The IAB Has Arrived

Am attending the IAB Ecosystem conference in Phoenix, and what looked a few weeks ago like a sleepy little confab has turned into the event of the spring season. The Tapatio Cliffs Resort is sold out, they tell me.

Given that it’s the IAB’s show I expected to see the Web media heavy hitters here, but what I didn’t expect were all of the agency folks. Even the hotel staffers seem tickled by the “celebrities” here. Twice in the space of 10 minutes people exclaimed to me about all the “big names” here - Yahoo, AOL, Google, etc.

Yes, a decade after I attended one of the first IAB conferences, this industry has arrived. In Phoenix.

 

The Industry Standard. It’s Baaaaack!

Yesterday, when I was looking for a Seahawks cap to wear to the Super Bowl party I was going to, I found my old IndustryStandard.com cap. It’s now nearly 10 years old.

Just in time for that little anniversary, The Industry Standard is back. Here’s part of the email that arrived with the news:

You were one of the first in line to ask to see the brand-new Industry Standard. To show our appreciation for your interest, you are being notified of today’s official launch!

The site is not only designed to give readers insights into technology and the Internet economy, but also provides a unique community feature — a predictive market. Read the links below to understand how the site works, and see today’s selection of news, analysis, and predictions:

A message from General Manager Derek Butcher: The launch of a new Standard
Founded in April of 1998, the original Industry Standard helped define an era. Ten years later, a reborn Industry Standard is here to document the new Internet age. …
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/02/04/launch-new-standard

I wasn’t there until the magazine’s bitter end, so I have little of that baggage, but I still have mixed feelings about this new site. I think it will be next to impossible to recapture the buzz, the excitement and the must-read status that the magazine one held.

With so many places to get news, insider information and commentary, it will be a challenge for this site to stand out.