** Last update, January 5th**

There are a lot of evening networking opportunities taking place during Affiliate Summit West 2011. Below is a listing of the parties during the conference.

Please note: As some of the parties are “by invitation only”, we suggest you contact the company directly for more information.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Canadian Affiliate Marketing Meetup

• Sponsor(s): AdCanadian.com
• Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm
• Location: First Food and Bar at the Palazzo
• How to RSVP: Go to http://network.affiliatesummit.com/events/canadian-affiliate-marketing
• Who is invited?: affiliates from Canada; Canuck advertisers; any US and international entrepreneurs (affiliates, advertisers, other) connected or interested in Canadian business opportunities, networking

buy.at’s Mixology Party

• Sponsor(s): buy.at
• Time: 8:00pm -
• Location: Mix Lounge
• How to RSVP: The event is invite only, but if you’d like to attend, please send an email to Amy at USEvents@buy.at
• Who is invited?: buy.at affiliates, clients, partners, and industry contacts

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Affiliate Summit Happy Hour hosted by Viglink

• Sponsor(s): Viglink
• Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
• Location: Sin City Brewing – inside the Flamingo Hotel
• How to RSVP: RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/viglink?v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=180040735362470
• Who is invited?: All.

ShareASale “Under the Stars” Party

• Sponsor(s): ShareASale
• Time: 8:00pm – 12:00am
• Location: Tryst Nightclub
• How to RSVP: Pick up an invitation at the Meet Market on Sunday @ the ShareASale Table.
• Who is invited?: Everybody who picks up an invite.

The Mailer Meetup

• Sponsor(s): RoboMail
• Time: 8:00pm – 11:00pm
• Location: Caesars Palace (The event will take place inside a suite at Caesars Palace. Free drinks and food will be provided.)
• How to RSVP: Send an email to mailermeetup@gmail.com, subject :mailer meetup.
• Who is invited?: This is a for mailers by mailers event. Anyone who has experience in the email marketing industry.

Ads4Dough Party

• Sponsor(s): Ads4Dough
• Time: 8:00pm – 12:00am
• Location: Spearmint Rhino
• How to RSVP: Contact your Ads4Dough Affiliate manager. or Account manager
• Who is invited?: Ads4Dough Affiliates, Merchants, Wickedfire Members

PMG Private Reception

• Sponsor(s): Paulson Management Group, Inc USA, PMG Affiliate Management LTD UK
• Time: 9:00pm -
• Location: The WYNN Salon Suite
• How to RSVP: Email McKenna@PaulsonManagementGroup.com
• Who is invited?: Anyone interested in speaking with PMG.

Moss Networks Presents: Ultimate Affiliate Event

• Sponsor(s): DankCash, Empyre Media, Webair
• Time: 10:00pm – close
• Location: Blush Boutique Nightclub inside the Wynn Hotel
• How to RSVP: Guests must be invited by each sponsor. Contact one of the companies listed above, or find them during the Meet Market for your invite!
• Who is invited?: Guests of sponsors only

Monday, January 10, 2011

Strike Out Breast Cancer at Affiliate Summit

• Sponsor(s): GTO Management, BowlingShirt.com
• Time: 12:00am – 3:00am (Sunday Night Midnight Bowling!)
• Location: Goldcoast Lanes, 4000 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV
• How to RSVP: 1. Register at http://asw11bowling.eventbrite.com; 2. Make a donation of $25 or more to any of the walkers on this year’s Affiliate Marketer’s Give Back Team on the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer site; 3. Forward your email confirmation of your donation to bowlASW11@gtomanagement.com
• Who is invited?: Anyone!

cleverbridge Happy Hour & Dinner

• Sponsor(s): cleverbridge
• Time: 4:30pm – 10:00pm
• Location: The Wynn Salon Suite
• How to RSVP: Please contact your cleverbridge Affiliate or Account Manager
• Who is invited?: Invite-only

2011 PMA Member Meeting

• Sponsor(s): N/A
• Time: 5:30pm – 9:30pm
• Location: Maggiano’s Little Italy (across LV Blvd. from the Wynn)
• How to RSVP: Complete RSVP form
• Who is invited?: Everyone

Network Solutions Affiliate Cocktail Party

• Sponsor(s): Network Solutions
• Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
• Location: La Cave at the Wynn
• How to RSVP: The event is invite only, but if you’d like to attend, please send an email to Mia Vallo at mia.vallo@networksolutions.com
• Who is invited?: Network Solutions affiliates, vendors, partners and industry contacts

EuroSphere Networking Reception

• Sponsor(s): affiliates4u, a4uexpo
• Time: 6:15pm – 7:30pm
• Location: Mouton 2, Wynn
• How to RSVP: Please RSVP @ http://eurosphere.eventbrite.com/
• Who is invited?: Anyone working or interested in Performance Marketing in the UK, Germany, France and other key European territories.

