Affiliate Summit East 2008: Devirginized…

Affiliate Summit Boston came and went, and without a doubt, kicked some major ass. My first, but certainly not last AS event. (Vegas is coming baby!)

I’m kinda bummed that it’s already over though, as 3 days literally flew by. As a guy I hung out with said (PJS from Israel), and I quote “I wish there were an Affiliate Disneyland of sorts where the networking, new friends, and late night partying would continue year round”). Touché.

I don’t think there was a dull moment from the time I arrived until the time I finally left (this morning).

I’m now in Houston visiting some family for a few days before flying back to San Francisco on Sunday. I had a rather bumpy flight from Boston to DC, causing one of the worst neck crinks I’ve ever had. An hour at the massage parlor only provided temporary relief. And like an idiot, I left my cell phone at the gate at Logan Airport. Luckily though, United found it and will be FedEX’ing it to me tomorrow.

Anyway, yeah…back to Affiliate Summit Boston, my thoughts & experiences:

Day 1: Arrival. I crashed out at P202’s room until my room was ready the next morning. (thanks again guys). Steven and I were hungry as hell when I got to the hotel and finally found a local pizza joint that was open at 1:30am, that would deliver to the Westin. What a dilemma this turned out to be.

The dumb ass delivery guy got went to the wrong hotel 3 times, and finally showed up with 2 very cold, flat, and stale pizzas at about 5:30am. By this time I had passed out and had all but gave up on eating that night. Gourmette Boston pizza at it’s finest.

I spent most of the next day at the Meet Market walking around meeting people & a few of my “new” affiliate managers, and hanging out with the Prosper202 guys.

I was happy to have a chance to dust off my networking skills, which were probably a little rusty from my past life as a systems administrator, on the off chance that the Navy sent me to a seminar or training course.

I managed to come about 20 cards shy of my goal of pawning off all 100 of my very ghetto homemade business cards. But I’ve gotta (smile on the inside) at how many positive comments I received for the fact that I included a small pic of my ugly mug on the front of my cards. I had no idea this was such as novel idea, especially among such well crafted marketing minds. Of the 100+ cards I received, I don’t think I saw one other card with a picture to go with the name.

Personally, I myself am usually good with faces, but terrible with names, unless I’ve had longer than a 3 minute conversation with you. And the whole point of the event was networking, so I figured I’d try to maximize it’s effectiveness. (I’ll give props to my mother for the idea, as this is a common networking strategy among real estate agents)

The Meet Market was a blast though, and the encounters were often casual and an personal. My only complaint was the lack of condiments normally provided at such events such as complimentary coffee, juice, or fruit. Water was made available, but that was about it. By dinner I was starving as breakfast and lunch apparently were not in the stars for day 1 of ASE.

Dinner that night was spent among about 25 other affiliates, as Ian Fernando was kind enough to invite me along for the event at Anthony’s Pier 4 seafood restaurant (thanks again Ian). The food was pretty good, though I somehow managed to eat two salads, not realizing a first salad came as an appetizer after I had already placed my order.

And then….ah the ShareASale boat party. Some people complained that this party was lame. I disagree. Yeah, the band blew (what was the deal with them playing sitting down? …gay). But an open bar, wasted affiliate managers, and secret outside blackhat talks was a good thing. I had a good time.

And then to top off day 1…a visit to Lucky’s bar out in town, followed by a private gathering in a $3000/night suite at the Westin, I thought the fun would never end. The events for the rest of the night will have to remain private between those who were there, but nonetheless…it convened into a rather interesting evening.

Day 2: To be continued…

Way of the Warrior: Tip of the Day: Meet your affiliate managers in person by any means possible. Attending an Affiliate Summit is a must. Get to know them, go have some drinks and build a relationship and possibly a friendship. It’s not who you know, its who knows you.

Similar Posts Of Interest:

• August 14, 2008 -- Affiliate Summit East 2008: Days 2 & 3 (2)
• August 8, 2008 -- Affiliate Summit East: Boston Style (0)
• September 4, 2008 -- Gathering Key Intelligence From Your Affiliate Manager (2)
• August 7, 2008 -- Introducing The MasterlessSamurai.com (1)