I’m excited.  First of all, because I’ve never been to New York before (a layover on my way to Orlando hardly counts).  Second of all, because it’s that time again – time for Affiliate Summit!  We’re flying JetBlue, which I LOVE!  So comfortable on a cross country flight!  Last week on Affiliate Marketing Fanatics 12, Mike and I did a pre-show review of the sessions we’re thinking of going to.  I can’t wait, but there’s other things I’ll be doing while in NYC!

• Seeing Avenue Q
• Eating New York pizza at Famous Original Ray’s Pizza
• Walking through Central Park
• Hopefully seeing the Empire State Building
• Wandering Times Square
• Trying to survive on the NYC Subway

And more – Dominic and I have tacked on two extra days to sight see.  I can’t wait!  We’re leaving today and will get in LATE tonight and then brave the subway to get to the hotel if we’re feeling adventurous – if not, swallowing cab fare.  Of course come Sunday, it’s all business.  Affiliate Summit East 2009 starts off with a bang – my panel on Getting Noticed FAST!  I know I’ve shamelessly promoted this panel, but seriously, you’ll learn a good deal if you’re looking to make a name for yourself.  It’s in Classroom C at 12pm so stop by – you’ll get an awesome sticker courtesy of Sticker Giant!

After that, Dominic and I will split the difference so we can cover the most sessions for you here.  I’m also going to encourage Dominic to write up a post of his views of Affiliate Summit as an outsider/newbie, so stay tuned for that.  I’ll try to post them as timely as possible – some of that will involve reading Dominic’s writing   I’m sure there will be plenty of time for me to wander around and talk to folks so if you see either of us walking around, stop us and say hi!  And feel free to badger Dominic about his model railroad or school!

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So last week I was knee-deep in lobbying in Sacramento against CA AB 178 and then spent the rest of the week in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 Expo.  So I didn’t have a lot of time to read my RSS feed.  So some of this stuff is a bit old, but don’t shoot the messenger.  If you were on top of your game you wouldn’t rely on this, so just remember that beggars can’t be choosers!

• Another guest post by me at Marketing Pilgrim on a new Social Media masters program being offered in the UK.
• You can save 5% when flying JetBlue to Affiliate Summit East in August.  I took them up on this discount for ASE last year in Boston and it totally turned JetBlue into my favorite airline!
• The face of Ebates.com, Paul Nichols, has left them to start his own consulting company.  Good luck Paul!
• Scott Jangro asks us all:  Is there room for two affiliate marketing organizations?
• Of course he asks because Affiliate Voice officially launched.  President Melanie Seery announced it on her blog.
• ShareResults came out with the BAMroll last week (The Big Affiliate Marketing roll).  Very cool idea.
• I wrote up my recap of the Web 2.0 Expo last week for the New Edge Media blog.
• Speaking of NEM, I’m no longer of their employ.  Wanna hire me?  Of course you do…  Email me!

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I have arrived & ready for Affiliate Summit East 2008! I have to first say kudos to Missy & Shawn for selecting a wonderful hotel & conference center to host the summit!  It’s super close to the airport so it took me much less time to get here than I anticipated, great in-room accommodations (LAN connection FTW!), and speedy service.  Let me illustrate my time line thus far for you.

• 6:50a – Plane landed
• 7:20a – collected bags & waited less than 5 minutes for a cab
• 7:35ish – arrived @ Seaport & checked in
• 7:40a – ordered some hot breakfast
• 8:00a – was eating wonderful hot breakfast

So, speedy service is always excellent!  I’ve had time to take a shower & refresh from my red-eye flight from Oakland & am now getting ready ti head down to the Affiliate Classroom Live event to join everyone mid-morning as I’m expected.  More kudos are in order for the Summit’s partnership with Jet Blue…I’d never flown Jet Blue before and it was delightful.  Thanks to the wonderful timing of my flight, FX channel programming, and the fates, there is NOTHING as cool as watching the final climax of Batman Begins (the elevated train derailment) at the exact time a jet is taking off below you!

I’ll leave your morning reading with some tips regarding the hotel I’ve discovered thus far, and then I have to finish getting ready and go find the right room!

• The body lotion in the bathroom – a little goes a LONG way.
• I got a really low connection to the wi-fi, but that might just be my nearly ancient Dell Latitude laptop, so if you’re in room I recommend using the LAN cable on the desk.
• In room dining was SUPER fast this morning; could have been the time of day but I’m hoping it’s just fast & excellent service.
• Staff has all be enormously friendly.
• If your room is laid out like mine (and I didn’t opt for anything special) the cabinet below the TV & ice bucket has a fridge…I didn’t find it at first lol

Remember if you see me around I look like this – say hi!!

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