The first time I met IMERSA was at the Fulldome UK event, back in March 2011. Dan Neafus attended the event and gave a talk on the Fulldome medium. It was such a stimulating event that the idea of the Fulldome Database is basically born because of it. Soon after the FDDB website was launched, IMERSA suggested a few improvements and features that we ended up including into the second version of our website that was recently launched. Sharing a mutual support of the Fulldome environment, FDDB and IMERSA eventually became partners. We surely couldn't miss the 2013 IMERSA Summit. We got there after an endless 30 hour intercontinental trip. (Yep, every single flight was delayed, no exceptions.) Was it worth it? Yes, every darn minute! Here's why:

• it's very focused on Fulldome productions and techniques.
• it's different from an IPS Conference. It has different goals and different purposes, therefore It makes sense to attend both of them. No redundancies whatsoever.
• it's not targeted to planetarium/Fulldome enthusiasts only. It's about converging media: digital planetariums, mobile domes, themed entertainment and giant screen theaters.
• it's a great way to learn more about the market and where it's going. Convergence is the keyword here.
• it's a great way to see what other people came up with - both on hardware and software.
• it's a good opportunity to get insights on how complex Fulldome scenes were conceived and produced.
• it's a great way to connect with people involved with the Fulldome business. Almost the entire community of Fulldome producers from around the world gathers into one room and you get the chance to be there too.
• it's so good that at the end you wish you had more time to talk. It seems that there is never enough time to catch up with everyone. That's how stimulating it is.
• well, let's state it again: I really can't emphasize enough on how important and valuable networking is. It's all about meeting the real people.
• it's a perfect way to collect motivation and inspire yourself. It's about getting yourself to reach new ideas.
• it's also a quick glimpse into the future.
• ... and then, you know, it's always nice to finally put faces on email addresses!

You could definitely tell that the organizers worked around the clock to make a great event. And they definitely succeeded. We also received a lot of great feedback about the Fulldome Database and loved to have dinner with people who said "Oh, it's YOU! Thank you for what you're doing!" So yes, it was worth the trip. Thanks IMERSA for having us and thanks Colorado for being such an amazingly beautiful state.