Last year we also sponsored the event.
As it’s usually held at the end of January, which is just before my birthday, I tend to use it as an excuse for a combined business trip plus short break.
The 2009 edition returns once again to the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel, which is just off Hollywood Boulevard and literally a stone’s throw away from the Oscars’ red carpet in the Kodak Center (sic).
For the 2009 event the organisers seem to have rejigged the schedule a bit with the three day event split in two.
The first day is being labelled “domainer bootcamp”, which is squarely aimed at those new to the domainer world.
Days two and three follow roughly the same format as previous years and also includes a live auction powered by Snap Names.
So who is the “big name” keynote for this year?
Steve Wozniak has just been announced as giving the keynote on January 28th. Wozniak co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, so he should attract a good crowd!
Last year they had John Battelle, who gave a really interesting presentation, while the previous year it was Michael Arrington (Techcrunch).
It’s usually a good event to attend, as it has a nice combination of business and pleasure and it also gives me an excuse to head over to the Warner Brothers lot! It’s also incredibly refreshing to meet up with people from so many different companies in one place and get new ideas (and realise how inane some of mine really are!)