Originally Posted by fuzebox

I'm an affiliate and a small program owner, and there really is no reason for me to go to any shows. I have only gone in the last few years to have fun and put faces to names. I get absolutely everything I need done very quickly over ICQ (hell, a "business" discussion at a show just results in a "hit me up on ICQ when you get home" anyway), and most of the people I don't already know at shows are pushy sales people trying to sell me a product I don't want or need, or beg that I "send them traffic".

I used to enjoy the shows, but with the costs going up and value going down, they aren't even justifiable as a vacation. Yes I can afford to go regardless of what the badge cost is, but paying $300 for a badge, and an increased nonstandard rate for hotel room for very few good parties, special events, open bars, free dinners, whatever, doesn't make much sense to me. This year I decided to skip Internext and hit up South Beach a couple weeks later with some friends for my Florida fix.

Funnily enough, because of the time shows take out of running my sites, I make more money in the stretches where I don't go.