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Shareware Industry Conference Review in Software Marketing Newsletter

20.12.08

Welcome to the the special Shareware Industry Conference issue of Software Marketing News. An HTML version can be viewed at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/author-resource-newsletter57.html .


SIC OVERVIEW - WEDNESDAY
Upon arriving at the conference, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that nearly all of the conference preparation was completed. Mike Callahan (aka Dr. File Finder http://www.drff.com ), who was hosting the conference, had things firmly under control.

Registration began mid-afternoon, and I had the opportunity to put a face to the online persona of people like Loren Brewer of Wingenuity http://www.wingenuity.com who was surprisingly young, and contrasted my imaginary vision of him.

The opening reception hosted by the SIAF was on the 12th floor of the Hyatt. The Rockies could be seen cutting into the sky in the distance. The jet lagged faces of Dave Collins from Shareware Promotions http://www.sharewarepromotions.com and the girls from SoftKey http://www.softkey.com who travelled for nearly 24 hours, started the conference. Assuring each other that one nights sleep is all it would take to adjust to the air, climate and time zone made for easy conversation.

SIC OVERVIEW - THURSDAY
I sat on one of the very first panels Blogs and RSS with Dana Van Leuvan from Pheedo http://www.pheedo.com and Sunil M from DeskShare. There was standing room only and the session appeared to be well received.

This panel was followed by a session presented by Dave Mahon from the CyberCrime Unit of the FBI. The Cyber Crime presentation was not specific to shareware, but never the less I found it quite interesting.

Once again Digital River was gracious enough to host Thursday evening's reception. I have to say, when Digital River does something, they do it "big". In the center of the ballroom was a mechanical bull. Attendees were invited to sign their life away and go for a ride! The reception was extremely well received and while only 30 or so brave souls ventured onto the back of the bucking brute, all others were satisfactorily entertained. Judges with white boards scored their riders on skill and attire. Some of the more adventurous souls donned themed outfits, hoping to win the hearts and minds of the judging panel. I have to say it appeared that the panel was particularly enamored with the color pink.

SIC OVERVIEW - FRIDAY
Friday morning gave way to bleary eyed attendees eager for more. I was on a session with Phil Schndyer (AKA Mel Gibson). Phil was juggling hats as the new product acquisition manager from Avanquest http://www.avanquest.com and head of askSam http://www.asksam.com . Not one to disappoint, like in years passed Phil was able to consistently entertain and shine as a panelist. Sadly, I found that sharing the spotlight with Phil is not what is cracked up to be, because he is just too damn funny and invariably steals the show.

Throughout the conference hospitality suites were open, allowing attendees to interact on a personal level with vendors.

The hosted hospitality suites included:

TUCOWS - http://www.tucows.com - Tucows presented a very different and refreshing image than in years past. Greg Weir and Bob Gibson have listened to authors, and recruited Mike Callahan to assist with content development. It seems they really have their act together and want to be an industry force.

CNET- http://www.download.com - Still the traffic king, CNet introduced a new look to their website. An area that scored points with me, is an idea borrowed from Amazon, where items are presented to the surfer based on past habits. It is all about targeting! CNet also brought trophies to give to the products that have earned a significant number of downloads over the years.

eSellerate - http://www.esellerate.net - Though they've grown into a decent size company, I always feel that eSellerate listens to what authors have to say. In particular Mike Burda and Denise are open to ideas and suggestions. We discussed a doozie of an idea this year, and if implemented, eSellerate could, in my opinion, conquer a lot of ground. Stay tuned!

Digital River - http://www.digitalriver.com Digital River implemented a number of items that were of concern to affiliate publishers last year including improved tracking and they have served up some interesting and new items.

Avanquest - http://www.avanquest.com Avanquest hosted a suite and announced their acquisition of Blitzbox.de. The suite was used for one on one meetings with attendees interested in expanding their European distribution opportunities.

Massages by Dr File Finder - http://www.drff.com Mike Callahan's daughter Kadee and a college friend provided massages free of charge to travel weary attendees, the rooms atmosphere and candlelight soothed souls and was *really* well received.

Unfortunately not all of the attendees were aware of the hospitality suites located on the first floor. As a result, we whipped up a small natural disaster, a Tornado. The warnings caused attendees to quickly vacate the session rooms and congregate in the alcove on the first level adjacent to the hospitality suites. For us "Easterners" who are accustomed to blizzards and occasional hurricanes, the tornado alert was quite disconcerting. The hotel staff instructed hotel patrons to go into their bathrooms and hide under the sinks or congregate in the "approved" areas. Not exactly relaxing...

Friday night was exhibit night where vendors show off their stuff to attendees. Massive food displays with cook to order pasta dishes and heaps of finger food greeted attendees. Beer was provided free of charge courtesy of HC Topp Systems http://www.topsystems.com .