AffiliateWire Elite VIP Party

• Sponsor(s): RevenueWire
• Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
• Location: TAO
• How to RSVP: Contact your Affiliate Manager.
• Who is invited?: Invite Only

Affiliate Summit Trivia Tweetup

• Sponsor(s): Affiliate Summit
• Time: 9:00pm – 12:00am
• Location: Wynn Las Vegas Mouton 2
• How to RSVP: Confirm at http://tweetvite.com/event/asw11.
• Who is invited?: Everybody

Epic Direct’s Exclusive Party at Blush

• Sponsor(s): Epic Direct
• Time: 9:00pm – 12:00am
• Location: Blush Boutique Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas
• How to RSVP: Confirm at http://www.epic-rsvp.com/asw2011.
• Who is invited?: Invite-only

Affiliate Avalanche Party

• Sponsor(s): Health Converter, Vantage Payments, CCBill
• Time: 9:00pm – 12:00am
• Location: Lucky 7 Suite Hard Rock Hotel
• How to RSVP: Visit http://www.healthconverter.com/avalancheparty to RSVP for a chance to attend.
• Who is invited?: Invite Only

Profit Kings Media presents the Affiliate Ball w/ Three Six Mafia, YTCracker

• Sponsor(s): Blu Cigs, ClickBank, Market Health, Neverblue, OJQ, PeerFly, Profit Kings Media, Underground Elephant
• Time: 9:30pm -
• Location: Rio’s Crown Theater
• How to RSVP: Please sign up at http://www.affiliateball.com/registration or contact a wonderful sponsor for a VIP code – VIP entrance is at 9:30 PM, general admission is at 10:30 PM.
• Who is invited?: Everyone.

Affiliate Summit Tip Off Party

• Sponsor(s): DM Confidential, Experience Advertising, John Chow Dot Com, Offervault, Purpose, Inc.
• Time: 10:00pm -
• Location: The Palms – Hardwood Suite
• How to RSVP: Head on over to www.AffiliateSummitTipOffParty.com and RSVP!!
• Who is invited?: Everyone.

Clickbooth’s Black Card Party

• Sponsor(s): Clickbooth
• Time: 10:00pm – 1:00am
• Location: Location will be revealed on Monday, January 10th at Clickbooth’s Booth #405
• How to RSVP: Visit http://www.blackcardparty.com/.
• Who is invited?: Invite only.

PareshConnect.com

• Sponsor(s): Upromise.com & OPMpros.com
• Time: 11:00pm –
• Location: XS Nightclub @ Encore
• How to RSVP: Please go to www.PareshConnect.com and RSVP. We will send you more details on the event and details on where to pick up your VIP wristband.
• Who is invited?: Anyone that’s there for the Affiliate Summit

If you’re running a party, dinner, etc. during Affiliate Summit, submit your details to us and we’ll add you here.

This post will be updated as we get more details.

As all the parties and special events are firmed up that will be taking place during Affiliate Summit West 2010, I’ll add them to this list. There are some really fun activities planned, many of which raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which is the cause that Affiliate Summit is supporting during Affiliate Summit West 2010.

Saturday, January 16th

Purpose Inc’s Fight Club
Beginner Brazillian Jiu Jitsu training with 6X World Champion Robert Drysdale
Location: Robert Drysdale’s Gym
Time: 3:00pm
Cost: $75.00

More information or to RSVP.

Purpose Inc’s Dinner and/or Drinks Get Together
Location: Daniel Boulud at Wynn
Time: 6:00pm

More information or to RSVP.

Purpose Inc’s Affiliate Summit Charity Poker Tournament
Proceeds to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Location: Rio Hotel
Time: 9:00pm

Buy-in: $150 Payable at the Event Only ($110 goes directly to NBCF / $40 goes to Rio for Expenses to host the tournament. $100 Rebuys during the first hour also goes directly to NBCF).

