This October 14 to 18 in Orlando, Florida, the premier of the innovative MERGE! show will introduce a new approach to growing the domain industry, by combining the third annual THE Domain Conference with other leading events in domain-related industries.

Domain registrars, registries, brokers, domainers, investors, and their partners will come together in a web of educational and networking events, organized around the common theme of the incredible utility of domain names.

In addition to heavyweight keynote speakers, the popular WHIR Networking event, and engaging panel discussions, unique conference experiences like “Elevator Pitches Worldwide” and Larry Fisher’s “Domain or Not a Domain” contest bring domainers and industry stakeholders together in a fun and genuinely interactive social environment. MERGE! is designed to spark truly valuable personal connections with people in a position to help your business, and benefit from it.

As consumer and corporate awareness, acceptance, and trust of new TLDs evolve, learning about and making connections to other internet businesses is crucial to meeting the challenges and profit potential of the domain industry. The MERGE! show is designed to foster the understanding and personal relationships that support growth and success for companies, and the industry as a whole.

This means attracting key players in the industries that can benefit by more effectively leveraging domain names.

With the addition of Erica Mann as a keynote speaker, the infusion of carefully selected Blockchain and Cryptocurrency topics, and the newly added ‘UnGagged’ teaser subconference, and the arrival day topic/expert tables and networking to connect arriving guests. MERGE! keeps adding more for attendees, and the event has a very rich set of content in multiple disciplines.

MERGE! co-founder (and NamesCon co-founder) Jothan Frakes architected the new model of show format to provide unprecedented opportunity for attendees to engage not only with other players directly involved in the domain space, but also with those in related technology fields who can serve as partners, customers, and investors.

Attendees of the various events making up MERGE! will therefore come from companies from throughout the domain name ecosystem, ICANN board members, domain name litigation veterans, and international marketing experts, as well as  technology industries that build on domain names. Web hosts, cryptocurrencies and SEO and digital marketing companies will be present at MERGE!, along with angel and VC investors, startups, and developers; anyone who’s business is helping businesses succeed online.

Hundreds of attendees are expected for MERGE! show 2017, but each sub-event will range from a few dozen to a few hundred participants. Keeping each event to its optimal size, while providing opportunities for cross-pollination and multi-discipline discussion eliminates “tourists” and maximizes quality relationship building.

Along with THE Domain Conference, other featured MERGE! events include the WHIR’s Orlando networking event for the web hosting and cloud services ecosystem, Digital Search Summit, international market showcases Confluir and Allegravita’s China Bootcamp, a trademark and internet law keynote from McGrady Domain Academy, and cryptocurrency gatherings Blockchain Roadshow and Token Fest.

The balance between deep learning on specific topics, and broad exposure and networking at open events and in the collocated exhibit space makes MERGE! show a compelling new conference experience tailored for the industry.

The event is designed to bring the concept of the utility, benefit, and prosperity of domain names to groups that are naturally going to be attracted to them, or didn’t know about the evolution in the namespace that will allow them to acquire the right domain name in the ever-changing domain name industry.