Pubcon/WebmasterWorld conference, here I come!

News from Google

I arrive Wednesday afternoon for the 2008 Pubcon conference, and I’ll be staying until after the networking event on the last day, which is the heart of the event. It’s the heart because the networking event is held at a pub, and the original idea of Pubcon was that some of the best parts of a conference take place at the pub after the official conference is done.

If you see me, please come up and say hello! Tell me how you’re doing, or what you like or dislike about Google. I’ll be participating in the Search Engine Super Session that traditionally wraps up the formal part of the conference.

What are you likely to see if you head to Las Vegas? Well, here are some pictures that I’ve been meaning to post for a year. No joke, I’m that behind on things I want to blog. First off, you’ll meet lots of search engine optimizers (SEOs) and webmasters:

As you can see, they’re a very fun and friendly bunch of folks. And if you’re lucky, you might run across a celebrity. Last year, we saw David Caruso:

The rumor was that Caruso was there to record some promotional material for Microsoft, but I never saw anything. If anyone knows of a David Caruso/Microsoft commercial, please send me a pointer.

WebmasterWorld is also a nice place to get a glimpse of what other smart people are doing. Last year was the first time I saw an Asus EEE:

Nowadays this is known as a “netbook” and they’re getting pretty popular with the kids these days. It looked so cool that right after the conference I went right to Amazon and ordered one. Unfortunately, my order got delayed and delayed until I finally canceled it, so I never ended up getting a netbook. Maybe I’ll try again at some point.

What else do I like about Pubcon? It’s a great chance to connect with people and just talk. For example, remember when I did this post about how triple-tap power adapters should be branded as schwag? Well, at the conference last year both Topix and CareerBuilder surprised me by actually doing exactly that:

and

It’s pretty cool to see someone take your idea and just run with it. But the best reason to head to Pubcon is that lots of fun, smart people go, and it’s a chance to catch up with what’s happening in the world of search. Again, if you see me there, please say hello!

www.mattcutts.com

published @ November 12, 2008