Winners: Prizes, Trophies and Bragging Rights!

Click here for more details and to register to play.

buy.at Party at Rain Nightclub
Location: Inside the Palms Hotel
Time: 10:00pm – ?
Last year buy.at gave you a view of the stars at Moon. This year, party-goers will be mingling among fire and water at Rain. To request an invite to this event, contact Amy at USEvents@buy.at.

The Carolyn Tang Bachelorette Party!
Location: It’s a secret
Time: 10:00pm – ?
Sorry guys, it’s official … Ms. Tang for ShareASale is off the market and heading down that aisle this summer! What better way than to give her the proper send off then in Las Vegas, Baby!

This C-Tang thrill ride is for everyone, boys & girls, so make sure you email or Tweet Kristin to get an invite.

Sunday, January 17th

ShareASale Under the Stars Party featuring Affiliate Karaoke
Location: Rio Hotel, Miranda
Time: 8:00pm-12:00am

Get ready for:

Pick up an invitation at the Meet Market on Sunday @ the ShareASale Table.

The Social Advertising Social
Location: Suite 22001, the Rio Hotel
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Join Offerpal Media and start the conference off right! Meet the Offerpal team, visit with industry peers and enjoy an open bar and plenty of great finger food.

Come by and get social.

Adknowledge Cocktail Mixer
Location: Fireside Lounge VIP Room at the Playboy Club and Moon Nightclub inside the Palms Hotel
Time: 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Join Adknowledge at this VIP event and network with industry peers while enjoying open-bar cocktails, gambling, photo opps with Playboy Bunnies and dancing at Moon nightclub, one of the hottest spots in Vegas!

Invite Only Event. Contact your Adknowledge rep for more details.

Double Play Media’s Affiliate Summit Tip Off Party
Location: Hardwood Suite @ The Palms Resort
Time: 9pm – ???

Double Play will be providing plenty of entertainment and loads of delectable drinks, in the 10,000 sq ft Hardwood Suite at the Palms. The fun starts early and will continue into the early morning hours!

More event info OR to RSVP please email: RSVP@Doubleplaymedia.com. Please include: Name of attendee, Company, Contact Info, Number of people in your party.

Strike Out Breast Cancer Midnight Bowling Fundraiser
Location: Goldcoast Lanes, 4000 W Flamingo Rd. Las Vegas
Time: Midnight – 2:00am

Join BowlingShirt.com, GTO Management, Things From Another World and Affiliate Marketers Give Back as we bowl to raise money for Breast Cancer research at Affiliate Summit.

Registration is $25 per person or $125 for a team of 5 people and all bowlers will receive a custom bowling shirt to commemorate the event as well as some fun swag from BowlingShirt.com and TFAW. Here’s the best part – 100% of your registration donation will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation!

Register to attend the Strike Out Breast Cancer Midnight Bowling Fundraiser.

Party Like a Rockstar with COPEAC!
Location: Tryst Night Club at the Wynn
Time: 8pm-12am

After party to follow at XS Night Club. Join the COPEAC team for the hottest party of the year! This party is invite only. Please contact your affiliate manager for more details.

Monday, January 18th

FanDuel Party
Location: ESPNZone at New York New York Hotel
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm

Sports affiliates are invited to join FanDuel.com for free beer and wine, some great pub grubs + Free FanDuel Tournament. Play for some great prizes, door prize giveaways and free interactive sports game play.

Space is limited to 50 affiliates – find out more or register at
http://fanduellv-MissyBlog.eventbrite.com

Meetup202 at Affiliate Summit West
Time: 6:00 – 9:00PM
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Fantasy Tower, 2nd Floor, Palms Ball Room

Join Wes Mahler, Founder of Tracking202, for a candid discussion on the Tracking202/Bloosky deal, the future of affiliate marketing, and what to expect in the coming months. Space is limited. RSVP to reserve your seat today!

Affiliate Summit Trivia Tweetup
Location: Miranda 1&3 and Miranda Patio
Time: 9:30pm – midnight

Sure, you can impress your friends with your knowledge of all of the dog’s names that have lived in the White House, but will they buy you drinks? Give you prizes? We don’t think so.

