DOMAINfest Attendance Tops 600

DOMAINfest draws crowd despite downturn.

Official attendance at DOMAINfest Global 2009 has topped 600, solidifying its position as the largest domain name industry conference. There are over 30 sponsors and 20 exhibitors.

Yesterday evening most conference goers headed out to Universal Studios for an exclusive event. They were treated to studio tours, dinner, and drinks. Even better, DOMAINfest reserved two of the rides exclusively for attendees (no waiting in line).

Following returning from Universal Studios, at least a hundred people joined up for an impromptu gathering at the Renaissance Hollywood lobby bar.

Although many people are by now looking past today’s events to the party at the Playboy Mansion tonight, today’s programming will be excellent. At 11 am Google will take the stage to talk regarding traffic quality and its view of the domain channel (check back for coverage later). Then the Moniker live domain auction kicks off following lunch, and at 5 pm Google and Yahoo representatives will be on hand to talk one-on-one with domainers.

Chatter at the event is mostly positive. A number of people have commented on how professional the conference is. For example, the sessions are all starting on time — imagine that.