But Fabian and the IG staff — which in reality includes a beehive of engaged people from 123 Resourcing, Epoch and Klixxx — seem to understand that great trade events can never rest on their laurels, even if they are as established and seemingly perfect as this one.
This year, that meant adding a slew of new activities, expanding the number of restaurants utilized for the Surprise Networking Dinners (which were held last night), including a Wisdom Session (i.e. seminar) each afternoon and greatly improving the almost 24/7 accessibility of IG staff to address any need.
Nothing in life is truly perfect, however, and as it grows and experiments with different schedules and offerings, small slip-ups will happen. Yesterday, for instance, the person who was supposed to conduct the Wisdom Session could not because they were out at one of the many other daily activities! Now, considering the fact that a beautiful Caribbean island and pitch-perfect weather was beckoning, can you really blame them?
Today, Monte from Moniker will certainly not miss his Wisdom Session, but will there be anyone else there, especially when a full complement of activities are scheduled against him? Time will tell, but if not, Monte is unconcerned. “I swing right into the bar and watch Kentucky and Florida,” he said at breakfast this morning, referring to college football. Actually, the game starts a little later in the day, but his point was well taken. A minor scheduling issue cannot even begin to dent the goodwill that this show engenders in the people who attend it.
There are, as usual, more spouses and significant others at this show than at most of the other industry events, which is not an accident. If you can afford to get them here, there is no better way to introduce or integrate your loved one into the industry that to bring them here.
Speaking of business, that is the engine that powers any trade event, no matter where it is thrown, and IG continues to attract an impressive array of company owners and other individuals you definitely want to meet and get to know if you intend to build a successful foundation for your adult business. I could not possibly list all the names and companies without leaving someone important out, but suffice to say that this year features more than just adult internet people, a very positive development to be sure.
There are also quite a few new faces here this year, which is also very nice. Some people who have attended in years past couldn’t make it, but others have stepped up to fill the void and more. I was told by IG organizers that this year’s attendance is higher than last year, but exact numbers were unavailable and not of particular interest anyway. This event is about quality over quantity; still, last night as everyone gathered in the lobby of the Marriott for the buses to take them to dinner, everyone jockeying and intermingling to find their correct color badge and hook up with their group, it certainly felt like more people than last year.
Yesterday, I joined a group of fellow thrill-seekers for a Jeep Safari Tour of the rougher parts of the island, one of the new events that was an unadulterated blast thanks solely to the awesome Dutch drivers determined to show us a good time. Today, I try the Extreme ATV Tour, and expect to come back filthy as a beast and loving it. Later, we will all come together for Happy Hour and then the 5 Star Affair dinner, which everyone will attend.
After dinner, people have the option of partying in the Emerald Lounge, the Emerald Casino or taking a dip in the pool, which stays open later than any other venue I can remember. It is hard to communicate how divine it is to relax after a long (though not particularly hard) day in a pool under the stars, with Caribbean waves crashing a few meters away, with people you may or may now already know.
Suffice to say, you bond.
