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WebmasterWorld and Incisive Media will run their December conferences on the same dates, with potential speakers, sponsors, and attendees left with the decision of where to go.

PubCon, SES Chicago To Collide

Two major search conferences are going head to head this year, forcing a wide array of people to choose between Search Engine Strategies and PubCon during the same week in December.

Barry Schwartz noted at SERoundtable how the two events would happen concurrently. "SES Chicago starts on December 3rd and runs through the 6th. PubCon starts on December 4th and runs through the 7th," he wrote.

Which makes us wonder, why would Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld choose to play a zero-sum game with IncisiveMedia? Schwartz listed the various ways the two conferences will overlap in December: sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, audiences, and press (the latter to a smaller extent).

His very informal poll about where people will prefer to go in December, to Las Vegas for PubCon or Chicago for SES, has the majority of voters opting for Vegas. A twenty degree difference in average temperature, not to mention the glittery draw of The Strip, could be a deal maker.

Schwartz believes there is some difference in the business opportunities available at the two conferences, and gives the nod to SES. There is also the "Danny Sullivan" factor to consider.

The well-regarded search expert is supposed to be at SES Chicago, according to Schwartz. But Sullivan took part in PubCon last year, delivering a keynote at the November 2006 event. SES starts a day earlier than PubCon this year; perhaps the enterprising Sullivan, who launches his Search Marketing Expo in June, will make an appearance at both.

We plan to keep an eye on this to see what might develop, and invite you to add your thoughts to the comments on this article.