On 14 Jan 99, Javilk wrote:
> I think it's just a way
> > for a lot of them to get out of the office, or to attempt to justify
> > their do-nothing jobs, or to rack up frequent flyer miles.
>
> 1. The seminars, where you can talk to experts.
> 2. The booths, where you can talk to vendors,
> some (many) of whom have actual developers at their booth.
> 3. The people who came to the show, many of them who have similar
> interests and experiences with products you are interested in.
I think the above nicely sums up the real value of trade shows.
I used to go to a *lot* of them in my days with Corel -- two or three a
month sometimes -- and there's much to be said for them. Even in a
wired, interactive world, there's no substitute for personal contact when it
comes to closing deals, doing interviews for trade magazines, solving
technical problems and so on. You can cover ground in a few days that
otherwise might have taken months of separate trips, telephone tag, e-
mail and whatnot. "Will you be at Comdex? OK, we'll meet there".
Personal contact also gives you a more tangible and reassuring sense of
just "who a company is". If you've spent the evening partying with a few
dozen folks from, say, Syquest, you thereafter have a much better sense
of their corporate culture and attitudes. Plus you have names and
numbers for people you now know socially, in the event you need help
with a purchase or a problem in future.
(Well, not always... I recall occasional conversations that went like this:
"Hello Jim? It's Brent Eades from Corel, we met at Comdex, you asked me
to call you about that new driver you've written for Mac... Eades...
Comdex... you don't remember? The PC World party? Yes... oh, it's a bit
of a blur is it?... yes, I was the guy beside the woman with the
lampshade... oh, you missed the entire next day of the show, eh?
Sleeping it off, eh? Well, it was quite a party all right... :)
-----------
Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.almonte.com/
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