Attendees collected stamps in their "prospector's logs " from each of the exhibit booths. A completed log meant you would be entered into a drawing for Microsoft Media Center courtesy of Microsoft.

Exhibit night was followed by a hosted desert reception. The quiet atmosphere allowed developers to network and talk while enjoying some delectable treats.

SIC OVERVIEW - SATURDAY
The late nights and early mornings were beginning to show on the faces of some attendees by Saturday morning. Saturday's session continued, but by now it was clear that Phil Schnyder from askSam http://www.asksam.com was hands down the most entertaining speaker, full of funny anecdotes and helpful hints.

I spoke on a session with Michael Halls. Michael is my left brain hero. I've never met anyone quite like him, his presentations was designed specifically for introverts. Believe it or not there are a few introverts in the industry who struggle with the social aspects of networking and the panel was a great mix of tracking sales, increasing conversion and discussions on where to spend money.

The afternoon gave way to the gala event, the Shareware Industry Awards Banquet. All I can say is ....what a night.

The awards banquet was a terrific combination of humor and wit.

Entertainment was provided by Brian Kellum who specializes in physical humor, with imitations of blind dates, football players and poking fun at various audience members.

Phil Schnyder was in the role of MC. Phil's gregarious nature and self-defacing humor kept the audience laughing during the awards ceremony.

The awards recognize the well deserving best of the best. The awards ceremony itself was quite a surprise with both users and developers recognizing some large industry names, Microsoft received both the People's Choice Best Business Application or Utility Award and Shareware Industry Award for the Best Sound Program or Utility and Google won the Shareware Industry Award for the Best Program for PDA's.

While the industry acknowledgment was a bit of a surprise, the awards truly show that shareware is a viable marketing method used by both small and large developers.

What a great end to a terrific conference. I'll add a mention about Jack Hart ECD Systems http://www.ecdsystems.com who encountered my children at the conference. According to them he was particularly kind. I don't know who you are but the kindness you extended was appreciated and definitely in the spirit of the industry.

This years conference was especially nice in that I was able to meet developers whose names I had seen in the past, though I have never met them in person. This list included David Raimondo of Acoustica http://www.acoustica.com , Alistair from Rampellsoft http://www.rampellsoft.com and Bill Adler of Cyberscrub http://www.cyberscrub.com .

Next year's Shareware Industry Conference will be held in Denver, Colorado and I hope to see everyone there!

Danny's Overview - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article66.html

SIC PHOTO COLLECTIONS
Shareware Industry Conference Photos will be expanded as time allows so check back in a few weeks -

SIC Photos
http://www.sic.org/05photos/sic2005.htm

Tucows
http://download.tucows.com/sic/

Becky Lash / Epic Trends
http://www.epictrends.com/sic-2005/

Dave Collins
http://www.sharewarepromotions.com/conferences/sic/2005/index.htm

ShareIt
http://www.shareit.com/impressions.html?page_id=sic05&sessionid=254132351&random=d50e8e91398a7a6e21ad4c18ba50b3c9


TOP 10 THINGS I LEARNED AT SIC
1.) Noone has figured out the affiliate thing yet, but the registration services are listening and really trying.
2.) Text links with 6-10 words have a higher click through.
3.) User Interface is absolutely critical to software design.
4.) Developers are finally starting to figure out the value of upselling, cross selling and partnering!
5.) Product families are taking hold and becoming more popular with developers.
6.) RSS is still a fledgling technology in the "techie" crowd.
7.) Vendors have been listening to feedback and many of the service changes were as a result of feedback from smaller developers. Talk to your vendors!
8.) A few years ago newsletters were the hot item, this year it was blogs. The bottom line is strengthening communication with users is critical.
9.) Tracking is still a struggle.
10.) All software developers do not think that they are geeks. ;-)


SIC WINNERS
SIAF 2005 Winners - http://www.sic.org/2005nominees.asp
SIAF People's Choice Winners - http://www.sic.org/peopleschoice.asp


SIAF HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
The Shareware Hall of Fame has been instituted to honor those persons, companies, and products that have had a profound effect on the shareware industry. In order to be eligible, one must meet the minimum requirement of having been in the industry for at least five (5) years. Everyone who participates in shareware marketing owes these pioneers a debt of gratitude.

Shareware Hall of Fame 2005 Inductee:

Patrick Hochner - Patrick Hochner – created P. & A. Inc, along with his wife, Akiko, in May of 1984. At that time it was strictly a translation company, but in 1991 Patrick entered the world of software distribution. He used his contacts, experience, and knowledge of software to present high-quality programs to Japanese computer users. And, while providing good programs, he also provided good Japanese instruction with each and every product he sold. In 1992 his company was the first ASP approved shareware vendor in Japan and he distributed some of the most popular products including games such as Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, and more. Patrick has gone on to distribute a wide range of games, applications, and utilities taking care of the translation and localization in Japanese. Patrick has worked hard to promote shareware not only in Japan, but around the world as well. As a member of the shareware community, Patrick has become known for his honesty and integrity. In his dealings with shareware authors around the world, he always puts principle before profit. In view of his contributions to shareware and the shareware community, the SIAF board of directors is proud to induct Patrick Hochner into the Shareware Hall of Fame!



