So it has been a while after I returned from the US where I went to a conference on Ancillary Revenue and Frequent Flier Programs / Loyalty organized by Airline Information. I enjoyed the conference not the least because it was in LA and it was very warm. (I am stationed in Siberia and we always have snow and bears who steal ice cream from children.)
My impressions of the crowd at the conference are mixed. Of course, it was my first conference so I don’t know what to make of them. But many of the people there seem to be not that, shall I say, entrepreneurial as I would like them to be. Once again, I was reminded of mobile operators — big, bureaucratic, interested in the “service” not in people or making money.
On the other hand, there were many very entrepreneurial people which I hang out with. We bonded.
Overall, not much selling, but a lot of impressions, thinking, and contacts.
I came there with ArrivedOK and I duly recommend you use it. It is not free as it used to be, but it is fun and cheaper than what you would spend on SMS.
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Apart from the conference, I have also seen TripIt guys. They seem to be working very hard. Nice people reminding me of my student days. But definitely a good vibe. I wish them all the best and hope we will do more together.
I have also had a nice meeting with PayTel, and may be we will do a USSD payment system in Africa for non-profits.
And… I met with one of the US operators. We are planning to have US presence with Global USSD soon.