Clinton agrees to do ICANN meeting

ICANN has confirmed that former US president Bill Clinton has agreed to speak at its San Francisco meeting in March.

But ICANN’s Scott Pinzon said in a blog post that a formal contract, which would be funded by a “targeted sponsorship” deal, has not yet been signed. He wrote:

We are also aware that ICANN meetings are highly structured, work-intensive events, and we want to be sure that an appearance by President Clinton enhances the meeting’s outcomes rather than distracts from them.

Read into that what you will.

Clinton’s appearance will likely make the San Francisco meeting ICANN’s best-attended so far, at least for a day or so. Expect TV.

It will also raise the profile of the new top-level domains program, if ICANN in fact approves it during the meeting.

On a personal level, this is tragic news. It’s already hard enough to get a coffee in the ICANN press room without a thousand other newbie reporters crowding the place out.

I’ve put in a request for an interview anyway.

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Tagged: bill clinton, ICANN, san francisco