SIC 2006
The 2006 Shareware Industry Conference will be held July 13-15, 2006 at the Hyatt Tech Center in Denver, Colorado.


ANNOUNCEMENTS AT SIC
Shareware Promotions - Dave Collins announced that he attained certification as a Google Adwords Experts and is now a Google Advertising Professional. In the Google world this is akin to being a Grandmaster in Chess. With a little research I uncovered how incredibly difficult it is to obtain this certification. Congrats Dave! If you require SEO help contact Dave at http://www.sharewarepromotions.com

Tucows - Tucows has launched improved download libraries and capabilities. Full statistical reporting is now available for just $ 10.00 per month! The website and ARC are newly designed with a user interface that helps developers determine the best keywords for cost per click campaigns.
http://www.tucows.com

Download.com - Download.com has launched a completely new look for CNET Download.com. The new design creates a more cohesive look and feel that will provide more exposure to all of the great content available at CNET Download.com. The new design provides better, consistent navigation for all the categories of software, music and games. On a technical level, it takes advantage of many of the latest advances in CSS and XHTML.
http://www.download.com

Digital River - Digital River had a number of announcements. They have rebranded their affiliate program to attract Super Affiliates. The new network will be named oneNetwork and they are implementing an affiliate rewards program. They have added "PowerRankings" to affiliates to rank the more succesful products.

DR has introduced a new pricing scheme for RegNow but there is some fine print associated with the new offer so read carefully. The new rate is 6.9% and $1.00 for each *item* sold. In order to obtain the rate authors must participate in the REgNow CD200 program and their is a $2.00 minimum on any orders.

DR stressed that in order for developers to take full advantage of these opportunities they must be promotion ready and supply creative art work for affiliates and potential partners to use.

Software Ads Now is also quite an interesting opportunity for both developers and publishers. I haven't yet played with it, details are at http://www.softwareadsnow.com

CubicleSoft - CubicleSoft announced their new sharewrap system that enables developers to integrate product activation into their software.
http://www.cubiclesoft.com/ShareWrap/

Avanquest / Blitzbox.de - Avanquest acquired Blitzbox.de to enhance their software distribution network.
http://www.avanquest.com

AISIP - Sue Pichotta announced a new organization for software developers. Details at http://www.aisip.org

Shareware Junction Blog - Mike announced a new shareware blog at: http://blog.sharewarejunction.com/.-

Rudenko Software - Launched SubmitEverywhere a submission service to all sites regardless of the number of referrals.
http://www.submit-everywhere.com


Blog Posts Related to the Conference
Mike / Shareware Junction
http://sharewarejunction.blogspot.com/2005/07/sic-was-blast.html

Greg Seelhoff (GameCraft)
http://blog.gamecraft.org/2005/07/shareware-industry-conference.html
http://blog.gamecraft.org/2005/07/sic-2005-day-one.html http://blog.gamecraft.org/2005/07/sic-2005-day-two.html

Shareware Beach
http://www.shareware-beach.com/2005/07/sic-2005/

Tom Warfield
http://www.asharewarelife.com/2005/07/pretty-good-solitaire-wins-peoples.html

Beck Lash / Epic Trends -
http://www.epictrends.com//usability-technical-writing-copywriting-multimedia/200507.shtml#0715a
http://sharewareblogs.com/node/216

QumaSoft
http://www.qumasoft.com/weblog/archives/07-01-2005_07-31-2005.html#72


Mike Callahan
http://editorial.tucows.com/blog/_archives/2005/7/20/1056917.html

Michael Lehman
http://radio.weblogs.com/0141212/

Dan Fernandez
http://blogs.msdn.com/danielfe/archive/2005/07/14/438988.aspx

ESC
http://educationalsoftware.blogspot.com/

Renegade Minds
http://renegademinds.com/Default.aspx?tabid=60&mid=415&ctl=ViewEntry&EntryID=20

.NET Undocumented
http://wesnerm.blogs.com/net_undocumented/2005/08/ecommerce_provi.html

Apptastic
http://apptastic.net/blog/2005/07/sic-2005-recap.html


THANK YOUs
In closing I would like to personally extend a thanks to Mike Callahan, his wife Carole, daughter Kadee, and Maelena for all the effort and hard work they put into the conference. As a founder of the SIAF board, Mike is the chairman and noone works harder or is more committed to the conference. Thank you Mike.

And finally a big thank you to all of the sponsors at http://www.sic.org who made the event possible.

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