The fifth annual gathering of web hosting professionals known as HostingCon will be held this year in Washington, D.C. from August 10th-12th. While those dates may seem far off now, the deadlines for participation, particularly speaking and exhibiting come up quickly.
For those of you who may not be aware, HostingCon was sold just after last year’s show. The conference and trade show dubbed, ”the largest gathering of hosted services professionals in the world” passed from George Roberts at Interjuncture (the show’s founder) to iNET Interactive (a great aggregator of premier hosting properties including Webhostingtalk.com).
As a speaker at every previous HostingCon event and more recently a member of the Advisory Board, I can say from experience that this is the must-attend event for web hosting professionals. The injection of enthusiasm and excitement brought by the new owners will undoubtedly manifest itself in this year’s show.
Regarding the new management, I had the distinct privilege of speaking recently with one of this year’s key show organizers, Ms. Kelly Kleiner, Vice President of Sales with iNET Interactive about the communication plan for the show and some of the current deadlines for participation. Ms. Kleiner pointed out that the deadline for speaker proposals is just about upon us. If you are interested in speaking at HostingCon this year – you must submit your proposal in the next few days. Beginning in February, the HostingCon Program Selection Team will review the proposals and select the speakers to present.
If your company is interested in exhibiting at HostingCon 2009, there is slightly more breathing room. According to Ms. Kleiner, the new Washington D.C. exhibit hall layout will accommodate 150 booths. However, even at this very early date the booth space is over 50% reserved. Therefore, the earlier you select and reserve a booth, the more likely that you’ll have some choice in where you exhibit. If you are interested in exhibiting, you can find details here.
In terms of attending, early bird discounts will apply until June 29, 2009. The savings are considerable, so if you are planning on attending you should absolutely sign up prior to June 29th to save some money.
On the Advisory Board front iNET Marketing Director, Kevin Gold, is doing a fantastic job of getting out early and working hard to make this year’s show the best it can be. Board members are currently reviewing feedback via surveys from last year’s show, providing suggestions for show improvements, and also commenting on topics and keynote speaker suggestions. Mr. Gold has made a commitment to meet individually with each Advisory Board member as well. Look for great things from Kevin and the Board as we get closer to August.
Of course, The WHIR will be reprising its role as a key media sponsor at HostingCon 2009, and I expect that the whole team: Liam, Allison, and Candice will be mingling with the hosting community as they have each year at HostingCon. I hope to see you there in August in Washington.
