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Sometimes, pictures are better than words for telling a story. In the case of this year’s Affiliate Summit that may be true. And to get a visual perspective of some of the goodness that happened here in Las Vegas for ASW 08, be sure to check out Tris Hussey’s Flickr stream here.
The morning started off with the same palpable excitement as Monday and I saw more buzz and deals being made at the breakfast than I’ve ever seen at an Affiliate Summit. The morning sessions were all well attended with near capacity crowds and from the walk-thru’s I did, I saw lots of questions being asked.
Having been to a number of Affiliate Summit’s, I was expecting the crowd to become more and more sparse as the afternoon wore on. However, I was on one of the last round of panels at 3pm and it was near capacity with enough excitement to make me feel as if we were on a Monday morning panel. That was different and real.
The crowd moved from the exhibition hall floor to the general session room where the “Un-Conference” was being held. The basic premise was that MC Jim Kukral would turn the microphone over to the crowd to express their opinions, thoughts, and rants. While there were no heated arguments, there were a number of interesting points made in regards to Jason Calacanis’ keynote, the future of affiliate marketing, and the possibility of an organized trade guild for affiliate marketing for best practices.
Just after the un-conference, the “Great Affiliate Road Race” was held. I had no idea what to expect from the event, but the excitement of the crowd and dozen or so participants was intoxicating. No one knew exactly what would happen when 12 RC cars were switched on to “go” but we soon found out with a massive pile up at the green flag. The folks from AdSpy ended up winning the event with a car that somehow managed to stay clear of the carnage.
Unlike past Affiliate Summits, a number of people stayed Tuesday night for a Wednesday departure. So, there were a number of dinners and dining on Tuesday night. Even then, the discussions kept returning to an excitement about the show.
Without a doubt, this was a fantastic event and gives a glimpse of the future for the conference and the industry. Seeing the growth curve of the event over the years has been fascinating and I wonder how we’ll look back on this period of affiliate marketing years from now.
Thanks to Missy, Shawn, Amy and the Affiliate Summit staff for an amazing event and experience. I’m already excited for Boston and Affiliate Summit East.
Sam Harrelson
4 responses so far ↓
1 Jim Crimmins // Feb 27, 2008 at 4:21 pm
thought the show was great, and the venue sucked. God I never walked so far in my life, can’t we find a location in Vegas that is a bit more compact?
2 Peter Syravong // Feb 28, 2008 at 11:49 am
I thought the venue was GREAT, though the walk was kind of a pain. I was glad the business center was close too, they were quick and convenient for last minute print needs. But The Rio is a large casino. Nonetheless, foot traffic was good and went well.
3 Jason Lancaster // Feb 29, 2008 at 1:26 am
Overall, I think ASW08 came up a little short, at least compared to other affiliate summits I’ve been to (not to mention other conferences).
First of all, I was disappointed at the reduction of classes/seminars. I purchased the full conference pass because I wanted to learn - after all, as quickly as this industry changes, learning every day is crucial. Last year, I was able to attend 4 classes a day both days - this year, I was only able to attend 2 on Monday. Unfortunately, one of the two classes I attended was Wil Reynolds Future SEO class. Wil is great - I’ve seen him speak a few times now - but the audio was awful. I strained to hear him speak for more than half the class. It’s a minor issue I know, but I think my frustration is understandable.
On the second day, I attended “Engaging Consumers with Video” and I was appalled when one of the panelists, despite his admittedly limited experience, stated that “video doesn’t work”. The other panelists were visibly embarrassed, and I was extremely disappointed. I myself have had great success using video to promote sales, and I was hoping to hear strategies and ideas from people that had been successful - or at least people that were interested in sharing what they’d learned. Instead, this panelist (whose name I’ve forgotten) was occupied with arguing against the medium, and it seemed to drag the rest of the panel down. I was amazed to see Tim from Ask the Builder sitting in the audience…why wasn’t he on that panel? He’s clearly an expert.
I think the parties were great, the food was great, and the volume of people attending was very positive. I also enjoyed the keynote and the “ask the experts” session. As always, the networking was excellent.
However, my suggestion for improvement would be to mirror the SES conference. It’s longer, it’s more in-depth, and it’s more educational. It’s also a “tiered” experience - beginners have their own class track, intermediates theirs, etc.
All in all, thank you. I always leave an affiliate summit a little more educated and a lot more energized.
4 Shawn Collins // Feb 29, 2008 at 7:15 am
Thanks for your feedback, Jason.
We really appreciate it and aim to take action on everything we hear back.
As far as why Tim Carter wasn’t on that particular panel, he was on the “Video Innovation in Affiliate Marketing” panel the day before,
Please note that all sessions were recorded on video, and they will be made available as soon as we receive them from the production company.
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