Re: Avid says No to NAB 2008

While I agree in principle with much of what you are saying and agree with you and guys like Walter Biscardi that other tradeshows are far less important than NAB, I don't think that the future will be hostage to the buzz created on a showfloor in Las Vegas.

I always tell Kathlyn, Tim and others close to the COW that as big as the COW is, it is but a pittance of the users who use this technology. The same is true for NAB, Comdex, and even PC World, Macworld, or any other tradeshow/expo that is at the forefront of its industry.

Oh, tradeshows and magazines that report on them would like you to believe that they are critical to your success as a manufacturer/developer/publisher -- but the truth is, the word will get around without them and some of the smartest and most informed people I know haven't been to a tradeshow in years. Does that make them ignorant because they haven't been informed by the show's titillating presentations? Hardly. Being informed is far easier today in the days of the internet.

As far as "predicting the demise of tradeshows" goes, I think it's pretty safe to say that it's a safe bet. Most are already gone, the few that remain are running aground and only the industry front-runner in any category has a semblance of health about it.

But as the manufacturer who started this thread stated, they are looking hard at their returns from their expense. As the other shows fall away, NAB keeps jacking up its prices to the companies to be there. They probably think that they can as they are the only game in town. But the fact is, manufacturers are wising up -- and they are -- that the world is different than it was decades ago when the tradeshow model came along.

Information is far easier to get than it was in the past. I asked a MAJOR supplier in this industry that many of you know and have probably talked to, when was the last time he surprised anyone with his information on the show floor at NAB. He thought for a second and said that it was at least five years ago.

People go to NAB because it's fun and it makes some things more convenient. They do not go because it's necessary.

That is the knowledge that will keep eroding NAB and other shows and you can say it isn't happening but it most certainly is...