Whether the unseasonably warm September weather had anything to do with the smiles on everyone’s faces Thursday night at the Qwebec Expo warm-up party, I couldn’t say for sure. But one thing is for sure: Nobody’s complaining about the cold during the second adult convention to hit Montreal this year.
Qwebec Expo got underway with a pre-show party at the Mad Hatter’s Saloon (which was only a Pub back when I was college, but I guess we all have to grow up sometime). It’s a cool little bar with a laid-back atmosphere, micro-brewed beer, and a couple of pool tables in the back. The party had all the makings of a successful webmaster gathering. Copious amounts of free beer were served in 40-ounce mega-pitchers courtesy of Nats. Much of the entertainment – mostly of the spontaneous dancing-on-the-bar type – was provided by amateur star Christine Young, web designer She-Devil, and various other members of the jigglier sex.
Michel Plante, Qwebec Expo organizer and mastermind, was on hand to greet everyone at the door, and the omnipresent Julius, aka photographer-gadfly JFK, was always just behind someone’s shoulder with his camera in tow to capture the night’s events. Despite the slightly cramped space, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, imbibing beverages and chatting away. The crowd contained folks from across the industry, including locals like the crew from 2much Media (also party sponsors), Gamma and My Virtual Card, lots of content producers and photographers (and their girls, of course), webmasters and company reps, as well as the ubiquitous noob asking about getting traffic to his brand new site.
I listened as an industry veteran answered the noob’s questions without a hint of impatience and as matter of factly as if he’d been giving the guy directions for how to get to across town, where to turn, and what bridges to cross. I watched the disappointment creep across the noob’s face, when he realized he wasn’t going to get the “magical answer” he sought. Determination slowly returned to his eyes, but now there was something new: doubt, otherwise known as a reality check.
Ahh, yes … all the makings of a successful pre-show warm-up party.
The next day, registration was quick and painless, and I was rewarded with my badge and a bag of show goodies. I glanced at my badge to check the spelling, and noticed NaughtyAllie’s cute bod stretched beneath my name, which is apropos since NaughtyBank was the badge sponsor. Plante said Allie and her crew weren’t going to make it to the show. I thought nothing more of it at the time, but Bby the end of the day I’d heard more than one person complimenting and/or commenting on NaughtyBank’s marketing. It was quite a coup, considering Naughty Allie got Allie’s face spread across the entire show without even being there.
The first day’s relaxed lineup of three seminars was well attended. Breaks between each made for an easy transition while recovering from the previous night’s indulgences. The open workshop style of the seminars encouraged discussion between the panelists and the audience, giving everyone who wanted to take part a chance to participate. That included Chicago attorney J.D. Obenberger, who started the last seminar of the day by offering a comment from his seat. He ended up standing in front of the panel and addressing the audience for a few minutes on the ins and outs of Title 18 U.S.C. §2257, which served as a small preview of the legal seminar scheduled for the next day.
Next on the schedule was the VIP party, hosted in one of the hotel’s hospitality suites. It was, as promised, a Very Intimate Party of a few dozen show attendees enjoying more complimentary liquid sustenance and various munchies from the salty and crunchy food groups.
The Thank God it’s Friday Party kicked off at 9 p.m. in Old Montreal at club lounge Suite 701. The promise of a look at the premiere of Webdreams, a Showcase Network documentary series that takes a look at a diverse cast of Internet entrepreneurs based in Montreal fell short a bit as the bar management deemed the show too risqué for its venue. After only five minutes of video with no sound, the TV screens went blank, and the show disappeared. Disappointed but undeterred, the Friday night adult crowd resumed drinking and swaying to the music.
Day Two provides sustenance
Three more seminars with quirky names rounded out the second day of the second annual Qwebec Expo. The legal seminar, “Law and Order,” featured American attorney Obenberger and Canadian barrister Paul Kent-Snowsell discussing a variety of topics that ranged from the technicalities of 2257 compliance to the fine print on model contracts. Much of the audience could be observed feverishly taking notes during the information-loaded discourse, which brought together both American and Canadian perspectives on the industry’s current legal issues.
“L.A.X.,” the marketing and traffic seminar, offered only a three-person panel, but the combined years of experience and knowledge between Robert “The Legacy” from Webmaster Paradise, YnotBob from YnotPayment, and Scott from SleazyDream, provided a wealth of information and light-hearted exchanges.
Despite the joviality and enthusiasm of the panelists, the mostly newbie audience seemed intimidated (or perhaps they were still recovering from the previous night’s debauchery). Questions had to be pulled like teeth from the solemn crowd. Moderator StuartD from NichePay did a good job of keeping things moving through the lulls, though.
As for the content portion of the seminar lineup, “Just Shoot Me” closed the day in workshop style where panelists and photographers fielded questions on the finer points of everything from bouncing lights to Internet and video distribution.
Meandering around after the seminars, I followed the crowd and hung out in the networking area as the booths were being taken down. With a couple hours to kill until the ceremony that would bestow the Best Adult Awards, attendees were like lemmings without a leader, and we milled about aimlessly until Charlie from Nats gave us all a unifying purpose by ordering 25 large pizzas from Pendelli’s Pizzeria.
The next hour was fraught with that electric tension that can only come from a room full of hungry people awaiting the arrival of the pizza man with a stack of steaming hot pies. Conversations were had, introductions were made, cards were exchanged, deals were discussed, but all of it was done with one eye glued to the door.
As one of the shameless lemmings who eagerly awaited and hungrily devoured more than one slice of pie, I have to admit, that pizza hit the spot in more ways than one. The spontaneous act was enough to re-energize the atmosphere in the networking area and keep attendees together and talking.
Once most of the pizza had been consumed and conversations began to dwindle down again, people started leaving to prepare for the upcoming awards ceremony, and like a good show-lemming, I followed in their footsteps.
Coverage of Qwebec Expo will continue.