So, here’s your opportunity to get what you deserve. Join the Affiliate Summit team and your Trivia Host, Lisa Picarille for the Affiliate Summit Trivia Tweetup where you can show off your random-fact prowess, get unexpected high-fives and make some new friends. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even win drink tickets or passes to Affiliate Summit East 2010 in New York City.

Register to attend the Affiliate Summit Trivia Tweetup.

Have a Beer with MakeBeer.net and GTO Management
Location: McFadden’s Irish Pub at the Rio
Time: 11:00pm – 12:30am

We’ve had a great year in the MakeBeer.net affiliate program and to thank our affiliates and to meet some new ones, we’d like to invite you to join us for a beer or two at McFadden’s. You’ll get to sample some great Cooper’s beers, have some appetizers and see some Cooper’s Home Brewing products from MakeBeer.net. Someone will win a Cooper’s Micro Brewery kit that will allow you to make 6 Gallons of home brewed beer for less than 60 cents per bottle.

We’ll have several styles of Cooper’s Beer available for tasting including Cooper’s Vintage Ale, Cooper’s Pale Ale, Cooper’s Sparkling Ale, Cooper’s Stout and Cooper’s Lager.

Space is limited (by room size and beer count) to 100 affiliates so please
save your spot by registering for free at
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/523485760/MissyBlog

Clickbooth’s “The Hangover-Unrated” VIP Private Party”
Location: Hangover Suite at Caesar’s Palace
Time: 10:00pm – ?
Invite Only. Contact your Clickbooth Affiliate Strategist for more details.

Vegas Internet Party
Location: The Rock House Bar on the Las Vegas Strip
Time: 6pm to 10pm

Usher in the New Year with an Internet Marketing Event — Las Vegas Style!
For more information or to RSVP, visit http://www.vegasinternetparty.com/

So how do you get your party or special event listed here? Easy. Send me an email containing the event details and how attendees can register to attend. I’ll happily add it for you.

“Our strong suit is what we do, and our audience.” – Jerry Garcia

Say what you will about the Grateful Dead, but they understood Audience.

From the folks that bought their records to the Dead Heads that followed the band around for 30+ years, The Grateful Dead mastered the art of appealing to their fans and monetizing them, while simultaneously staying true to their music.

In my opinion, Jerry Garcia would have loved Loren Feldman’s Audience Conference.

I know I did, along with the rest of the attendees who sat in the audience.

Upon entering the Hudson Theater, you could tell that this conference was going to be different. The glamorous history of the theater itself coupled with the fact that we were not forced to wear our pedigree dangling from a lanyard created a feeling swankiness; a feeling one does not typically experience during a conference.

Loren kicked off the event laying the ground rules in the matter in which we’ve grown to love him:  No Wi-Fi, no Twitter, no open laptops, no cell phones, no flash photography — or else.

It was the first time in a long while that I was about to consume conventional, one-way, top-down media and quite frankly, I was concerned that I wouldn’t know how to do that any longer.

After listening to the first two speakers, which included Dan Farber and Andrew Keen, I realized what a pleasure it was to just listen and digest.  The rest of the speakers that graced the stage of the Hudson Theater were Rachel Marsden, David Binkowski, Joe Jaffe, David Dunne, Jeremy Pepper, Jason Calacanis, Brian Clark, Jeremy Schoemaker, Rae Hoffman, Frank Roche, Melanie Notkin and Ethan Kaplan.

I have seen many of these folks speak before, but somehow they were all different this time. More candid, more raw. It was as if they now had the opportunity to share their story in a way that they couldn’t have done before with an audience that somehow mattered more — or at least they all made us feel that way.

Lunch was the gastronomical equivalent to the fare at a high society wedding (or at least a Bar Mitzvah) and the late afternoon was spent enjoying the divine music of Robert Bruce, Jason Liebman, Rachel Platten and Adam & Mia. (Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Harp at a Conference?).

After the conference, many of us shared our thoughts over cocktails at the Millenium Hotel followed by a wonderful dinner at the Roger Smith Hotel.

To those that didn’t attend, I understand that there will be some videos released, but not everything. The true essence of what was shared during the Audience Conference shall remain with the folks that attended — as it should.

Until next year, Loren.

I’ve been on the road since the beginning of September and have successfully managed to avoid the Con Crud from multiple events and have also bypassed three family-wide sicknesses.  (I chock it up to not eating meat and my love of good wine.)

