EightBlack.

I know this is an over used saying - but if there’s one event you attend this year, this should be it. If you have anything to do with the web, if you want to try and put your finger on “the pulse”, if you want the chance to interract with some of the brightest people driving the web, then there is no better event.

I attended this last year. Coverage was picked up by John Battelle and The Times Online. That’s irrelevant. What is though is that I was the only Aussie there. I think there was a Kiwi - but they don’t count.

I know it’s a tough gig to get into. Last year (and according to the event organisers) - anywhere between 7,000 to 10,000 applied for a ticket to attend. Less than 1,000 actually were granted access. And the entry fee isn’t cheap.

But these aren’t barriers that any online agency, or company making its living online can’t jump over.

Now I know that there is plenty of digital talent in Australia, that we can mix it with the best but the last time I looked, guys like Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Jerry, Larry, Sergey, Eric, and Mark Zuckerberg all lived on the West Coast of the USA.

And after having spent the last 12-months trekking back and forth to the states, I will tell you that this is where the the web is being driven from. While the event organisers would no doubt love to come down under and run an event, it’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Do yourself a favour. Seriously consider going. You won’t regret it.

Don’t let me be the only one standing there marvelling at how the world’s biggest economy can seriously think that Budweiser is a beer. I beg you.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 8:47 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.