I know this is a little late, but better late than never, right? I have attended every XBIZ Summer Forum since their first one in 2006. When I look back at the photos I took at that first show compared with this one, there are a couple of things that stand out. In 2006, it seems like it was more about the party. In 2010, things seem more focused on business and education. In today’s business environment, that is a good thing.

The XBIZ Summer Forum is billed as a three day online business event, but in reality, it is more like two and a half. The last day only had two events scheduled and they were both over by noon. On the other hand, they did schedule the XFANZ show to begin when the XSF ended, so if you stayed for that, you could easily get three or four days of networking and business done.

The Venue

As always, The XBIZ Summer Forum was held at the Hard Rock Hotel. I have a condo in Las Vegas, so most of the time when I have a trade show to attend there, I will use the condo. The exception to the rule is when the event is at the Hard Rock. My girlfriend really likes the pillows there, so I will opt to stay at the show hotel when it is held there. The rooms were a reasonable $100 a night, so no complaints with pricing.

The Hard Rock opened a new section to the hotel and the thing that surprised me the most was that the music was no longer rock. The Hard Rock might be changing their name to The Hip Hop Hotel in the near future. Additionally, I accidentally left some clothes there. They said they found them, but only returned some of my items. When I mentioned this on Facebook I discovered that several people had credit card issues with them, so I may have to rethink staying there in the future. We shall see.

The Food

Daily lunch buffets were held at Simon’s and sponsored by Dating Gold. I was not feeling well, so passed on the buffet the first day. I later found out that the meal on Tuesday was better than the one on Wednesday, but Wednesday was not bad. Both days were well attended, and the plates seemed to empty quickly.

The Networking Never Ends

One constant I have noticed about the shows I have attended in the last year is the improvement in the quality of the seminars. I stopped attending seminars in the past because it seemed that most of them were just a way to spam the attendees. These days the seminars provide more valuable information, with a minimal amount of spamming. The seminars I found of particular interest covered html5, OpenSource applications, SEO and social networking. Judging by the attendance at these seminars, I was not the only one.

Another Well Attended Seminar

Speed Networking

For various reasons, I always seem to miss the speed networking sessions at prior B2B events. I did make it to one a couple years ago that was not organized at all, so after 15 minutes I left. I told myself that this was not going to happen this time around. They had two speed networking sessions at this show. The first one was held Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. I do not know if it was too early in the day, or if not enough people had arrived by Tuesday morning, but it got a late start and gave me the impression that the show was going to be sparsely attended. The Wednesday morning session was at 10 AM and filled every seat. I actually participated in this one, but made the newbie mistake of coming to Vegas with less than 20 business cards. It made for an interesting scenario, trying to determine if I should offer a card or not, but I survived. I will not let that happen again.

I think speed networking is a great event, that should be held at every B-to-B trade show, especially for those that are not comfortable with walking up and introducing themselves. Kind of like getting thrown in a pool to learn to swim. Eventually, you discover that most are in the same boat as you, so even if you can not do business with the person today, you have made a new connection that may pay off later in time.

Speed Networking

The Players Ball

Since I represent Got Web Host, and we were a co-sponsor of the Players Ball, I would be remiss if I did not at least mention it. Initially, the Players Ball was supposed to be held across the street from the HRH, but at the last minute things got messed up and it was moved to the Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club. Free transportation was provided, but there was a lot going on in Vegas that week, and transportation was pretty slow. As a result, the show got a late start while we waited for people to arrive. Since Sapphire’s is not a cheap place to drink, and the prices seemed to vary by waitress, some people were not pleased. All in all, I thought Too Short put on an entertaining show.

Too Short at The Players Ball

XFANZ Summer Expo

XFANZ Summer Expo was the world’s first outdoor erotica event. Since it started as soon as the XBIZ Summer Forum ended, we decided to stick around for an additional day. I would venture to say that there were at least as many vendors with booths at the XFANZ show as there were at the XBIZ show. A good number of these vendors sold hard goods and had limited Internet Marketing dealings. This gave us access to potential clients that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. There was plenty of eye candy as well, so it made the extra day a little more pleasurable.

Eye Candy

Summary

The XBIZ Summer Forum has always been one of my favorite shows. I appreciate that this show continues to evolve to keep pace with the changes that occur in today’s market. It is the only summer show that I attend and as long as this event continues to provide the kind of return and information that I have experienced the last five years, it will continue to be my one and only. If XBIZ is taking a vote on whether or not to continue having the XFANZ show immediately after, I vote yes.

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