In a bid to gain attention from and strengthen relationships with the European market, Cybersocket recently announced the scheduling of the first Cybersocket Webmaster Party to be held during the AOE Expo in Amsterdam. Epoch Billing will be a premier sponsor of the event, along with NakedDollars, Adult Webmaster Empire, and GayGreenbacks.
Scheduled for April 26 at popular nightspot The Mansion, the event is intended as a "warm-up" for that night's main party at Onassis and will feature an open top-shelf bar, hors d'oeuvres, and music from one of Europe's leading DJs. The party will be open to all registered AOE (and AWM Open) attendees.
Cybersocket President Morgan Sommer told AVNOnline.com the party was in the works for the past year. "We've been talking with Jarvis Todd and the producers of the AOE show for a long time about doing something, and this is our first foray into their trade show and their marketplace," he said. "What I like about it is that the feedback I've gotten from other webmasters in the past [has been about] what a diverse crowd it is—that it's 90 percent European webmasters, maybe 10 percent American. So, for us as a company, it's a growth market. It's exposing ourselves to a different group of webmasters than we've ever been exposed to before.
"It's not competing with the established trade shows here in the U.S., because it's a different marketplace altogether," Sommer continued. "It's got the telemedia people; it's got the audiotext people. It's got all kinds of other stuff going on, as well. Plus, it's pretty inclusive of Eastern European webmasters. So, for us to have one little gay webmaster party in the context of this bigger weekend is [about] establishing a gay presence or a foothold for American gay webmasters to meet with webmasters in Europe. Some of us will get more affiliates, Epoch will probably get more customers, Cybersocket might get more advertisers, and NakedSword might get more videos from studios in Europe that want distribution in America. It works out for everybody."
Meanwhile, Epoch's Rand Pate commented that, "Epoch is proud to be the presenting sponsor for the Cybersocket party in Amsterdam. The unique location provides an incredible venue in an area of the world where we can reach potential clients in the EU markets. It's always great to put faces with the names of many clients that never attend shows in the U.S., as well."
In a statement issued this week, AOE's sales and marketing director, Jarvis Todd, said, "I certainly can't remember having so many great parties and so many great sponsors supporting the social side of our event. What a great start to the show."
Todd went on to say that, "We're particularly pleased to welcome Cybersocket as a party host to AOE for the very first time. Their legendary brand of networking brings huge value to this show and offers delegates another great opportunity to make a 'big deal' out of networking—and that's what it's all about."
