Not Yet the Sum of Its Parts
It was clear from what I had seen thus far that most professionals would be stuck doing the conference-center shuffle for some time to come. But there was one industry in which I thought time future might be found in time present: my own field of information technology. Here, at least, both hosts and attendees should have the vision to understand what is possible on the Web and the expertise to make the possible real.
It turns out that quite a few real-world technology shows have on-line components, which are updated during the course of the event and later archived. Once again using Yahoo! as my point of origin, I set off on a whistle-stop tour of those sites. And even if I couldn't smell the greasepaint, I could occasionally hear the roar of the crowd (via streaming audio) and generally pick up a great deal of useful information.
The first thing I discovered was that it doesn't require a whole Web site to deliver trade-show highlights. If I hadn't been the master of ceremonies at Thunder Lizard Productions' real-life Web Advertising '98 conference in New York City in February, I could still have learned a lot by reading the Online Advertising Discussion List. Tenagra Corp.'s Richard Hoy, who is the list's moderator, published 10 reports from the conference floor, filled with valuable insights from the speakers glossed with Hoy's own considerable experience. I had heard advertising maven David Yoder speak in New York, but it was Hoy's filings that put his speech into perspective for me.
Pundit duties had also dictated that I show my face at Internet World in New York City last December, but had I been unable to attend, I could have enjoyed some of the best bits from home. Relaxing in my Santa Barbara office a month later, I called upon the magic of streaming video to experience once more John Sculley's keynote address, his PowerPoint presentation, and even a multimedia demo of his products. Unlike Medtrade, the Internet World site did justice to the real show's scope, making it easy to find information--including product listings and company-site links--on all 600 or so exhibitors. And because the site included speaker biographies, I was able to keep tabs on Jill Ellsworth, who has now written nine books about the Internet to my three. (Look out, Jill, I'm cranking up the word processor again.)
Several other sites conveyed not just information (like presentations and product announcements) but also some of the flavor of the real events. On the Web site for the real-life JavaOne conference, for example, attendees voted on their favorite keynoters, described their Java development and purchasing activities, and gave their overall impressions of the show. Even without attending JavaOne in person, I picked up on an unexpected swell of support for Microsoft from comments like "I think all the attacks on Microsoft and Bill Gates are infantile and counterproductive to the future of Java. It would be much better to enlist Gates as a supporter."
Comdex, no surprise, took things even further. I particularly enjoyed the Webcasts of an irreverent reporter with a couple of digital cameras, who cruised the convention floor courtesy of Digital Equipment and ZDNet. His coverage included interviews with everyone from industry leaders like Eric Hippeau, CEO of Ziff-Davis, to the no-doubt technically savvy models draped over the adult-entertainment booths. Everyone got the same kinds of insightful questions: How do I get rid of the in-box in Windows 95? Who is your favorite Spice Girl? (This is an example of the on-line version reflecting favorably on the physical show. I've called Comdex many things in the past, but "funny" isn't one of them.)
Still, Something's Missing
Good as these sites are, they still lack something immensely important: the bumping-into factor. "Oh, hello. There's no business reason for us to eat our $9 hot dogs together, but I remember you from last year, and what did you think of that keynote speech?" What follows is an exchange of ideas, and that, after all, is how memes propagate. Even better are the introductions. "Oh, look! There's Melanie. Do you know her? You really should. Melanie! Come here and meet Rob. I was just telling him about your business in Plano. Have a seat." That is how your circle of contacts grows. Oddly enough, it's called networking.
The last day at Internet World terra firma, I got an E-mail from Kristin Zhivago, who writes a top-notch newsletter called Marketing Technology. She was too tied up to cruise the entire exhibit-hall floor, and she needed to borrow my eyes. "I wanted to go look at the Microsoft developers' area and the Sun/Java developers' zone to see how they compare from a marketing perspective," she wrote me. "They're right next to each other. Can you take a look?"
My report back was short and sweet: Sun had the buzz, Microsoft had the business. The characters from Silicon Valley offered the flashiest presentations, had the coolest young technologists in their audience, and were handing out T-shirts like there was no tomorrow. The residents of Redmond were giving straight product demos, had attracted the bulk of the suit-and-tie crowd, and were handing out software CDs like there was no tomorrow.
Maybe Kristin could have come to the same conclusions by reading on-line dispatches from ground-level reporters. Maybe if she had clicked around long enough, she would have found the live pictures from the show floor. But there's something about having all five senses at play that cannot yet be replicated over a computer screen.
If your goals in attending a trade show are to learn the latest and get those product specifications, you might be able to save a few thousand dollars by doing it on-line. But if you want to rub shoulders with your peers, expand your personal network, size up the character of the industry, or pick up a free T-shirt, then unplug the modem, break out the comfortable shoes, and pack the Pepto-Bismol. I'll see you there.
Jim Sterne is an international Web marketing consultant and author of World Wide Web Marketing and Customer Service on the Internet, published by John Wiley and Sons, and What Makes People Click: Advertising on the Web, published by Que.
THE SITES
Note: The Web is a transient animal, and any or all of these sites may have changed substantially or disappeared entirely by the time you read this.
