The annual West Coast gathering of the 'Net faithful invaded downtown LA once more in early April, this time with a vengeance. More than 60,000 people reportedly passed through the gates by week's end -- enough to make it the largest IW ever, according to Dara Tyson, who heads PR for the shows. Making the numbers even bigger was the new "eCRM" sister show Penton launched this year, which was held concurrently in another part of the center, and drew an estimated 10,000 additional people.

Internet watchers might look back on 2000 as the year when the Internet-crazed entertainment industry helped move the center of gravity of dot-com-land to Tinsel Town -- at least as far as the industry's leading trade show goes. Conservatively speaking, said Megan Forrester, VP of marketing for Penton Events, the size of this year's Spring Internet World show puts it at least neck-and-neck now with the fall show, the venerable annual gathering in New York City. She said this year's spring show had *double* the number of exhibitors as last year, at approximately 800, and those companies occupied 70% more total square feet of exhibit space. It's the first year the show floor had to be expanded to two levels here in LA, she said.

Did the whip-saw swings in the Nasdaq stock market this week spoil the party? Not noticably. "It was simply a reality check that many were expecting," Forrester said, noting that she hasn't seen any dampening of enthusiam amongst attendees and exhibitors.

To the contrary, the industry was as high on hype as ever -- and came to party big-time! And what better place than Hollywood? The quantity of invitations arriving in press registrants' mailboxes in the days and weeks preceding the show was way up -- including receptions of every variety, launch parties, and at least four evening "mini-trade show" receptions at downtown and Beverly Hills hotels. There was even a "Brave New Unwired World" fashion show co-sponsored by Penton. Forrester, the VP of marketing, said the latter is a new brand for Penton, which the firm is beginning to use in conjunction with the long-standing Internet World brand and business it acquired from Mecklermedia more than a year ago.

Party highlights of Spring Internet World included the very hard-to-get-tickets-for CMGI House of Blues party Wednesday night on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard, and a launch party for NetValue next door at the tres-trendy Mondrian Hotel SkyBar.

What was hot? Anything wireless, WAP, or photo portal, it seemed. And the convergence of music and entertainment with the Internet (natch). My favorite company launch -- and from what I heard, quite a successful one -- was NameZero.com ....where, you guessed it, you can get your very own domain name for free, as well as an email box and other services. The company did a great job of marketing at the show, including being one of many bigger-name sponsors at a huge benefit function on the Paramount lot Thursday night. NetZero's CEO told me his company signed up 11,000 new domain registrants in one day alone during the show.

The conference sessions? Don't ask. There were exceptions (my personal favorite title was "Linux for Suits"--moderated by Doc Searls, one of the authors of "The Cluetrain Manifesto"), but most sessions I attended or heard about were ho-hum to downright atrocious. Poorly moderated, bad sound and logistics, really poor visuals, horribly prepared panelists who were insulting people's intelligence at every turn, and *way* too many cancelled speakers and panelists. Memo to Penton (from a longtime Internet World devotee): spend some time and money rebuilding the quality of the conference sessions--they're tired. Fresh blood, better planning, better moderating, better logistics. Maybe then you'll attract, or get back, the kind of speakers and industry notables who *won't* cancel on you -- and a whole lot more attendees who'll want to return as well.