Why I'm Going to Domainers Meet in Dubai

I’m really looking forward to heading off to the Dubai Domainers Meet conference later this week. There’s been quite a bit of scepticism about whether the event will be successful or not and a number of people have asked me why I signed-up so early.

When I look at where the global growth in Internet is going to come from it’s really centred around emerging economies and the third world. For a start, it just so happens that Dubai is positioned as a global hub in the middle of the majority of this region. It's by no means a coincidence that Dubai is hosting the world Expo in 2020.

When I was traveling to ICANN in Dublin I happened to be on an Emirates flight transiting through Dubai and there was a radio show on the growth of Dubai as a regional economic powerhouse. It was clear to me that this was a part of the world that I really need to get to know, so I snapped up the chance to speak at the first Dubai Domainers Meet.

Likewise, last year when DomainFest Asia was held in Macau I jumped at the opportunity to attend. That single conference opened my eyes up to the significant opportunities and problems that domainers in China face. From the one conference I’ve already made some fantastic contacts and done a lot of business…..I’m hoping I will experience something similar at the Dubai event.

It really excites me that the conference conveners are taking a very different approach to running a typical domainer event. They are really reaching out to end users, wider technical community and government authorities. Their focus has been to bring new blood into the domain industry….and I think they’ll achieve this.

Last week they ran a professional press conference at the Shangri-la Hotel in Dubai for mainstream media outlets and they managed to achieve a lot of press coverage. Click on the links below to view some of the exposure.

Al Bayan
Al lttidhad
Al Kaleej
Al Watan
The Gulf Today (english)

I personally believe that these efforts are really going to pay-off and the Dubai Domainers Meet conference will grow year on year.

I’m really looking forward to sharing on my topic of “Domaining, Past, Present and Future”. It’s caused me to journey both down memory lane and think a lot about where the industry is headed. As normal it will be packed full of anecdotes, data and personal insights into what I believe are significant domain investment opportunities.

If you have been on the fence about going to the Dubai Domainers Meet then I would encourage you to book your ticket…..it’s not too late and there are a LOT of flights in and out of Dubai. Remember that sometimes in business you need to invest into educating yourself, even if it means taking a risk on something new like the Dubai Domainers Meet. I hope to see you there!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.