That is the question a lot of people are asking about coming out of this year’s most recent HostingCon.  Paul Hirsch of the AIHSP stopped by to answer a few common questions we all have about this new association of internet and hosting service providers.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 162!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.03 MB

Here is how the Association of Internet and Hosting Service Providers is described from the official web site’s front page:

We represent an innovative collaboration of industry providers, from small Web hosting proprietors to major software vendors and consultants. We aim to instill a spirit of cooperation within hosting and related industries and achieve meaningful representation for our shared interests in the public sphere.

After listening, if you are interested in learning more, check these links out:

• AIHSP Membership Section
• AIHSP Community Forums
• AIHSP - 14 Long-term Goals

Personally, I am fully behind any organization that promotes the success of the hosting industry as a whole.  The AIHSP looks to be on the right track.

Not a lot going on this week, but there are a few nuggets of goodness as far as web hosting news goes.  Here are just a handful of some of the hottest web hosting stories from the week.

cPanel Staff Working Longer Hours

The control panel gurus at cPanel announced that as of Monday, July 21st customer service hours will be extended from 7am to 7pm EST.  So if you are a customer looking to get your questions about cPanel answered, they will be available to help.

China Has More Web Users than US

19.1 percent of China has web access.  How much is that?  Oh roughly 253-million people.

HostingCon Gets Going

The biggest news story of the week would be that HostingCon is taking place July 28th through the 30th at the Navy Pier in Chicago.  I have skipped out on the festivities yet again, but looks like a great show all around.  HostingCon is the yearly meet up for all the biggest players in the hosting industry.  This year Parallels and Microsoft seem to be keynoting the conference and I am sure we will hear more about it from those who were “on the inside” soon.

Do you have any hosting news to share?

Drop me an e-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll be more than happy to share it with the rest of the web hosting industry right here, next week on this very podcast.

iNET Interactive, those darlings of the web hosting world who brought us such things as webhostingtalk.com, hostvoice.com, and hostingtech.com have acquired the HostingCon conference.  From the looks of it Interjuncture (the previous owners) will still oversee HostingCon 2008, but in 2009 one would assume iNet will be taking over.

Now let me quickly give you my positives and negatives on this.

On the bad side of things, we see one more diamond of the web hosting world being gobbled up by the web hosting equivalent to the Juggernaut, iNet Interactive.

On the positive side of things, I have a lot of trust in Troy Augustine, he is a good guy and I think he will continue to do what is best for the business in a whole.  iNet also has the capital to move the conference forward to make it even bigger and better than before.

George Roberts, the guy who was behind all the other HostingCons to date has really turned this conference from just a gathering to THE event of any web hosters calendar year.  He deserves the pat on the back and congratulations the most out of this deal.  Right now it is planned for George and Interjucture COO Frank Spaulding, to both remain involved in HostingCon as members of its advisory board.

For more coverage of HostingCon 2008 be sure to check out their web site and you can check out my previous interview with Troy “Juggernaut” Augustine back on podcast 111.

Tons of fun to be had on this week’s show. It was a big week for those us us in the hosting business and I’ll cover it from headline to footer and everything in between. We have buyouts, we have failures, and we even have the Juggernaut.

How could you not download and tune in?

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 158!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.47 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• HostingCon Sold Off to iNet Interactive?
• Interesting Tool to See if Your Site is Up or Down!
• The Mess That Was .ME Domain Name Registrations?
• The Simplest FTP Program Ever!?!

The Web Hosting Show is back Jack, or Jill… no mater which side of the hosting hill you may be going up I am here to help you, you and even you with a little hosting talk, explanation and a little pale of fun tossed in along the way.

Have you taken the Web Hosting Show’s fan survey yet? If not, listen to the show and then get it done. Your feedback given there could dramatically change the production of this podcast! Be heard and give me you thoughts!

For most people, green hosting is that kind that has been sitting in the back of the refrigerator a little too long. Pretty soon though I have a feeling that either by hook or crook we will all be impacted by in in one way or another in the future. I’ll talk about it, tell you what it is and let you know what you can do to help. The Web Hosting Show is now on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 118!
Running Time: 21 minutes | File Size: 9.46 MB

Here are just a few topics that we discussed on this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Is Carbonite a Good Backup Choice?
• Green Hosting, Real or Fantasy?
• Fast and Easy Blog Backup Solutions!
• Ben of WebHostingUnleashed.com Covers HostingCon 2007
• Onsite Stats vs Offsite Stats, Who Wins?

Link of the Week: HostingCon 2007 Summary

More reliable than a Swedish clock the runs backwards, I am back along with a wonderful podcast for you, you and you to enjoy.

For a massive list of Green Hosts try our Green Hosting Guide. Support a host who is doing their part to reduce their impact on this planet.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 117!

Well it looks like the web hosting industry made its way through yet another HostingCon. From what I hear it was a very big and exciting event. I’ve been talking with about a dozen people who went to the event - and I have to say I might just have to make the trip next year.

The major positives from an event like this is it allows one to socialize with their peers. Web hosting can be a very cut throat business, so taking some time to meet fellow industry workers and socialize a ‘bit is a good thing. From the perspective of an outsider looking in for the most part HostingCon looked like a big ol’ party which can be a positive and a negative.

The one thing I didn’t see from the coverage I have read thus far on it is an idea. You would think with this many web hosting people grouped together you could see something emerge as a whole to make the business better. Maybe we start a conversation about not hosting splogs. Maybe somebody suggests that we all hosting companies try to hire more American workers. Those are only a few examples of what one hopes would come from an event like this. If it happened it either has not been covered or it wasn’t “buzz-worthy” enough for anybody else to pick up on.

From reading people’s thoughts on forums and blog posts it seems that the experience was an overwhelming success. Everybody from the presenters to the participants seemed to give it two thumbs up.

Now that I have given both my positives and negatives on the event, I hope to hear options and thoughts from other folks that attended the show. Was it worth the trip and will you be doing it again next year? I think overall HostingCon is something good for the industry because it gives us all something to get excited about and a real meeting place just in case the web hosting gurus out there ever plan on world domination.

HostingCon, was it worth the trip? I don’t know - I didn’t get to go. I’ll give you my thoughts as an outsider looking in though. Also we have unlimited backup hosting, the last part of our FastServers.net story and I might even do a funny little dance. Good thing this isn’t a video podcast - because the Web Hosting Show is now on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 117!
Running Time: 15 minutes | File Size: 6.80 MB

Here are just a few topics that we discussed on this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Web Hosting Gets a Wiki
• Post HostingCon Thoughts From an Outsider
• Part 3 of 3 of the FastServers.Net Biography
• Unlimited Backup Storage with Allmydata.com
• This Podcast is Breaking Records

Link of the Week: Happy Late System Admin Day!

Never finding itself lost in translation we are back yet again to talk to you about web hosting, web development, web.. well just about anything you find out there that starts with that phrase and relates back to the hosting world we all know and love.