach them.