I’m headed to New York for the LinkShare Symposium early next week. I’m excited about the trip for many reasons.

First, I’m on a panel call Trendwatch2007 that promises to be informative. I’m honored to be speaking with such an esteemed group of people including: Ken Eisner, vice president of marketing at Shop.org; Sara Holoubek, a free agent and columnist; and Karen Parrish, VP of BI Solutions at IBM. David Liu, the managing director at Jefferies & Company, will moderate the panel.

Next, Revenue magazine has been selected as one of three finalists for the LinkShare Golden Link “Performance Marketing’s Most Vocal Advocate” Award (I really do want to win). Although, it’s stiff competition as the other nominees in the category include Kellie Stevens of AffiliateFairPlay.com and Eric Ewe from Wyndham Vacation Resorts.

Former winners of this prestigious honor include: Connie Berg, FlamingoWorld.com and The OverStock.com team (2004); Mike Hyland, EcomCity.com (2005); and Shawn Collins, Affiliate Summit co-founder (2006). Here’s LinkShare’s complete list of 2007 Golden Link Award Nominees.

Plus, who wouldn’t want to be invited to a swanky black-tie affair in the Big Apple?

I also love the networking that takes place at this type of event. I get to see people that I typically only chat with on the phone or on IM. For me, the face-to-face contact is irreplaceable.

Finally, I get to go back home to the East coast. I get to experience the oppressive heat and remember why I love living in San Francisco so dang much.

Check back here on Wednesday to see if Revenue took home the statue. I’ll have a complete rundown of the events and the winners.