5 questions to be answered at this stretch’s DomainFest
Attendance, fresh TLDs, and other questions to be answered this stretch.
I’m writing this while airborne on my way to Los Angeles for this stretch’s DomainFest conference. Here are five questions that will be answered by the end of the week.
1. How many people will show up? DomainFest usually packs in 500+ people at its conference. That might be a challenge this year. The conference was moved back a couple months, disclosed late, and is part of a packed conference schedule (counting the ICANN meeting just the prior week).
On the other hand, attendance will be helped thanks to fresh TLDs finally coming to market. DomainFest has a record number of sponsors this year, so we’ll just have to see what happens.
2. Will the return to Hollywood be well received? DomainFest is moving back to Hollywood following a long run in Santa Monica. The event will be at the same hotel where it was the last time it was in Hollywood. It’s a nice (and renovated) hotel with a spacious conference area. The only downside that I remember from back then was you walked outside to get from your hotel room to the conference. Hopefully that won’t be an issue with rain in the forecast this stretch.
3. How will people react to the early results for fresh TLDs? It will be interesting to see what the reaction is to early results from fresh TLD launches. Better than expected? Worse than expected? I’m particularly curious to hear what is stated during the panel “.Sexy Rollout Success Story” this afternoon.
It’s hard to call the .sexy launch “successful” given the early technical snafus and low registration numbers so far. Perhaps “lessons learned” would be more appropriate, and I suspect that’s where the session will ultimately head.
4. How will the multi-track format work? The conference is switching to a two-track format this year. That means two sessions will happen concurrently much of the time, giving the audience a choice between two topics. I’m a fan of this approach.
5. Will monetization make a comeback? Many recent domainer-focused events have pushed monetization to the side given the precipitous fall in domain parking. But DomainFest is organized by DomainSponsor, one of the largest domain monetization firms. Domain parking is sure to be a topic of interest at the show.
