Affiliate Summit Central 2012, the first Affiliate Summit in Austin, TX, kicked off with the official welcome party on May 14, 2012 with live music from The Cody Jasper Band, Sam Sliva and the Good, and FallenAsh.

The first day of the conference started at an early (by Affiliate Summit standards) 7am, when registration opened up.

Full pass holders got a limited edition Affiliate Summit t-shirt.

Emcee Heather Romiti began the day with some announcements before turning things over to Maribel Sierra, Social Media and Communities Director, Listening and Engagement at Dell.

This first day also included a Meet Market, two sets of sessions, and Ask the Experts Roundtables, which were complemented by Nate the Great, a local balloon artist.

The first day finished up with ShareASale.com hosting their traditional Under the Stars party for conference attendees.

The second and final day kicked off with a drum circle, organized by Benjy Portnoy, to wake up attendees.

This was followed by a series of sessions in a new, truncated format where they only lasted 20 minutes each.

The conference finished up with open networking after an intensive day and a half off fun and business.

Big thanks to the sponsors, speaker, and attendees.

I look forward too reading the session feedback and hearing what folks have to say about the conference.

Have you signed up for Affiliate Summit East 2012, yet?

It’s taking place August 12-14, 2012 at the Hilton New York.

This three day conference includes an exhibit hall with affiliate merchants, vendors, and networks, as well as multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts.