The Death of Trade Shows and Conferences is Wildly Overstated

I'm tired when people say things like "I'm not going to this conference or that trade show because it's going to suck." Another person said "well I only go to meet with CEO's and they're not going to be there..." when asked if he was going to CES or MacWorld.

Get over it. I was at both CES and MacWorld and walked away exhausted, as my clients kept me so busy I didn't have time to even see much of what was on the floors. Sure I did a walk by at both, but the action in our client's booths was what I expected. Steady and the right people.

At media events like ShowStoppers and Lunch @ Pieros the press, bloggers and analysts kept everyone on their toes until the events ended. Other sideline events did well too, though I question how many of them we really need.

In the end, business happened at the events. Media were briefed, and bloggers got to tell what's new to those that didn't attend. My guess is blog traffic was way up this year due to the "stay behind" crowd.

Going in, I was a bit skeptical, I'll admit. But I went to support the industry and I'm glad I did.