I am back and finally getting to a post about my 2 weeks as an eCommerce Hippie.

Two solid weeks on the road is tough. It was GOOD to get home. But I had a great time while gone, both personally and also for Doba.

Internet Retailer

So we exhibited at Internet Retailer for the first time. Our booth was made out of cardboard boxes all piled on top of a guy laying in the middle, and it was received very well. People loved it. We had a great show while introducing Doba’s mid-market product (more on that in another post). If you’re involved in eCommerce or eTail, Internet Retailer is a must attend event in my opinion. Next year it is in Boston in June.

Bonnaroo

After Internet Retailer was over, I headed back to Midway airport to meet up with Amy so that we could fly down to Nashville and then head to Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo was bad ass. I know some of you may not be comfortable with a swearword to describe it, but anything else wouldn’t do it justice. It was one of the most fun things I’ve done with Amy. The music was just great, and I think it has broadened my appreciation and tastes in music, and my appetite for it as well. I think Amy and I are both in love with music festivals now. You can see so many bands in such a short period of time, and if you only listen to someone for 30 minutes and head to another performance, you don’t even feel bad. We saw almost 30 different bands over the 4 days. Metallica, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, BB King, Bluegrass Allstars, and Drive-by Truckers were my favorites of the festival. The people there were so nice. Maybe we all ought to spend more time with hippies most of who are partaking of performance enhancing drugs more often, because it was genuinely a very chill, relaxing, and fun time. The prototype definition of a vacation. Good times at Bonnaroo. I will be back to that festival someday. Guaran-damn-teed. Here’s a few more pics (if you click the slideshow, it will open so you can see all the pics):

Tennessee

After Bonnaroo, we spent 3 days in and around Nashville. We didn’t really have a list of must do things, just saw some great stuff. I think our favorite spot was Franklin which is just south of Nashville. We also saw some plantation and civil war sites. And of course to keep with our live music theme, we attended the Grand Old Opry. I actually enjoyed all of the performances even though it’s country music. Especially since Charlie Daniels closed out the night. And we ate at the Waffle House at least 4 times. That place rocks. All in all, Tennessee was really fun. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back someday.

eBay Live

We then headed back to Chicago for eBay Live. We had basically planned the same booth as Internet Retailer, but a 10X20 instead of 10X10. It was a huge departure from our previous year’s booths. Again, we had TONS of compliments, photos, and generally all-around feedback that this was the best booth that most people had ever seen. Just need to work on the overall message it conveys, and we’ll be set. Although if I had to pick, I’d go with impactful and memorable all day long if I had to pick that over a specific message. Hopefully next time around we nail the message and the impression.

One of the best parts of our booth this year is that it was a disposable booth. Anyone that’s done tradeshows, and had the privilege of engaging with the Trade Show Mafia and paying outrageous fees for things like drayage fees and unionized labor to assemble giant 20 foot tall booths will appreciate how nice it was for us to be able to at both Internet Retailer and eBay Live literally walk away from the booth. (the shipping and drayage to eBay Live in Boston last year cost us more than our entire show this year). We gave the $30 Ikea chairs to some folks and left. Best moment of my life.

 

All in all it was a great 2 weeks. The shows for Doba went very well, and Amy and I had a great time on our vacation this year without the kids.

 

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Category: Conferences, Personal