Unfortunately, while in NY this past week for The World Series, Ad-Tech and Audience Conference, I picked up the germ that would officially knock me out of commission for what the doctor says is “until such time that I deem you healthy enough to kill yourself again.”

So, I’m supposed to be going on the Social Fresh Cruise this Thursday out of Miami and there’s just no way I’m going to be able to make it. On top of that, I’ve paid the extra up-charge to be in a cabin by myself because I don’t like sharing. Period. (Those that know me well, can attest to my obsession over germs.)

I can’t get a refund, but my bad news is hopefully, someone’s good news.

If you would like to go in my place it will cost you only $50 bucks for a name change and you will be required to do a guest post on my blog recapping the event.

The ship is the Carnival Destiny and it’s a 4-night Western Caribbean jaunt leaving out of Miami on November 12th. It’s going to be an awesome event filled with lots of cool people that I’d much rather hang out with than be at home sick by myself.

If you want to go, be the first person to let me know by commenting on this blog and I will put you in touch with the folks at Social Fresh to make the change.

It’s important to note that YOU WILL NEED A PASSPORT.

So, if you don’t have a passport; can’t get yourself to/from Miami; can’t pay the $50 change fee or won’t do the guest post recapping the event, please don’t say you can make it. (I’m sick, tired and cranky and the last thing I want is to mess around, especially when I’m trying to be nice.)

So… wanna go?

I just got back late last night from the ShareASale ThinkTank 2009 at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, California, which took place October 23-25, 2009.

If I had to choose one word to describe the event, it would be “spectacular”.

What makes this affiliate network event so unique is that all invited guests are provided with complimentary accommodations in a beautiful resort, food and entertainment in exchange for their collective brainpower to help identify new ways in which to increase their respective businesses and enhance the ShareASale platform.

What is interesting is that one would expect that only top-tier affiliates and merchants would be invited, yet there were many up-and-coming affiliate marketers in attendance, eager to gain knowledge and build new relationships.

I arrived a day early and was fortunate to attend the Yankee game (although everyone in California was calling it the Angels game)with some long-time affiliate marketing buddies.

The conference started the next day with the annual golf-outing with ShareASale’s CEO, Brian Littleton. I preferred to sit the round out and instead take some pictures and video of the golfers as I tormented them (and the non-ShareASaleThinkTank-players) with my crazy golf cart antics.

That evening’s event consisted of the Sunset Welcome Reception and dinner which was a fun, networking experience loaded with yummy sushi, lobster, pasta and more. It was the perfect setting to rekindle old business relationships and forge new ones.

After breakfast on Saturday, the day was filled with sessions geared towards understanding various demographics including women, men, education and life experience and home/office. This was followed by a Vendor Lunch in which tables were set up so that attendees could have the opportunity to speak with the various participating companies. My business partner Shawn and I manned our Affiliate Summit / FeedFront Magazine table and it worked out great for us.

From 2pm-6pm, there were exhibit opportunities for Merchants to meet with current and potential affiliates. Unlike your traditional exhibit hall, there were no booths. Rather, each exhibitor manned their “Cabana” outside, overlooking the pool.

Saturday night was a “free-night”, so a bunch of us went out to Javier’s Cantina for dinner and headed back to the hotel to continue chatting the evening away.

Sunday’s breakfast was followed by the “Things We Need to Fix” session in which every attendee had the opportunity to express their opinions in person to CEO, Brian Littleton. Many feature requests, suggestions and even a few complaints were addressed which will help shape future ShareASale offerings and enhance their already dynamic platform.

This is my 3rd ThinkTank and by far, it’s been the best. Hopefully one of the suggestions that came up during the “Things We Need to Fix” session will be instituted. If it is, maybe I’ll see you in Hawaii for ShareASaleThinkTank 2010

To view the rest of my ShareASale ThinkTank 2009 Photo Collection, please click the image below:

I’m back from BlogWorld Expo 2009 and headed straight out to the ShareASale Think Tank. (#ThinkTank09)

Post will have to wait on #BWE09, but enjoy the photos in the meantime.

Missy Ward with Loren and Michelle Feldman of 1938 Media

Click photo above to view the set.

Why am I not wearing an Affiliate Summit shirt, you ask?

