Maybe it was the Stormhoek wine. Maybe it’s the fact that I finally felt as if I’ve acclimatised to this chaotic world known as eMarketing. Or maybe I sensed that eMarketing in itself has matured beyond what was once a fledging, clumsy puppy-dog industry into an adolescent youth full of promise for the future.

At the end of the day, what I know is that I walked away from last night's 27Dinner a lot more content than I have done before. Dave’s work really seems to have paid off and the dinner itself has evolved. The last time I went there were plenty of ramblings about how the marketers were taking over and how the geeks should take the event back. Today, despite there still being an obvious divide (yes Henk, many of us marketers realise that we are indeed evil :)), the atmosphere was casual and there was no specific feeling of cliqueness, that I could detect at least.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that I knew a few more of the attendees, or that so many of the attendees were so much more approachable this time around. I had good chats with Linda, Rafiq, Eric, Andrew, Deirde, Michael, Ian, Chris, and Vinny along with the lads from MyVideo to name but a few. Names that may mean little to the casual GottaQuirk reader, but that belong to people that are providing the fulcrum for a burgeoning industry that’s beginning to find its feet.

At times I feel that South Africa has an online scene that is bordering on a village community. At other occasions I sense that this country is reaching so far beyond its scope that we are all guilty of dismissing it far too readily.

The wealth of talent and drive that collected at Relish on Monday evening truly struck me, a sceptic in every sense of the word. Many of these people are ahead of the curve in their own country, but their persistence will inevitably see dividends paid back in far distant regions of the world.

I must emphasise persistence here. It is the key. eMarketing, more so than most other commercial disciplines, often finds itself held in common disregard or casual neglect. It is the continued drive of those who persist with a course that they believe in that will hold open a lucrative path that the rest of us would ignore all too easily.

And now, after being the last to stumble out of the restaurant with Chris and Claire, I’m going to struggle to get through today - but hell, it was worth it.