Are Trade Shows a thing of the past?

[AdorableAudrey]

As an indie paysite owner I've felt a little out of place at the shows I've been to so far (Internext & Xbiz in Vegas), they definitely don't feel like they cater to small business owners like myself. I have enjoyed the connections I've made and picked up some valuable information at the shows but I have to say that private get-togethers and content shooting meets are a much better use of my travel dollars and time usually.

Then again without going to them I never would have met Gonzo and got to bowl naked at his party, which is a memory I will cherish forever even though it totally supports what you guys are saying about useless drunken antics instead of business...

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by AdorableAudrey

As an indie paysite owner I've felt a little out of place at the shows I've been to so far (Internext & Xbiz in Vegas), they definitely don't feel like they cater to small business owners like myself. I have enjoyed the connections I've made and picked up some valuable information at the shows but I have to say that private get-togethers and content shooting meets are a much better use of my travel dollars and time usually.

Then again without going to them I never would have met Gonzo and got to bowl naked at his party, which is a memory I will cherish forever even though it totally supports what you guys are saying about useless drunken antics instead of business...

That was a suite party and the company was glad to have everyone that showed up. Several people were bowling nekkid that night too but I can say no one passed out there.

[tony404]

Originally Posted by gonzo

That was a suite party and the company was glad to have everyone that showed up. Several people were bowling nekkid that night too but I can say no one passed out there.

I know some people would pay big money for the gonzo, hellpuppy naked bowling pics. lol

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by tony404

I know some people would pay big money for the gonzo, hellpuppy naked bowling pics. lol

Violation - Thats a Violation of the hairy ass rule.

[housekeeper]

Good thread and some interesting viewpoints, I'd like to see companies offering more software or equipment as well, but as was pointed out not quite feasible. The first show I went to was in Chicago circa 1985, it was actually a CES show and the porn section was kind of like an addendum to the electronics show. Is that not how the shows were born, out of CES shows which were originally in Vegas, I think?

Anyhow, hope the low attendance is just a passing fancy. Like many others I have attended trade shows for years in a myriad of industries, it's always a beautiful thing when human interaction is involved...

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Violation - Thats a Violation of the hairy ass rule.

I just don't want to see what the NFL referee signal would be for that one.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

I know some people would pay big money for the gonzo, hellpuppy naked bowling pics. lol

Optometrists might pay....as it would cause people to claw their eyes and generate a lot of biz for 'em....

You couldn't really see much of anything for the hair anyway.

[LAJ]

Originally Posted by AdorableAudrey

As an indie paysite owner I've felt a little out of place at the shows I've been to so far (Internext & Xbiz in Vegas), they definitely don't feel like they cater to small business owners like myself. I have enjoyed the connections I've made and picked up some valuable information at the shows but I have to say that private get-togethers and content shooting meets are a much better use of my travel dollars and time usually.

Shameless plug time...

Adorable Audrey... our show is catered specifically for people such as yourself. I really hope you give Cybernet Expo San Fran a try in 2010. I'll do what I can to make the experience great for you.

[gonzo]

Some input and observations from us that are irrelevant.

First off Chris ... your missing the point. Cancun? Lets run the price up even higher.

I DONT WANT A VACATION WITH EVERYONE IN THIS INDUSTRY AND I REFUSE TO CONTINUE PAYING FOR SHOWS LIKE IM GOING TO ONE.

Secondly... AVN signed a longterm contract to score a bigger deal. Good for you but now you are unable to react to a changing market yet you guys are in hopes we are going to bail you out until it ends?

In a free market thats called a poor business decision. Someones mistake is others gain.

Honestly the way AVN has treated the web side of this business for years as redheaded stepchildren ... I cant see many rushing to your aid to clean up a mistake you guys made.

And now I turn the gun on us on the web as some of us have observed ... we are turning into the video side of the market... the trend several of us are seeing is programs don't want to deal with webmasters, and they don't have a clue how to make money online any more, except to scam it.

They don't want to deal with the webmasters.

This entire business needs an enema.

[Hell Puppy]

It's fucked across the board. There are so many things broken about the industry or rather the business models it is built upon, that it is a complete and total mess.

And at the same time, even those who see it and might be wise enough to want to make moves to fix it are in a position where they'd have to sacrifice a huge chunk of their business to do so.

Who wants to be the first big PPS program to adjust your membership models and subsequently pay affiliates what that sign up is really worth? The sheep will move to the next $100 per signup weekend program. And those who have real traffic will just go cut a prepaid deal with whichever of your competitors will give them the best deal.

Meanwhile you aren't going to increase your number of signups significantly even if you feed it quality traffic yourself. Why? Because thanks to things like cross sales we've made savvy users absolutely paranoid about giving up their credit card number to anything that even remotely smells like porn. The people who should be our best customers will usually very quickly run across a site they want to join that gives them nothing but a cookie cutter back end and slams their card from so many angles they have to cancel the account with the credit card company and get a new number.

So much for repeat business.