I’ve been in Japan for the past eight days and it’s been a tiring and yet great time. I’m writing this blog in a few spare minutes between meetings while sitting at a table in the ICANN registration area. Please excuse me if there are any typos or grammatical errors.

I was in Tokyo for the first four days of my journey to the land of the rising sun. I’ve visited Tokyo many times and find it’s one of the most vibrant cities in the world…..besides that, it’s just a lot of fun! After a lot of great meetings, I had a chance to get out and explore the city with a few other friends that happened to be in Tokyo at the time.

There’s nothing quite like trying to work out how to buy a ticket on a Shinkansen (bullet train) to sort you out….so our first stop was Shinjuku train station. Shinjuku is a MAJOR station where trying to find out how to get out of it is an amazing feat of intellectual prowess, let alone get some bullet train tickets. Think of it as a massive escape room where the signs are designed to confuse the heck out of you.

As is my custom, I’m writing to you from the Melbourne Qantas Club as I wait for my flight to Tokyo, Japan. Yes….you would also be right in saying, “Weren’t you just in New Zealand?”

Sounds like a bit of jetsetting but it’s actually more of a tyranny of timing. Last week I was hiking through the pristine wilderness of the New Zealand south island. I must admit, that the experience has really changed me and caused me to fall in love with tramping around trails while looking at spectacular scenery.

I’m now headed to one of the biggest cities in the world…..so I wouldn’t be surprised if I go through a little culture shock. Not from the amazing Japanese people but being surrounded by buildings and concrete. In New Zealand I could gaze 20 plus kilometres into the distance while in Tokyo it’s going to be to the next office building.

So what draws me to Japan? I could say the food…..and the culture…..and the many things Japanese and they would all be correct. In reality I’m headed to ICANN.

If you’re attending ICANN in Kobe then please reach out to me. I’d love to catchup…..but right now I’ve got to go as my flight just got called!

Thank goodness, my brain has finally caught up with my body after NamesCon. The twenty-four plus hour journey from Vegas flying in a tin can at nearly 40,000 feet is more something to be endured rather than enjoyed. During my time of Internet withdrawal (there isn’t any on the planes across the Pacific) I pondered the question, “Was NamesCon worth it?”

If you judge NamesCon on parties and having a big crowd of like-minded people in one location then you would have to emphatically answer, “Yes”. But NamesCon is more than these two things, for me, it’s was all about business, deal making and getting the roadmap for the year ahead.

You see, the right people were at the right location at the right time and this meant that every conversation became even better than the last. There was a “let’s do a deal” mentality that made it feel like opportunities were falling from the sky….which was quite an achievement since we were all inside.

As many readers know, one of the last things I like doing before I board a flight is to write a blog that I’m on my way. So once again I find myself in the Melbourne Qantas Club but unlike the majority of my trips, this time I’m not alone.

It just so happens I have both Danny and Laci from ParkLogic with me and they have managed to lighten the mood considerably. There’s nothing quite like having a couple of friends that you’ve been working with for over a decade travel with you.

So why are we heading to NamesCon? The simple answer is because everyone that is anyone will be there. I for a fact know that there are an incredible number of industry luminaries flying in from all over the world and they’re all attending because they want to do deals. Sounds good to me.

The question we really need to be asking is what happens in Vegas when you have nearly a thousand incredibly jetlagged individuals all in one place? The only answer to this has to be, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

It’s less than a week until NamesCon and I find myself ticking off items on the “todo list”. There’s nothing quite like a big tick next to an item you’ve been working on for the past few weeks.

If you want to attend NamesCon and don’t have a ticket, then here’s something just for you! The ICU registry is giving away two VIP passes to NamesCon. All you have to do is play their slot-machine by going to slotmachine.icu It certainly put me in the Vegas frame of mind 😉

There’s going to be three of us from ParkLogic this time as we have a booth (number 17). Danny Cron who heads up our technical development team is helping to man the booth with Laci (pronounced Lotsi) who plays the role of inhouse DBA and operations.

If you have any questions about how ParkLogic operates or how the platform can benefit your traffic monetization, then Danny and Laci are the guys to speak to. Both would love to catch-up with you so please don’t be a stranger and drop by booth 17. I would also recommend reaching out on the NamesCon App to book a time with either of them.