Well, I’m sporting the Tatto Media shirts as part of my “Brand My Boobies” campaign, in which Tatto Media donated $4,250 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation on behalf of my Affiliate Marketers Give Back effort.

Thanks Tatto for giving back!

10/21/09 Update: As a Diamond Sponsor of Audience Conference, I have received 5 Complimentary Passes to give away. If you’re interested in attending, please register here using discount code “Missy”. First 5 lucky readers get them.

(PS – If you are not 100% sure that you can make it, please do not take an opportunity away from someone else. The conference has a limited capacity for attendees and the folks that want to be there will be angry with you)

(Originally published on August 22, 2009.)

Successful marketing is not a numbers game. If you think that your circle of influence is defined by the number of folks that follow you on Twitter, think again.

Smart marketers understand that no matter how large your audience is, if you can’t get them interested and give them a reason to listen, you might as well be sending direct mail.

So, in a world overloaded with extraneous information and overwhelmed with banal obligations, how does one cut through the clutter and not only reach; but engage, retain and establish a loyal audience?

Herein lies the reason for attending Audience Conference, 2009.

The Audience Conference is a place to learn from those who really understand audiences today. Bringing together some of the most exceptional people in a unique format riding the cusp of performance and conference while keeping you informed and entertained in equal measure. From the entertainers who engage audiences directly to the statisticians who measure them, to the technologists building tools to help us reach new and larger audiences and engage with them.

On tap are some tremendous names already scheduled to speak, including Dan Farber of CBS News, Jason Calacanis of Mahalo, Brian Clark of Copyblogger, Ethan Kaplan of Warner Bros. Records, Rae Hoffman of SugarRae.com, Loren Feldman of 1938 Media, and so many more.

The Audience Conference is taking place at the Hudson Theater in NYC on Friday, November 6th. There will also be a limited opportunity to attend the VIP dinner with the speakers on Thursday, November 5th.

The scheduling of the event couldn’t be any better timing as so many marketers will already be in New York City for Ad:tech, earlier in the week.

Affiliate Summit is proud to be a sponsor of what is sure to be a phenomenal event.

Registration is just $399.

But wait, there’s more.

I have negotiated a special 10% discount off the registration price

Click here to register for Audience Conference
Discount Code: AFFSUM

Seating is limited for this event, so if you’d like to secure your spot and take advantage of the discount, I suggest you register early.

If you still think it’s good enough to build up a large amount of Twitter followers and blast out boring corporate messages or irrelevant nonsense, not only is this event not for you, but you’re also missing the point and the huge opportunity.

Will I see you at Audience Conference?

A few days have passed since IZEAFest and I’ve had the pleasure of conversing with the new friends and business associates that I met there via Facebook, on Twitter, via email, on the phone, etc.

The face-to-face networking that takes place at events such as IZEAFest is truly the springboard to the “virtual conversations” that continue on, post conference.

The unfortunate part about conferences is that eventually, they come to an end and somehow you just don’t get to talk to everyone you set out to meet.

In the last two days, I’ve heard from a couple of people who told me that they didn’t come up to me to say hi at IZEAFest because they always saw me talking to someone and they didn’t want to interrupt; or when I was alone and checking my email, they didn’t want to be a bother.

Please.. bother me!

I love meeting new people. I enjoy finding out about what you do and how I can help you grow your business.

I want you to be more than a Twitter avatar to me.

So, here’s the deal. In the next two months, I’m going to be at the following conferences:

BlogWorld Expo: October 15-17 (Come swing by my booth #328)
ShareASale Think Tank: October 23-25
Ad:tech New York: November 4-6 (Come swing by my booth #1455)
Audience Conference: November 5-6
Social Fresh Cruise: November 12-16 (Come swing by my lounge chair)

… and I really want to make sure I get to meet you.

Why don’t we set a time that’s convenient for the both of us to do so? This way, there are no awkward moments, no shoulda’s and no if-only’s that can get in our way.

Once I get your information, I’ll shoot you off an email to connect to set up a good time for us to meet.

Here’s looking forward to meeting you!

Just got back from IZEAFest, which was extraordinary…. but MUCH more on that later.

I was one of the folks who had the fortunate opportunity of taking the Dolphin Spotlight Tour at SeaWorld Orlando yesterday and I’m still jazzed up about how awe-inspiring it was.

