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Many of those who actually DO something in this industry are the ones who will suffer and be excluded based on financial issues.
The amateur website owners- you know, the ones who put their heart, soul, and personal (and intimate) pics on the web- it used to be that they scrimped and saved all year long, to be able to attend the show. It represented the only opportunity to network, shoot with other web girls, and most importantly- LEARN. Hell, I flew to Vegas before opening my first paysite and the education I received there was invaluable.
In the past, many amateurs would learn to cut corners- stay at the Holiday Inn and hike up the street; eat at Denny's instead of the Grande Luxe... Whatever it took, but good golly they could do it! You know what? Nobody pays for their passes either. They're far too insignificant for sponsors to want to cultivate. These people work damn hard to earn the extra money to purchase show badges.
The webmasters who are slaves to their autosubmitters, who pray that something works to keep those (sporadic) sponsor checks coming in. The tgp and link list owners that we all rely on for our traffic supply... The people glued to their desks 15 hour days, growing their home based businesses- nurturing them like small children, trying to think 5 steps ahead... Also people who pay thier own way. People who work damn hard, and still refuse to see the shows as a vacation, but as an important opportunity to make those crucial contacts that will hopefully make next year just a little bit easier.
Sadly, it is no longer possible for those who have not yet reached a significant financial benchmark to participate, be educated, and be motivated by those that went before them. Our 'trade shows' have become elitist soirees designed as an opportunity for major players to pat each other on the back...
I get a quiet chuckle in the last weeks preceeding the shows. I watch people scramble to find someone they can piggyback off of, 'represent', or just beg for a pass. These people would never dig into their own pockets to attend a show. They simply will not attend unless someone else pays the bills. Yet these are the people at all the shows, while so many others cannot.
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