I tried to stay away, but I just can't. This interactive industry of ours is simply irresistible, and I can't think of a better way to get back into it after a three-week break than AdTech. To see thousands of people celebrating the industry, making deals, talking about profitability and results is truly exhilarating and inspiring.

That said, my take on the show: Content: B+ at best. My unscientific survey of the attendees showed that the content would have been perfect for a traditional media conference, like the 4As, where attendees are not intimately familiar with how the medium works or even THAT it works. AdTech attendees deserve fresher ideas and more actionable information. They do not need to hear lengthy explanations of the difference between soft and hard email bounces, and have no interest in debating whether the web is a DR or a branding medium. They're also quite aware that the industry is STILL lacking in the standardization area. Instead, they would rather spend more time on concepts such as contextual marketing, which almost every presenter at the show categorized as a problematic proposition that does not deliver adequate results; behavioral targeting, which Nielsen//NetRatings' Charlie Buchwalter said is in danger of being over-hyped; and other ideas that will move the industry forward.

Kudos to Jim Meskauskas, who gets the "best moderator" award for expertly leading two hours of discussion on audience segmentation and keeping the entire audience involved and highly entertained. The shameless pitch prize goes to Song Airways, a Delta Airlines Company that put together an hour-long commercial for the new airline and called it a keynote.

All that said, every advertising conference goer knows these things are not about content, but rather about schmoozing, and AdTech may just be the best of the best at that. Air conditioning and crowd control issues aside, I have to give the Exhibit Hall an A - terrific roster of exhibitors, both established and new, full of great energy and interesting conversations. Parties were terrific as well, minus one that my esteemed colleague Rick Bruner has already described in this blog. What was AdTech thinking when they agreed to endorse it? I went, I saw, I left. Total time: seven minutes and many nightmares to come, I'm sure.

Speaking of things questionable, and I don't mean to start a tawdry discussion on this, but I have to wonder what kind of thinking led to a company being named "Blow Search."

Overall, congratulations to AdTech organizers who have yet again pulled off an event that clearly shows the health and the bright future of the interactive advertising industry.