Michael Gray, Chris Heuer, Zena Weist and Amanda Stewart were also on my tour group, which I knew would make for an even more awesome time.

While I do live in Orlando and have been to SeaWorld dozens of times with my family, I’ve never been on the Dolphin Spotlight Tour before.  The idea of going behind-the-scenes at SeaWorld and being able to get up close to the animals was something I really was looking forward to doing.

And, it did not disappoint!

The Dolphin Spotlight Tour at SeaWorld is a 1-hour walking tour that took us backstage of the Whale and Dolphin stadium where we got an overview of what is involved in training and taking care of the headliners of the Blue Horizons Show, which is my personal favorite at SeaWorld. No matter how many times I see it, I’m still blown away at how visually spectacular it is.

While I don’t want to say that I took for granted how much work goes into take care of and training the dolphins, I now realize how much I underestimated it!

We then went over to Dolphin Cove where we got to become “Dolphin Trainers”. We were shown the commands to use to interact with the dolphins including the signal to get a little dolphin love. That just blew me away and is a moment that I will cherish forever.

I’d like to thank IZEA and SeaWorld Orlando for making it possible for me to participate in the Dolphin Spotlight Tour. I can’t wait to go back and take my li’l guys on it.

Here are the pictures that were taken by SeaWorld photographers during the tour, which were made available to purchase on a thumb drive immediately following.

Click Photo to View All Pictures.

The annual Commission Junction University (CJU 2009) took place on September 15-17, 2009 at the Fess Parker Hotel in Santa Barabara.

Given the fact that the event started 2 days after the Affiliate Marketers Give Back walk, I figured that I’d stay in Los Angeles the extra night and experience what I’ve always heard was the most beautiful drive along Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara.

Shawn Collins agreed to drive with me and we booked a beautiful covertible to enjoy the ride.  Unfortunately, after an Enterprise Rent-a-Car debacle (which included a broken convertible top and an extra ride back to Long Beach to swap out cars), we did the drive in what we now affectionately call, the Ford Ugly.  (Note: Some nice Californian should have told us that we shouldn’t have gotten on PCH way after Los Angeles airport as instead of incredible shoreline views, all we got to see was strip malls, apartments and more strip malls for over an hour into the drive.)

Shawn and I arrived extremely late, but in enough time to check-in, pick up our credentials and head over to the Dell Welcome Reception at Godric Grove, which was a lot of fun.

After that, we boarded the bus for the 3rd Annual Yahoo! Bowling Invitational.  I hadn’t bowled in years, so I was very happy that they put up the gutter bumpers.  Unfortunately, my blisters from the 40-mile breast cancer walk from the past weekend, did not like the bowling shoes.  After a couple of popped blisters and a lousy score of 84, I decided that it was in my best interest to call it quits.

Day 2 started out with they keynote session featuring Jakie Huba who is the co-author of “Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message,” which documents the emerging world of social media and how brands should begin to embrace a participatory culture with customers and fans. Kerri Pollard, General Manager of Commission Junction followed with a State of CJ Session which was extremely informative.

After lunch, I attended the Navigating the Internet Advertising Tax session in which Shawn Collins (Affiliate Summit), Brook Schaaf (Schaaf Consulting), David Lewis (Cashbaq) and Jonathan Johnson (Overstock) discussed the threat upon the affiliate community and what affiliate marketers can do to help fight it.

After the sessions, Shawn and I manned our table at CJUConnect which allowed us to meet some great advertisers that are all looking for ways to generate more sales.

The CJYou Awards were presented during dinner and I live-tweeted them as they were announced. Congrats to all the winners and finalists.

The evening wrapped up with a party at Tonic Bar & Lounge, sponsored by Buy.com.

Day 3 came way too early for me, but thankfully there was a Bloody Mary Bar, sponsored by AffiliateReporting.com to get me going After the sessions, Shawn and I met up with a few of our long-time affiliate marketing friends and had lunch at Moby Dick’s on the pier. (Food was awful, but conversation was great.)

As it was the first time that I’ve attended CJU I wasn’t sure what to expect, but can now say that it was a terrific event, filled with a lot of great information and wonderful networking opportunities. I look forward to next year!

The rest of my pictures can be found on Flickr. And, for much better pictures, visit Shawn’s Flickr stream.