A Zen moment and a cheap thrill

Back in the good ol' days, say 1985 (or 10BI - Before the Internet), you had to go to trade shows to find out what was going on. There simply weren't many other sources of market intelligence.

Any of you remember the first NetWorld put on by Novell in, I think, 1988 (7BI) in Dallas? It was the best trade show I have ever been to. Everyone was enthusiastic and the people manning the stands actually knew something!

But things have changed. Today, focused trade shows are rare and usually very small, while the big shows are huge and generalized. But what has really changed is that marketing drives the shows.

Trade shows have become opportunities for image building, and information distribution is secondary. Take the average booth - you'll find perhaps two experts in constant meetings while the booth babes and marketing droids hand out product fliers, take leads and talk to each other.

Should you dispute the marketing focus, just consider what booths look like. Vast palaces of lights and enormous video screens showing images that are fabulously exciting and totally devoid of any relevance to the product at hand.

All this is accompanied by dull and frequently cheesy demos and presentations delivered by clowns and other entertainers. It smacks of desperation for attention rather than desire to engage the market in a meaningful way.

The problem for vendors is obvious: They want to talk to buyers. But as shows get bigger and more generalized, finding real buyers becomes harder. So rather than focus on communicating about products, they focus on marketing. It is logical and cost-effective, but for attendees it devalues the purpose of being at a show.

Here on the eve of NetWorld+Interop, I find myself wondering why we go to the big trade shows. And then the answer comes to me: It is a combination of habit, personal networking and occasionally talking to specific vendors.But usually it's the freebies and the parties.

"Whoa!" said a friend of mine. "What about those moments when you find a product by accident or have that chance encounter and it clarifies a thought or solves a problem?"

Well what about those moments? Just because you got your Zen flash while surrounded by jugglers in the middle of some whacko show booth while suffering from a world-class hangover after going to bed at four in the morning having lost a month's pay at blackjack doesn't justify the thousands of dollars in flights, hotels and meals and days of travel and time away from your job.

Surely you can't seriously suggest that that Zen moment of insight couldn't have come while you were sitting on your butt in your office?

"But there's also community and education," my friend said. "Horse puckey!" I replied.

Community doesn't really exist at the big shows. Sure, you collect a few cards, but looking for new contacts and establishing relationships isn't easier at a big trade show; it is harder! When you factor in the distractions and the hangovers, it is a miracle that anyone can remember anyone else.

As for my friend's final argument - "You get to find out where the industry is headed" - I'd argue that you only get to see the trends according to where the industry's money is placing its bets; you don't get to see what really matters. A great example of this is the keynote speech. At one time, keynotes were important and outlined the thinking driving the industry. Today (thanks to Bill Gates, who bucked tradition many years ago at Comdex), keynote speeches are usually poorly veiled product pitches.

So what is the future of trade shows? Well the Web is making it easier to find new vendors and technologies, and demos are usually available so there's even less reason to go. But I think we'll be going to the big shows for a long time to come. After all, you might get a Zen moment, and the cheap thrills make it all worthwhile. See you at N+I.

Gibbs is a man of many opinions, none of which he hesitates to share. Reach him at nwcolumn@gibbs.com

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