I recently returned from my first PubCon, and I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable conferences/tradeshows I have ever attended. I have been to all kinds of conferences over the years, but the things that really stood out in my mind about Pubcon:
1) the speakers were not selling product, they were experts in subject matter. Too many times I have attended conferences to only have the speaker say "and for all the great information, buy my book after the show" or something like that. These speakers spilled their beans, and the information was top-notch. My favorite conference was the Social Media conference which included speakers from Topix.com, webmasterworld.com, and RateitAll.com .... my 2nd favorite was probably the Email Marketing conference.
2) the audience knew what they were talking about. There is nothing worse than Q&A at some conferences. Stupid questions. Well, at this conference the questions were all "good questions"
3) the show is so good, that it really calls into question why it isn't bigger? Perhaps this goes against the thinking in comment #2.
4) The branding of this show is horrible. The WebmasterWorld.com logo, and the Pubcon logo are horribly old-school, and really do not portray the brand or conference the way they should/could. I think this was part of the reason I was so pleasantly surprised by the conference... one look at the logo made me think it was going to be awful and regressive.
5) A little too much overlap of the conferences. There were definetly a few tough choices for me where I wanted to be in 2 sessions at the same time.
Finally, thank you for having it in Vegas. Tradeshows held in Indianapolis or Memphis just don't cut it. Vegas, LA, NY, or Miami are the only destinations for "successful shows".
If you are in the online publishing business, this is one show you should attend.
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