When, and if this actually occurs the blame for the demise of tech conference can be placed squarely on the Internet and the subsequent rise of telepresence and the virtual conference and meeting concept and now cloud computing the days of tradeshows as we know them are numbered.
It is extremely hard in these times of tight budgets to justify the expense and high costs related to exhibiting at or even attending tech conferences. Aside from the mega events like CES we are seeing a rather abrupt and drastic decline in the number and scale of existing conferences and expos. The best example that comes to mind is the latest macinations behind MacWorld Expo and Conference usually held in San Francisco.
for over 16 years I traditionally attended Macworld as if it were somesort of religious pilgrimage. Then BANG, BOOM in 2008 Apple announced that they were pulling out.
Sure, they have held Macworld somewhat together and it has been a good thing it really hasn’t been much the same since Apple checked out. Some think it is better.
Matt Ryan created a post listing five reasons to attend tech conferences. Most of it I agree with some provisions. However if they are local and promising I will cut back if not totally out my participation. Are we losing something valuable in trade shows that cannot be replaced?