As I sit in the back of a seminar room at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Tacoma, Wash., I am ecstatic that so many presenters are, first of all, members and participants of Self-Storage Talk and second, have mentioned (and sometimes elaborated about) SST in their presentations. Self-Storage Talk is the largest online community in the industry and the official online forum of Inside Self-Storage. It's a nonstop, 24/7, free-flowing conversation about the self-storage industry, and because it touches on so many industry-pertinent topics, several speakers found it necessary to call out the forum specifically in their presentations.

A couple of salient examples: Robert Madsen, president of U-Lock Mini Storage Group and SST moderator, talked about  the forum extensively in his presentation "Texas Toast Vs. Canadian Bacon." "Madman" as he's known on SST encouraged his audience in the Canadian Exclusive education track to join and be active in SST because it's a tremendous information resource for those in the United States, Canada or anywhere else in the world. SST, after all, has members from all over the globe. Robert proudly donned a Team Canada hockey jersey during his presentation.

Harry Sleighel and Matt Schaller from Storage Property Protection spoke in the Owners Only track. They not only encouraged membership in SST but also used threads to illustrate their points about facility manager incentive pay. They referenced several threads where owners and managers had hopped on SST and shared anonymously what their compensation and incentives packages entail.

In the Exhibit Hall, SST is getting attention in another way. Attendees are encouraged to stop by the booth, join SST if they're not already members, and place a pin on the map to represent where they're from. SST member Danielle, who's belonged to the site since its early days (August 2008) and hails from the Seattle area, jumped in on the fun.

If you're reading about SST and your curiosity is piqued, go read some of the discussion threads at www.selfstoragetalk.com. When you're ready to start chiming in on posts and asking your own questions, you can register for free at www.selfstoragetalk.com/register.php. I look forward to seeing many new faces on the forum after a very successful event in Tacoma.