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It's after TRAFFIC Miami 2007 and I'm half way across the Pacific at 30,000 feet. There's nothing quite like 28 hours of traveling home to give you time to reflect on how great the conference was.
 Firstly, I'd like to congratulate Rick, Howard and their wives on putting together a great event that unfolded like clock-work. Well done to you all!
There were so many highlights for me including:
- meeting many new domain owners. A number of them have been domaining since the late nineties and they had some outstanding domains and yet no one had ever heard of them. The conference provided some fantastic opportunities for doing some great business with them.
 - Meeting with "old" domainers. You all know who you are and having conversations face-to-face with people who really think about the industry was outstanding. I find that you need to hold your opinions pretty loosely as someone else may just provide an insight that causes you to reassess your view of the domain industry.
- The return on investment for the conference was unbelievable. When you have a room full of multi-millionaire dollar entrepreneurial domain owners business happens and it happens quickly. Whether it's buying or selling domains or extolling the benefits of a service you can't help but do some great high-value business.
- Presenting my first session. This was a highlight for me because I once again thumped the table and proclaimed the need for transparency and standards but this time it was listened to. TrafficZ and Hitfarm have agreed to head down this path as they saw it was going to provide them with a competitive advantage if they got a jump on their competitors. It will be interesting to see how some of the other parking companies respond.
- Presenting with the other bloggers. I felt incredibly honoured to be on the same panel as Rick (ricks blog), Frank (Sevenmile), Sahar (The Conceptualist) and Owen (Frager Factor). Each of these guys provided amazing insights into the industry and they continue to do so via their outstanding blogs. There are links to each of their blogs in the domain resources link here.
- Presenting the results of the first parking survey. The results were a real eye opener to the parking industry and helped explain why parking companies are struggling with the domainer relationship. In a nutshell parking companies pay on time, provide great service but domainers just don't trust them due to the lack of transparency. Hopefully this is now going to change.
 - Domain name auction. Although I wasn't bidding, many were. There was a total of just over $8 million in sales in the live auction and this number will go up in the silent auction. The domain to be sold for the highest amount was computer.com for $2.2 million. The successful auction indicates we are all in a healthy growing industry.
- The social events were outstanding and in particular coming out on top in one of the rounds at the Domain Sponsor poker night. On my part it was more luck then good playing! I'm sure that there will be a rematch at the next TRAFFIC so that the books are re-balanced.
- It was announced that in November next year TRAFFIC will be held in Australia! I couldn't help myself, I cheered at the announcement! When you make the journey downunder I'll do my best to put up as many people in my house as possible but we'll definitely have to put on as many BBQs as we can, so feel free to drop in.
What I liked the best though was the energy. I'm not sure what value you can place on being re-energised by a few hundred people that have successfully taken the risk of doing something that other people thought was crazy. The hundreds of conversations infused me with a fresh vigor for my blog, ParkLogic and my own domain portfolios. A few people that I'd like to highlight include;
- Freddy from EuroDNS with his insights into the ccTLD space,
 - Dan from dnZoom who is such a great guy that he makes you want to move to Louiville Kentucky but beneath the fun loving exterior is a hyper-driven mind that has been set to warp speed.
- Ben and Paul from Godaddy who provide a new fresh perspective from a large company that's maintained its entrepreneurial fervor.
- John from Hitfarm who is a sharp guy who was even able to openly consider the case for reducing the quality of traffic (one of those interesting conversations that you can have over drinks)
- Kina for her amazing generous heart and ability to grasp domaining after the first show.
- Sevan from TrafficZ for his smile and willingness to get things done.
- Steve, Chris and Michael from Domain Sponsor who have incredible thoughts around industry structures, acquisitions and what is happening at the macro level.
- Lisi from Sedo who is so focused on the business side but still maintains a smile and a willingness to do whatever she can for customers.
 - Matt from Sedo who in my opinion is one of the few deep thinkers in our industry. Sedo, whatever you are paying him, double it.
- Ren from Trellian, he's a aussie so you may think that I'm biased but he would have to be one of the most innovative thinkers on domain acquisition via registrations that is around. He's a quite guy who just gets the job done and he's REALLY smart. Spending time with Ren is always well worthwhile.
- Sahar from the Conceptualist blog. The best thing that you can do is talk to him about what else he is doing other than domains, you'll be blown away.
- Brit from Parking Panel who views the industry from an entirely different perspective due to his advertising background.
- Paul Keating from Renova who as well as being a great guy has a sharp legal brain for trying to solve the almost insolvable (eg. ICANN) on behalf of us all.
- Henny, who as well as being a great poker player and domainer is a really sharp guy who knows domaining back to front.
- Russ from Tidewinds is a brilliant developer and is doing some really innovative stuff with some new software that he's developing. You spend a few minutes with him and you realize that you're talking to a high class operator.
- Owen from the Frager Factor. He's a man on a mission to educate Madison avenue on the benefits of domains.
- Richard who is an unassuming domainer who has been in the business for years and years.
- Page Howe is one of the most fanatical domaining guys I've ever met. While bidding at the live auction he was also acquiring domains elsewhere online. In my opinion, the best thing about Page is his laugh, spend a few minutes with him and I guarantee you'll hear it!
- Larry (ex-Smartname). I've never met a more fantastic, fun loving, great guy who is one of the brightest guys in the industry that I know. Larry, I can't believe that I just wrote that about you LOL! I'm sure that I'll take it all back the next time we meet - LOL!
- Dan and Chris from Mad.biz who as well as being incredibly generous (loved the poker nights guys!) have adopted a great strategy that few thought would successfully work in the long-term. My hat goes off to you guys.
What a list! I feel almost embarrassed about writing that list of people as I know that I've left so many out. Please don't be offended if I've left you off.
So is TRAFFIC worth it? If any of the above people were to charge out their time let alone actually do business with me then the answer was an emphatic YES, it was worth it. The pain of traveling 28 hours each way to Australia is nothing compared to the knowledge I gained, business I've done and more importantly the friends I'm made. I look forward to seeing all of you again and hopefully a few new faces at the next conference.
Wiki: TRAFFIC, Rick Schwartz, Howard Neu, TrafficZ, Sahar, Owen, Frank Schilling, Hit Farm , Domain Sponsor, dnZoom, Sedo, Parking Panel, Paul Keating, Smartname, Mad.biz, Page Howe, Trellian , Sevan
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