Why am I here? No, really, why am I here.
Right before attending the 12,000 person Adtech conference in San Francisco, and shortly after being shut down for an invite to the Moss Networks vip party (that’s right, Moss Networks told me “No Thanks”, as my search continues for a good small business PR firm), I was about to ask myself that question, as I was beaten to the punch by my uber-breakfast companion. Note: the companion was not uber, the breakfast was.
We sat eating a massive breakfast in the Ferry building at 11am (as we so often do), and he asked me, why the hell are you going to ADtech. I had to stop and ponder for a few moments as my late-night-salsa-dance addled brain took it’s time to get into business mode.
Why was I going to another advertising conference? I had just returned from the Underground online seminar, where I was surrounded by 500 similarly motivated, and equally successful go-getting “Basement Empire” multi millionaires, and now I’m going to a 12,000 person pitch-fest of yearly salaries, corporate cubes and 9-5′ers. What was I thinking …
I smoothly explained, after yet another cup of black-oil like coffee, that these conferences are at two ends of my business spectrum. These two styles of events are important for very different reasons.
The first type of conference is for internet marketers. This is where I’m at home. Surrounded by other people building internet empires from their basement. No commutes, few employees, but a real understanding of the small business world on the internet. We “get it”. We make enormous sums of money, doing what we love, and working how we want. I go to these conferences to feel at home, and be surrounded by people that are like myself. That’s why I’m going to the San Diego event in May (and yes, there are TWO San Diego internet marketing events in May)
Adtech is the other end of the spectrum. I doubt that many, if any, baseline bedroom internet marketers really attend. This is the corporate world, and I come here to make sure I don’t lose all touch with the common and prevailing mindsets. This is where the kool-aid gets digested and disseminated. This is where the breadth of the advertising world gets, and makes, its money. It’s intregral for me to be here – not to stay on the cutting edge, but to make sure I’m not so far out on the edge that I lose grounding, and thus lose touch with the masses.
Wow, now that I write it down, it doesn’t come off all that well, but you have to remember, it was 11am in the morning, after 3 hours of sleep, and I was about to enter a sell-sell-sell expo floor crammed with pushy people, suits, booth babes, and endless corporate hucksters. Honestly, a scarier proposition there never was …
Three Reasons to be here:
1) Small: To Stay on the Cutting Edge, Big: To Stay Connected to the Masses
2) Both: To Learn about prevailing marketing mindsets and moods
3) Big: To test my patience (mettle) being hounded on the expo floor … and see what people spent display money on.
Yes, I have to be here. Yes, I have to stay connected to all internet marketing, in all its facets. This is a huge event, and I was surprised by the companies that were here, and more surprised by the companies that were absent.
Does anything here really have an immediate effect on my business? Probably not …
Am I learning? Yes, yes, I am.
Do I wish I had blown off ADtech and gone to see “Kick-Ass” with my friend? What do you think?
