BEblog

Posted on December 18th, 2009 at 7:39 pm:

It depends on the format …

If the trade show is just that - exhibitors showing their wares & people wandering around looking, then I agree that the value is somewhat diminished. HOWEVER, the personal interaction dose count for somethings, AND I may run into something new (previously unknown to me) that may be useful in the future.

If the “trade show” is part of a technical conference then it still has immense value. The personal interaction is even more important, plus everyone has the opportunity to attend educational sessions (or send their people there.) (I maintain that an organization gets great value from enabling their more junior people to attend events such as MSC, NCSLI and ASQ WCQI so they can learn from their peers and elders. But unfortunately it is generally only the more senior ones who go, causing the organization to gradually lose knowledge as they retire.)

Posted on December 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 pm:

Thanks for the comment. I do agree that the technical conferences have added value, and generally the Show portion of these events are a bit more low key. Is it the economic state that is causing the low attendance, lack of interest or choosing other approaches to See What’s New??