The Back Room

With

Wingnut

Of

Pepee's Pornn Palace

Are You From The Future?

"Well WTF does that mean Wingnut?" Well, unless you took the trip to the WWV, you won't have a clue what it means. Hell, mostly you had to be in the car on the ride there to get the * full * impact of that one. Check out this week's sandbox for more terms from the weekend.

That isn't the point of this article either, the point is the value of traveling 6, 10, 12, or even 20 hours to meet face to face with people in this business. Sure I have gone to the large conventions and had a great time, and got to meet many people, but this was a smaller group of folks and it was a non-stop information exchange. I don't want to knock the value of going to the larger conventions, they * do * have great value.

At the larger shows you will get to find out on your own just how many "posers" there are in this business (any business for that matter). As you walk the show floor and meet people and check out booths and the services companies have to offer, you will get a "gut-feel" for the people you talk with. Many times at the next convention those people are not to be found. I guess we could coin them as DFP's or Dumb Fucking Posers. Now having said that many people only go to certain shows or only are able to make it once in a blue moon, those are not DFP's, those folks are the ones who might prefer to go to a smaller webmaster gathering.

At a smaller gathering (like the WWV), it's all about networking with the people who, like yourself, traveled a great distance for the opportunity to talk "shop". I'm sure most if not all people had a list of things they wanted to ask ideas they wanted to run by certain people etc. etc. One thing was obvious, that nobody came to the event with a hidden agenda, which is very refreshing as there are lots of hidden agendas at the larger conventions (no matter what business you're in).

For me personally, my goals were exceeded beyond belief! I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by saying I think everyone that did attend has the same feeling. I know many of us were already asking when the next one would be.

A clear sign of success for me is when my mind won't stop running for days after an event is over. As of this writing I am sleeping less and less because my mind is still racing with thoughts and ideas and my fingers are coding/submitting as fast as they can. I don't see how I'll be able to sleep next week while on vacation and won't have access to a laptop. That just means my return from vacation will be filled with sleepless nights again (you just have to love those 30 minute power naps).

In case you haven't got the jist of what I'm trying to say, it's real simple. If you treat this like a business you need to get yourself to one of these events (large or small) and network your ass off, the rewards are priceless. If you don't treat this like a business, you should get the fuck out, and find a new hobby.

Wingnut