Summit

[Jeff]

So did anyone from here go? What was the new venue like? Was there a casting couch? What sort of a mood was Brian in?

Awaiting reports. For some reason there's been absolutely nothing about it on Acorn since last Friday.

 

[Hook]

I was there, Brian took me out in his wagon:

 

[getmein]

I went on Tuesday. I've been to an exhibition at the business design centre before, but the conference was in a separate area away from the main part. It's a large floor with a mezzanine area. I haven't managed to go before as I think it was always a bit earlier in August in the midst of summer holiday time. I thought the space was good for a small conference - felt relaxed rather than busy. Few interesting talks and I suppose the main advantage of it not being very busy was you could easily connect with anyone of interest - had a good chat with Dave Evanson from SEDO. For a UK conference doesn't really feel very focussed on .co.uk - but that probably reflects the relative size of transactions in the .com space. Larry Fischer mentioned that he had sold AI.com and I would guess the sales price when it's released will eclipse the entire .co.uk aftermarket value for many years. It's certainly not got the scale or the rock N roll of a Vegas domain conference but as it's close to home I'd go again.

 

[Jeff]

I was there, Brian took me out in his wagon:

For a tour of his favorite Wi-Fi hotspots?

I went on Tuesday. I've been to an exhibition at the business design centre before, but the conference was in a separate area away from the main part. It's a large floor with a mezzanine area. I haven't managed to go before as I think it was always a bit earlier in August in the midst of summer holiday time. I thought the space was good for a small conference - felt relaxed rather than busy. Few interesting talks and I suppose the main advantage of it not being very busy was you could easily connect with anyone of interest - had a good chat with Dave Evanson from SEDO. For a UK conference doesn't really feel very focussed on .co.uk - but that probably reflects the relative size of transactions in the .com space. Larry Fischer mentioned that he had sold AI.com and I would guess the sales price when it's released will eclipse the entire .co.uk aftermarket value for many years. It's certainly not got the scale or the rock N roll of a Vegas domain conference but as it's close to home I'd go again.

Thanks for the report. From memory he moved it to the Business Design Centre because the Hilton wanted him to guarantee that attendees would book a minimum number of hotel rooms, and he wasn't prepared to do that. Any pictures you can post?

Bizarre that it's getting more coverage here than on his own forum.

 

[Hook]

For a tour of his favorite Wi-Fi hotspots?

Yup, we went to his favourite - someone's Virgin Media Business account! Then a strange woman got in the taxi and he got out his camera

 

[getmein]

Any pictures you can post?

Only photo I took was of Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane-Fox hanging out of the window of a black cab (not the fake taxi...) in one of the presentations to represent the 2000 bubble bursting moment. Reminder to self, to check if I still own them.

They sent this link out: https://www.flickr.com/photos/domainsummit/albums/ - not sure if they'll send out any of the presentation slides but some of the stats relating to AI related usage of the web looked pretty mad.

 

[Jeff]

He's had some advertorial in DN Journal and on @sam's new website:

https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0903.htm

https://yourdomainnews.com/-review-domain-summit-london-islington-2025/

I've just looked through the pictures in @getmein's link above. There's no sign of the once-ubiquitous Ryan, and despite being one of the exhibitors Brian only appears in the Day 2 pictures. Perhaps he was fire-fighting elsewhere on Day 1...

However, I thought this was the best picture:



I'm tempted to start a blog in which Helmuts' bald patch takes on a life of its own and reports on its fruitless attempts to prevent Helmuts doing stupid things. Latest example here:

https://www.acorndomains.co.uk/threads/happy-birthday-prashanna-admin.186332/

If I was refused a visa to enter another country the last thing I would want is for the refusal to be announced on a public forum. That's just crass.

Anyway, helmutsbaldpatch.com is FTR...

 

[real]

Now launched in Asia (Domain Summit Asia 2025 - Hong Kong)

Domain Summit Asia 2025 · Luma

Domain Summit Asia 2025 – Hong Kong 📅 November 17–18, 2025 👥 Limited to 80 participants (each registration will be individually confirmed) The first Domain…

domainsummit.asia

 

[Jeff]

Now launched in Asia (Domain Summit Asia 2025 - Hong Kong)

Domain Summit Asia 2025 · Luma

Domain Summit Asia 2025 – Hong Kong 📅 November 17–18, 2025 👥 Limited to 80 participants (each registration will be individually confirmed) The first Domain…

domainsummit.asia

"Limited to 80 participants...Spaces are intentionally limited to foster meaningful conversations and lasting connections."

Translation: We're not going to sell many tickets, so let's save face by pretending that we didn't want to sell many!

As for the VIP Pass versus the Conference Ticket, if you pay an extra $100 you get to walk down the street on the second day? Seriously?

 

[Ree]

I've Google-mapped and street-viewed the location of this latest (Asian) summit, and I can confidently say I have found somewhere more upmarket than the place he has booked. See below, it would work out at $700 per person, which is only to be expected for the huge upgrade.