I was trying to remember the last time I attended AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE). It must have been six or seven years ago. It was back when AEE and Internext were held at the same time. I remember wanting to get out of the AEE fan show as quickly as possible because it was so crowded. This year, AEE was broken up into a trade show and the fan show. While they did overlap their dates a little, it seemed that it was a lot less crowded. Since it had been so long since the last time I attended AEE I will not bother doing comparisons to previous years, as the economy is a lot different now, so it would be like comparing apples to oranges.

The AEE show was held January 6-9 with Internext overlapping it slightly, being held January 8-10.

The Venue

AVN moved the Internext B2B show back over to the Venetian Sands Expo Center which was the same location as the AEE fan and trade shows. It has been a few years since I went into the Venetian, and while it seemed like it was a longer walk back in the day, for some reason the walk did not seem that far this time. I guess those daily walks with the dog paid off.

Since I have a condo that is spitting distance from the Sands, there was no reason for me to stay at the Venetian or the Palazzo, so I can not comment on that. Since I was at The Sands for five consecutive days, I did have a significant amount of contact with the service personnel and I have to say, everyone that I encountered was quite pleasant and helpful whenever I had cause to interact with them.

Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE)

When I arrived on Thursday, only the trade show was going on, and it seemed like that was pretty sparse. It was towards the end of the day though, and it seemed like many of the vendors were still in the setup process. I was not sure how the trade and fan shows were going to work in conjunction with each other. Friday, all my questions were answered.

While the exhibit hall seemed smaller, there was no question that they were packing in a lot of booths. It was set up so that fans entered on the side of the hall that had all the exhibitors with their toys, lotions, DVD’s and more. Once the attendees worked their way through the trade show portion they were presented with all the porn stars and cam girls they had come to see. There was a constant line of fans waiting to get an autograph or photo with their favorite girls, and the girls seemed more than willing to oblige. While the lines were long, they seemed to move smoothly and with little aggravation.

From Friday until Sunday, each morning there was a significant line of people to get in. Booths that put on shows, like the Clips4Sale booth with Ashley Fires had large crowds around them at all times. While the crowds were large, I never felt the need to escape to madness and I never saw or heard any unruliness.

Ashley Fires Drawing a Crowd

Internext

This year, Internext was unlike any of the previous shows I have attended. For the past several years the show floor has been decreasing in the number of exhibitors and attendees. Each year, the rumors could be heard, “Will this be the last show?” “Is the ROI worth the cost of attending?” It appears AVN heard the talk and decided to do something about it.

The primary differences in 2011 over previous years is that there was no exhibit hall and attendance was free for those that pre-registered on time. As has been the case in every adult B-to-B webmaster event that I have attended in the last year, Internext has become less about the party and more about education and networking.

Standing Room Only

Although I felt that AVN had made it clear that there would be no exhibits this year, there were still people wandering around looking for the booths. The seminars I attended were topical, educational and very well attended. In fact, some seminars were so well attended that some had to be moved to different rooms to handle the crowds. I think this added to the confusion as I heard moderators say that they were not sure where their seminar was to be held. I think this was just part of the growing pains and changes associated with the show, and if this format continues the bugs will be worked out.

The Parties

No matter what, when you go to Las Vegas there is an expectation of a party atmosphere. To that end, there was the GFY 10 Year Anniversary Party and what may have been the last Players Ball. There were a few other parties, especially after the AVN Awards show, but most of the locations did not allow cameras, so I did not bother attending them.

The Last Players Ball?

Summary

To say that the times are changing would be an understatement. Fortunately, AVN has recognized that it is the time for change and if this past Internext was any indication of the future I think the past rumors of the demise of Internext and AVN have been greatly exaggerated. The giant booths, with Lambos and foam titty fights may be gone, but I think AVN may have come up with a solution to provide for their continued success for not only them but affiliate webmasters that want to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of those that preceded them.

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