I guess it was Tuesday, the second day of XBIZ LA 2011, that I was talking to Andrew of Vsex.com. He asked me how the show was for me. I started talking about how much business was getting done, how good the seminars were, how everyone seemed to be there for business instead of a party. He stopped me, laughing, suggesting that I was giving a promo for the show. In a way I was, because I always start writing these reviews in my head long before I actually type them out and this show really had a lot to talk about.

XBIZ LA 2011 was a three day, B2B trade show for the online adult entertainment industry. Held at the Sofitel, in Hollywood, CA XBIZ LA included seminars, demonstrations, speed networking and a Mix & Meet Marketplace. In addition to the Internet based trade show, the 9th Annual XBIZ Awards was held along with a new event, XBIZ Retail 2011.

The Seminars

I know I have mentioned it before, but it seems that show organizers are concentrating more on providing an educational format to these B2B events, and it appears that show attendees are responding in a positive manner. It seems that the seminars are not only well attended, but the information provided at even one seminar justifies the price of a pass. A great example of this was the Traffic Master Class held by Brad Gosse. As I looked around the room, I noticed that it was packed with n00bs and veterans alike. I read comments by people on various webmaster boards afterward, and it seems that those in attendance that put Brad’s recommendations to work were already seeing positive results.

Keynote Speech by Allison Vivas

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Yes, I know I am a little late with this review, but there is a reason for that. Prior to this review, every one I have done has been slanted on the positive side. I am sure I mentioned the bad with the good, but for the most part, every review has been positive. I guess the only way to ensure that people realize my reviews are based on my real feelings rather than sucking up to the event’s sponsors. This will be the review that shows I may be honest, to a fault.

I have attended several Cybersocket events, and in fact, last year’s Cybersocket Web Awards was the first event that I added a review on. While last year’s event was well organized, and in a great venue, this year I was not as impressed. I am not going to point fingers of blame, because I do not know if issues were caused by the owners of the venue or something else, but I most certainly would not recommend using it again.

The problems began with just getting into the place. I had requested a press pass so I could cover the event thoroughly. I was given the impression that all was well, until I arrived at the venue. It did not matter what kind of pass I had, I was going to the back of the line. It made trying to shoot the red carpet futile as there were about 200 people stuffed into a 10 square foot area. I gave it a shot, but it soon became apparent that this was not going to work. (more…)

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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. (more…)

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