Destination: Success

PubCon 2006 in Boston was amazing and so are the people. There is no doubt about that.

Chrissie was my saving grace when it came to networking, because she introduced me to Rae right off the bat and a few other people later on.

Though I had already done some work for Rae, I hadn’t met her in person before PubCon.

If you’re wondering whether Rae’s anything like her online presence in person — yes, times ten. But, that’s a good thing (if you’re on her good side).

While eating breakfast, we had an opportunity to meet and chat with Greg Niland (funny thing, I didn’t know who he was until he said the name of his website…). As far as easy going, laid back guys go, Greg is by far topping the list.

Greg was so open and engaging that Lynn and I ended up skipping the key note address by Malcolm Gladwell to continue our conversation with him.

After finally making it to the first session, Affiliate Microsites and Optimization, I was lucky enough to grab Ted Ulle for a brief chat afterwards.

Later on Tuesday evening, I felt Chrissie tugging on my arm and feverishly dragging me across the room. When I finally had a chance to look up, I realized she was leading me over to Greg Harnett.

At that point, I froze.

She wanted to introduce me, but it was one of those moments where my mind went blank and the only thought going through my head was, “Oh my God!! This is Greg Harnett…from Best of the Web…what the hell do I say to him??”

Thank goodness for small miracles because he turned out to be a very pleasant, down to earth, and friendly guy. So much so, Chrissie, Lynn, and I ended up spending a bit of time getting to know the entire BOTW crew.

Can’t wait for Vegas; they’ve promised us more t-shirts.

My heart goes out to Jeff and Scott. I know they both had their hands full dealing with Chrissie and me.

But they each helped to make PubCon great in their own special ways.

Not to mention being hugely entertaining.

I was able to sneak a hug from Matt Cutts (yes, the Matt Cutts) at an after hours networking party.

Too bad I didn’t figure out how to use the flash on my cell phone until I got back from PubCon.

Needless to say, the picture wasn’t all that great.

Unexpectedly, I bumped into Aaron Wall and blurted out that he was my hero. I didn’t get to finish the rest of the thought because I was one martini shy of nap time.

Hopefully I didn’t scar him for life and hopefully he’ll forget about it before Vegas.

(Finishing the thought: Aaron Wall is my hero because he didn’t back down when Traffic Power tried to censor him using the legal system.)

Roger Dooley introduced himself and I was able to pick his brain for a little while. We exchanged some tips and I was able to slip some information about my WordPress skills his way subliminally.

Anita Chaperon popped in, and I am very glad she did. It was nice finally getting to meet the lovely lady bold enough to molest two Jedi storm troopers.

Seriously though, Anita was one of those people you want to keep around you because she’s fun, laid back, and down to earth. Three qualities that are not always easy to balance, but she does it well.

And thanks for the Heineken Andre!

The list above is not complete by far, but I’m hoping that the future write ups on the individual sessions will cover anyone I happened to overlook this time around.

In the meantime, you’re welcome to look at some more pretty pictures.

Tags: boston pubcon, pubcon 2006, pubcon pictures, pubcon photos, aaron wall, greg niland, anita chaperon, andre chaperon, roger dooley, greg hartnett, botw, best of the web, lynn terry, sugarrae, rae hoffman

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