FOOA: Future of Online Advertising Wrap-Up

by Allen Stern on June 11th, 2007

The Future of Online Advertising conference has now completed. This will serve as my wrap-up post.

My thoughts:

I think Carson Systems puts on a great conference overall. Both at FoWa and here there is a certain "family" feel to it. Rather than shuffling around from room to room might help but the whole team just does a great job in making everyone feel important.

One thing I miss from both of the CS conferences is the "future" discussion. Both conferences felt more like a "this is where we are today" rather than "this is where we are but this is where we are going" – when you call a conference "Future of …" you better give me some future. In fact the first speaker begins by saying, "This won't be about the future…" <– gasp.

Ryan is getting a name as "the wifi guy" – I could understand at FoWa with 500 laptops at one time trying to hit the net, but here in NYC, there were maybe 30 laptops and still major issues over the two days. Here is my suggestion for the next Carson Systems conference: Any deal you sign for Wifi should have one stipulation for payment: Accessibility. Not working = no payment. Maybe then the Wifi will work. I hate to bitch about it but if it won't work, just don't offer it so there is no moaning. How any Wifi provider can't handle 30 connections is downright wrong and should be hung.

Speakers:

Overall I thought the speakers were average at best. PayPerPost and ProBlogger were the best and really were above average. I was disappointed that Google had no answers regarding the CPA fraud and refunding processes and Ryan rushed those questions along. Ryan's online marketing overview was also well done even though it was a last minute replacement. However, most of the presentations lacked any signs of enthusiasm.

The man from VideoClix has an awesome looking product but his absolute lack of enthusiasm seemed to put the people in my row to sleep. Remember what I said on the Vint Cerf post, it's not just about what you say but HOW YOU SAY IT.

Location:

Location was great, worked very well. Ample bathroomage as well. There was a bit of an echo but no idea if that could even be removed in an old bank. The food was lovely and the staff was cordial as well.

Individual speaker notes:

I have audio of most of the presentations and could put them online if anyone requests them. I haven't posted them already because there is a lot of work to do with them before offering them.

Final thoughts:

I am looking forward to attending FoWa in my 2nd favorite city of London (wink wink press pass please wink wink). I enjoyed meeting everyone at FOOA. Hats off to the Bath'rs on a job well done!

Editor's note: If you know of a conference you would like us to cover, send me a note.