Anyone hear anything about GayVN Summit?

[Dick Hunter]

My question is, do we need another gay specific conference?

Yes. Why, how many are there? I can only think of one. And if it's between Phoenix and SF, personally, the choice is easy.

[gaybucks_chip]

Yes. Why, how many are there? I can only think of one. And if it's between Phoenix and SF, personally, the choice is easy.

Dunno what your priority is, but for me, it's not the location, it's the quality of the show that matters. When I go to a show, it's for the networking opportunities and the chance to meet new companies and do new business. If I want a vacation, I take a vacation But that's just me....

[Jasun]

Jasun, I have your socks!

xo

T

Oh.

Right.

heh.

:jasun:

[Dick Hunter]

If I want a vacation, I take a vacation But that's just me....

Anyone who saw me knows I wasn't there for vacation. I certainly wouldn't have been up to 5 am each night uploading pics if that was the case. :-) My point is simply that if there has to be one gay conference, which luckily there doesn't, what's the more logical location? SF or Phoenix?

[Jasun]

I'll say this... I DO wish I was there, because a lot of the people that I wanted to connect with were there and seminars or not, I wanted to sit down and have a chat with a few people.

As it was, I had to try to talk business while at the after party for the awards, which to be fair, wasn't hard to do.

And I'm apparently getting my socks sent back to me.

[gaybucks_chip]

My point is simply that if there has to be one gay conference, which luckily there doesn't, what's the more logical location? SF or Phoenix?

The more logical location is where the better show is (in terms of quality people to network with, quality seminars, opportunities to increase our program visibility, etc) whether it's Dubuque IA, Cancun, Phoenix, or San Francisco.

[Dick Hunter]

Whatever. That's not what I meant.

[desslock]

I guess since I travel so much it's a miracle I've never done this yet.... but I left my Inspiron AC Power Cord plugged into the wall of my hotel room.

I left my Inspiron AC Power Cord in San Francisco.

There's a song in there somewhere.

Steve

[Dick Hunter]

I did the opposite and left my charger at home, so the whole trip I had to conserve power. My appolgies to anyone waiting for me to reply to an email. hehe

[Lee]

One thing, though: The Summit wasn't all about the big studios and their stars. That's just silly. It was about whoever decided to come and participate.

Which by the looks of it, were the major studios or VOD companies.

If adult websites didn't show up to take part, then that is why they weren't represented in larger numbers, and not because AVN Trade skewed the show to the big studios. That needs to be pointed out.

Perhaps the 'online' side of the industry didnt show up because they didnt see the value in spending $300 for yet another AVN show... Given they keep seeing declines in returns from other AVN shows. If you guys want to attract the online world, you need to be realistic in your pricing, just a thought... Unless of course, you are deliberately hiking your prices up to stop the smaller webmasters from attending the show.

The reason i didnt attend is because there was nobody there that i wanted to do business with, that i dont already do (or have done) business with, or need to do business with... Even if there was, a phone call is a lot cheaper.

the show was a valiant first attempt at bringing Internet folks and traditional brick and mortar people together--as that is the direction that this business seems to be heading in

I would say you are on the ball with this though, there definately seems to be a mass transition by traditional bricks and mortar business coming in to the online realm... That still doesnt justify $300 a ticket though

Regards,

Lee

[gaybucks_chip]

the show was a valiant first attempt at bringing Internet folks and traditional brick and mortar people together--as that is the direction that this business seems to be heading in

Actually, Internext 2006 with AEE running at the same time was the first attempt to bring B&M and online people together.... and while the idea of bringing the two camps together is a good one, the implementation was an unmitigated disaster.

But... I will agree that these two sides of the business seem to rarely talk to one another... except for the few companies that really are equally planted in both realms... and finding a way to create synergy between them is an excellent idea.

I dunno what the right solution is. The studios seem to not want to go to shows with a bunch of web people, and the web people seem to not want to go to shows with a bunch of studios. There was definitely more crossover at Gay Phoenix Forum than I'd seen at previous shows, but it's still a far cry from where it could be. So in that regard, I applaud the actions of AVN in trying to make this happen. I just really, REALLY hope they will listen to the comments from the webmasters who didn't attend (which was mostly that it was too expensive for what was actually provided) and consider either moving it somewhere where costs aren't as high or finding enough sponsors to subsidize the ticket cost to a reasonable amount ($100-150) or both.

Actively involving the webmaster community early on, both in planning the event and in promoting it, as GPF did, would probably go a long way to bring more webmasters along.

And scheduling the fall event against the already successful GPF is simply going to alienate people further. I saw the comments about "there are always events going on" but there is only one other gay event currently happening, and that's GPF. There is absolutely no reason to schedule in the same timeframe as that event, unless you're trying to send a message... and that message won't be well received by the people you're trying to get to attend.

[XXXWriterDude]

Odd that I haven't seen any news/comments/reports on GayVN summit, other than one post saying the opening cocktail party was good. Has anyone heard anything?

AJ and I decided to skip it, seemed that few people were going...

P.S.

If you want to read about the Summit, check out avnonline.com. We have, of course, been covering the entire show.

Here's my story on the awards show: http://avnonline.com/index_cache.php...tent_ID=284309

[XXXWriterDude]

I would say you are on the ball with this though, there definately seems to be a mass transition by traditional bricks and mortar business coming in to the online realm... That still doesnt justify $300 a ticket though

Wow, Lee, was that a semblence of something approaching a compliment toward AVN from you??? Hell has just frozen over somewhere. <wink>

You point is well taken. And I do pass these comments on to our trade show department regularly so that they are aware of the concerns of the industry. We appreciate constructive criticism, and I definitely thank any and all for posting their comments here or emailing me with them to help us make our shows better.

[PornTeam]

Well I do have to say they are trying to be like the forum. But over all it was ok. I did get a chance to meet with people that we already work with and well meet a few new people/studios that we will be working with.

I was a little disappointed by the "State of the Industry” I would have to suggest to GayVN that if they have that seminar again that they should have panelist that are willing to really talk about where they think that the industry is really going. And for that matter, they need to really think about the difference of the VIDEO/DVD markets and the INTERNET market.

The food was good, the hotel was nice. It was great to be able to go to the Open Houses at some of the local SF Studios. It was also nice to sleep in my own bed ().

Anyways, hope my comments help.

[XXXWriterDude]

Well I do have to say they are trying to be like the forum.

I think people are only saying that because they just attended the Forum in October and it's the only point of reference they have for a gay-specific show. I mean, one could also say that Webmaster Access is "trying to be like" the Xbiz Conference, or that the Costa Rica bash is merely a ripoff of the YNOT Party in Mexico. Right? Just by their nature, trade shows are going to be somewhat similar, but I actually think that our show offered its own take on a tried and true formula. We love CCBill, and the Gay Phoenix Forum was a GREAT show, but we offered something different--an experience that addressed one of the most pressing issues of the industry: the convergence of Internet with offline video companies. The show could be improved, sure, by most accounts, the show was a good, solid one, and of course, there will be improvements to it for next year as the industry continues to grow and evolve, and us with it.