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The Money Show
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I have imbibed such a love for money that I keep some sequins in a drawer to count, & cry over them once a week. |
Saturday, August 14, 1999
One year ago: Dance-Related Injury
Two years ago: Opened with Expectation
A year ago, I had a huge bruise on my right hand, from some enthusiastic guy squeezing it while we were dancing. When they say "No thumbs!" to beginning leads, there's a good reason for it!
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Yesterday and today, my new company (Stockcharts.com) was exhibiting at a conference at the Seattle Convention Center, downtown. So I didn't even have to go to the office Friday morning; I slept a bit later than usual and took the bus downtown.
I was wearing my company polo shirt, with my exhibitor's badge hanging around my neck, and felt very official. Of course I'd managed to spill some mocha on it, already! But applying water in the restroom and blotting seemed to get rid of it; I can't tell now that the stain was there. I'd arrived before Chip, who was bringing the laptop, so there was really nothing for me to do once I'd filled my wooden bowl (the one my mother turned on a lathe, long ago) with candy, and arranged the web cards and posters.
Chip arrived a few minutes before the exhibit hall opened. We were off! He started talking to folks, showing off the website and getting their feedback. I passed out web cards to whoever would take them, and told the passersby our main point, like a headline -- interactive stock charts, free on the web! Co-worker Kat had designed the poster we were giving away, and kept busy rolling them up with rubber bands, so people could have the choice of a flat version or a rolled-up portable version.
Our goals for the conference differed from most of the other companies, since we weren't selling anything. We were trying to get face-to-face feedback from users, and do a bit of networking. So it was ok that our booth was of the simplest. It would have been nice to have better placement, but we got about the level of traffic we could handle. Chip did yeomen service, talking almost non-stop about the various charts we have, and what makes us so good.
Interestingly, the most common question we got: "How do you make your money?" I don't know why they were so concerned about that, when we are totally free for users, but they were. Our answer: advertising, partnering, building our brand, and so on. Chip had the idea of flipping the conservation topic (after the response above) and asking about what websites (if any) the questioner is currently paying money for. The odds are, not many!
I've not been to a conference exactly like this before, but the similarities and differences to other events were interesting. Compared to a science fiction convention: this is a profit-making business, while a real sf con is not. There were speakers and workshops, but some of them you had to pay extra money to attend, and to be a speaker you also had to pay. The business that runs the show is in the catbird seat, I think! There's little or no interaction between attendees. It's more like the Home show, but with a financial flavor.
Talking to the crowd, I went into a mode that I used to use when I worked at a restaurant during the 80s. I just start feeling really positive about the people, and that beams through to them. It was a strange sensation!
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At the end of the day, both days, our feet were feeling it! Friday evening, instead of going home, I went across the street to the movie theater and saw Bowfinger. Sitting down for two hours straight felt wonderful. I liked the movie, too! When Steve Martin and Heather Graham start discussing The Music Man, I saw the resemblance: the seedy producer/director is getting his cohorts to work on this impossible dream movie, and they want to believe in him. Even the nerdy guy played by Eddie Murphy wasn't taken advantage of in a way that was painful for me -- a concern going in. I also enjoyed the Mindfuck, I mean, Mindhead cult that the action star was involved with. I say, see it! (But see the Iron Giant first, it's really good and might be tanking.)
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