From: Kerry/Helen Prep <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Can someone please explain to me what it was I saw today at the Javits Center in Manhattan?
Dead boring, unenlightening, unispiring.......
This was my fourth conference and fully half the exhibitors that normally
show up weren't there. No crowds, no energy, no Steve Jobs for a keynote
address.....
What the hell did he do or say this time? Or what was said or presented to
him that he didn't agree with that made him decide to pull out?
Nice job Steve. What a way to win converts. What are you thinking?
I understand next year's show will be in Boston. After this one, I'm not
eager to return.
I doubt the first Boston one will be much like this. Apple did not agree with IDG's direction for the show, so they in effect "pulled out."
There are several good reasons for this ... the main one being that the timing of the show (mid-summer) is not the best time for announcements of forthcoming products, but the company felt pressure to come up with "big" news every July.
Second of all, I'd like to point out that MacWorld (both US ones, anyway) are NOT vehicles for converts, they are gatherings of the faithful by and large because they are terribly expensive. There might be SOME potential switchers among the attendees, but most likely not. The retail stores do a much better job with that, gathering both more potential switchers AND presenting a better experience. Steve has repeatedly pointed out that the stores do the same number of visitors as Macworld about ever MONTH -- he clearly sees the retail stores as THE portal for reaching new customes, whereas events like the Macworld show are mainly for people who have been using Macs for years.
I personally believe Apple should partner with a company that can put on smaller but better "weekend shows" all over the United States, with OTHER Apple personnel or reps from other Apple-friendly companies (Adobe et al) as the "guest speakers." I think people want more panels, more demos, more fun ... and that's why they go to Macworld shows, but with the outrageous expenses you find in major cities, a lot of people who would like to go to such an event stay home.
Smaller regional events that better cover the US (I'm thinking Iowa, Oklahoma, Chicago, Minnesota, Washington DC, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, LA, Washington State, Alaska and Hawaii) would help bridge the gap between places that don't have a lot of Apple Retail stores, and get the word out to enthusiasts *and* to PC users in a more effective way.
Anyway, the bottom line is that trade shows are not really a very effective or flexible enough vehicle for the "new" Apple, at least in the US, anymore. They are hideously expensive to produce, don't really enlarge the market at all, make timing of new products very difficult and distract the company from its mission.
_Chas_
"The Box said 'Windows 95 or better' ... so I got a Macintosh."
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