Dinosaur Conference Starved with Limited Quarry
March 10, 2009
A short item to underscore the sad state of the dinosaur conference. I have been a critic of the traditional trade. These “networking events” — a new phrase much loved by organizers — cost attendees and exhibitors a lot of money. The programs are usually info mercials and not particularly compelling info mercials at that. The brontosaurus of European tech conferences is or maybe was Cebit Macworld reports that this yea’s edition experienced a downturn in attendance. You can read “Cebit Sees Big Drop in Visitor Numbers” here. In a nicely crafted understatement, Macworld said:
The drop comes as little surprise considering the current state of the global economy. Many companies have cut back or eliminated travel budgets and Cebit itself saw around 1,000 mostly Asian exhibitors cancel during the last three months of 2008 after economic problems hit.
That was a news flash. Economic troubles are not exactly invisible. I am not sure what conference organizers are going to invent to address the nuclear winter that may be approaching for the old fashioned trade show. Some pundits skip conferences, leaving them to the sales professionals. Information is often available more quickly and in more easily analyzed form via Web logs and even Twitter or live blog posts from those attending. Maybe boutique or niche conferences are the way forward. I don’t know. I rely on my trusty Internet connection to find wheat and chaff in the grist mill.
Stephen Arnold, March 10, 2009
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