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The 2008 Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas
was an exciting convention -- as usual. This was another
great opportunity to meet affiliates, merchants, vendors and
many other people from the Internet marketing industry.
2008 Affiliate Summit Las Vegas -- Day One
Affiliate Summit West began on Sunday, February 24 with some
serious face-to-face networking time. Granted, most people
were at Affiliate Summit to network, but this was an ideal
opportunity to meet people without having to worry about
what events you were missing.
Merchants had tables set up to discuss different programs
and make some deals with affiliates. Not to feel left out,
vendors also had tables they could meet with both affiliates
and merchants to share information about their unique
products and services.
All tables were buzzing with excitement. These were great
meeting spots for learning, teaching, creating partnerships,
closing deals and finding new opportunities. For an entire
show dedicated to affiliates, this was certainly a good way
to get things started!
Affiliate Summit Las Vegas -- Jason Calacanis Keynote
Day two of Affiliate Summit West began with opening remarks
by Jim Kukral, winner of last year's Best Blogger Pinnacle
Award. After his remarks, he introduced Jason Calacanis, the
founder and CEO of Mahalo.com, who was scheduled to give the
keynote address.
Calacanis was never one to beat around the bush and gave a
controversial keynote, especially considering his audience.
Essentially, his message was that Internet marketers are
polluting the online world with their ads. He urged everyone
to think bigger about his or her online presence.
He insisted that most affiliates and marketers in the
audience were smarter than over half of the people at larger
Internet companies. Thanks to the aptitude of Internet
marketers, they should all strive to work larger projects,
like the next Digg, StumbleUpon or Flikr, rather than
rudimentary affiliate sites. Whether to soften the blow of
what he said or not, he couched this by saying that everyone
is hard-wired to try to make a quick buck -- which is what
he asserted all affiliate marketing is.
Calacanis stressed that everyone should try to do great
things online. Failure, he said, is a part of attempting
something new and grand, but in the long run attempting and
succeeding in thinking large is much more beneficial (not
just to everyone online, but to your pocketbook as well).
To a crowd of affiliate marketers, at an affiliate marketing
convention, this was certainly an interesting way to discuss
making money online.
Affiliate Summit Las Vegas -- Day Two
After Calacanis finished his keynote, there were many
different educational sessions for people to attend, such as
Affiliate PPC: Brand Enhancement or Bid Escalation,
Developing the Right Merchant Mindset and Moniker's Live
Domain Auctions, among many others.
While these sessions were happening, the Exhibit Hall was
open for people to network. This was where the real action
was happening. Meeting new people, discovering their
businesses, finding new things to promote and new ways of
promoting things -- the Exhibit Hall was a veritable
cornucopia of Internet marketing activity.
Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards -- 2008
At 5 p.m. on day two, there was the Affiliate Summit
Pinnacle Awards Gala. The Pinnacle Awards recognize
exceptional performance in affiliate marketing. This year's
winners were:
• Affiliate of the Year: Connie Berg
• Affiliate Manager of the Year: Melissa Salas
• Exceptional Merchant: CSN Stores
• Affiliate Marketing Advocate Award: Haiko de Poel, Jr.
• Best Blogger: Sam Harrelson
• Wayne Porter Affiliate Marketing Legend: Brian Littleton
Affiliate Summit Las Vegas -- Day Three
Day three was much like day two, with various educational
sections going on and the exhibit hall being open for people
to mingle. By 4:30 p.m., it was time for the closing
keynote, which wasn't like other keynotes. This was the
un-keynote -- meaning that whoever wanted to go up and get
on a soapbox could.
As you would expect after the Calacanis keynote, there were
people eagerly waiting for the opportunity to have an open
mic. Zac Johnson, one of the people Calacanis explicitly
pointed out as an example of a bad affiliate, gave his
rebuttal. Johnson talked about how he is more than happy to
get the paltry six-figure checks that Calacanis denounced as
too small in his keynote. He said that he likes living a
fun, flexible lifestyle in which he can play basketball and
do whatever he wants for most of the day.
That's the affiliate lifestyle. You work hard, play hard and
make your own rules. It isn't for everyone, but for those of
you it is -- we'll see you at the next Affiliate Summit!
See Our Photo Gallery for Affiliate Summit West 2008 |
