Once each year there is an opportunity to network with a vast cross section of the web hosting community at the renowned event known as HostingCon. Plans are currently coming together for this year’s installment – HostingCon 2009. Touted as ”The largest gathering of hosted services professionals in the world” – the event will be held on August 10-12, 2009 in Washington, D.C. The trade show and conference will present many similarities to last year, and also debut a number of interesting changes.

What will undoubtedly stay the same will be the commitment to showcasing the smartest minds in the web hosting industry through educational sessions, coupled with an exhibit hall which represents a ”who’s who” of hosting industry vendors. According to a recent Twitter post on the official HostingCon Twitter feed, ”HostingCon 2009’s program includes 44 educational sessions across four tracks. Sales&Marketing, Ops&Technology, Emerging Trends & Biz Dev.” Also the news that, ”The HostingCon 2009 speaker program is being finalized. Week or so away from being launched on www.HostingCon.com. Stay tuned!”. An email sent to inform speakers of acceptance to present at HostingCon noted that, ”This year we had over 120 speaker proposals! The supply of great topics and the level of expertise among the potential speakers was outstanding and made the selection process very difficult. The outcome; however, is an exceptional program with diverse and timely topics and actionable substance.” Look for a completed speaker schedule soon at the HostingCon website.

The exhibit hall and exhibitors for HostingCon 2009 look to be somewhat expanded from last year, but still retaining the core group of hosting vendors that most everyone in website hosting would have an interest in speaking with. The complete list of exhibitors can be found here, and also a detailed floorplan showing where each vendor’s booth will be located visually. This year’s Platinum Sponsors offer some continuity as well, being cPanel, Microsoft and Parallels.

So what will be different and updated for this year’s conference. The most immediate and impactful change may simply be the location. In the previous years of HostingCon conferences, the show has never been held east of Chicago. This year the show will make its East Coast debut at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C. The area is described on the HostingCon website, ”HostingCon 2009 will take place in National Harbor, MD – just 8 miles from Washington DC. Sitting on the Potomac River, National Harbor is a 300-acre development with an array of entertainment, upscale living, artistry, shopping, food and fun. For residents and visitors, National Harbor offers world-class dining and shopping, signature festivals and events, along with thousands of homes within steps of the water. Two of the four piers are a pair of 700-ft.-long structures accommodating large concerts, dinner cruises, light shows and other outdoor events. Water taxis serve Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown and Mount Vernon.”

Another key difference in HostingCon 2009 will be the operational execution of the show – as it is under new ownership. HostingCon founder, George Roberts, transferred ownership to web hosting industry conglomerate iNET Interactive at the conclusion of last year’s show. iNET brings a seasoned management and sales team to this event, along with deep industry knowledge and contacts from its involvement in many other hosting-related websites and businesses. Look for a fresh perspective and a crispness of execution from these top industry insiders. One new feature in terms of communication is the use of Twitter to communicate news prior to and during the show. The organization has 413 followers as of the writing of this piece, and these also include many of the most influential web hosting entrepreneurs and business people.

In terms of what HostingCon truly offers and the benefits of attending, here are the thoughts of a couple of website hosting experts who have attended the conference multiple times.

Liam Eagle is the Senior Editor at web hosting news and information site, The WHIR. Mr. Eagle had this to say regarding HostingCon, ”As a key media sponsor, we benefit from attending HostingCon in a lot of ways that may not translate directly to the average attendee. As a media outlet, again, we’re not the typical attendee. But as a source for compelling and usually cutting-edge content about the web hosting industry, there’s really nothing better than HostingCon. It’s also the most reliable way to get access to just about anyone you could want to talk to in the hosting industry (and plenty of people we’ve never heard of who turn out to be doing fascinating stuff), which I suppose is a great incentive for just about anyone to attend. Finally, our media role aside, HostingCon is a great place to learn, the sessions have evolved over the years to become amazingly exhaustive. Whatever it is you want to know, somebody is sure to be talking about it. And I know it’s the old standard Internet tradeshow refrain that it’s great to put a face to a name for people you have existing online relationships with – but it really is. Finally, it’s a really good time.”

”HostingCon is a great opportunity to see what the current buzz in web hosting is about,” says long-time attendee Daniel Foster. As co-founder of UK business hosting company 34SP.com, Mr. Foster has traveled from England to HostingCon for each of the last three years. ”It is also a great chance to network with the largest gathering of hosting professionals in the world. Last year we made several very useful business contacts and have managed to build on those since – I can’t imagine the same would have happened if we hadn’t been at the event. It is easy to feel like you’re on your own in hosting. HostingCon goes someway to showing that this is not always the case. If you haven’t been before then you owe it to yourself to give it a go. We weren’t convinced before attending the first time, but will be going to Washington D.C. for our fourth show.”

Cliff Boodoosingh is another Senior Editor with key media sponsor, Tophosts.com. Mr. Boodoosingh added, ”Since the key players in the hosting industry attend, it creates business opportunities for TopHosts.com. The agenda and lineup of speakers has always been top notch and I always look forward to gaining the latest information from the sessions. This year will be no different as we relish the opportunity meet up with our friends and clients in attendance and continue to introduce our services to the receptive group of hosting professionals we’ve always met at HostingCon, throughout the years.”

One final note, you can also follow the latest happenings and exchange information on HostingCon at the HostingCon forum at Web Hosting Talk. To learn more about HostingCon or to register for this year’s event, please visit: http://www.hostingcon.com/2009/attend/register.