Oh yeah, conferences make me laugh. It’s basically a bunch of white guys in their 30s and 40s (and some women) sitting around, passing business cards to each other, claiming there’s business to be done and talking up a good game. Sometimes it makes me laugh. I have no doubt that some work actually gets done from time to time, but glancing around looking at all these people, I really believe that only half of them are giving their undivided attention to what’s going on. Me, I take them somewhat seriously, but I get the most enjoyment out of eavesdropping on other people’s conversations and wondering “will anything really ever come of these conversations?” Most of the people who come by to talk to us (Ask Jeeves) know about us and tell us about their kids using the site or something and mention in passing that they like us, then they collect all of the free crap we have out on the table – which is really what they are there for – and scoot along to the next table with free crap. Then there was this women who was a walking “me” machine. She literally came over and just talked about herself and everything she’s done for the past 10 years and all the work she’s doing. She gave us her big postcard, told us to list her site first in our search results (yeah right……..there’s no such thing as being the top result unless you pay) and that she’s the best at this and that. I could barely contain myself! Good times.
