Whats next for MacWorld Expo?
Much has been made of Apple pulling out of the MacWorld Expo, and what that will mean for the show. Paul Kent, organizer of the show, held a town hall style meeting to talk about just issue that last night.
Kent, vice president and general manager of the MacWorld Expo event, next scheduled for January 4, 2010, hosted a meeting at which a variety of ideas were floated and discussed. Next year’s show will be the first without an Apple Inc. presence, and much has been made of whether or not a successful MacWorld could be held without Apple. Kent very obviously feels that will not be a problem.
Kent opened the meeting with some ideas from the organizer, as reported by MacWorld.com. He said, “We come to Macworld to be inspired. This show is going to evolve and you need to know that we are embracing this evolution.†He went on to mention a future which could include anything from digital photography to music and film festivals. Kent also mentioned that the vast majority of conference session trainers (90 percent) have already said that they will be returning in 2010. In repeating that MacWorld can go on without Apple, Kent said “We want Apple to go build more great products and then we’ll be here to show you how to use themâ€
One of the most popular suggestions from the packed meeting audience was returning the show to Boston or New York, or making it a “traveling†show that changed locations from year to year. Of the two cities, New York seemed to be the most popular by acclamation. The MacWorld show has not been held on the east coast since 2004, when it was held in Boston, also without participation from Apple. Another popular idea was variable show pricing, where attendees could pick and choose from the sessions attended, paying less for fewer sessions.
To hear Kent tell it, though, there will definitely be a MacWorld Expo in 2010. He said that, in addition to the returning conference session leaders, sixty of the current MacWorld vendors have indicated that they will return in 2010, including big names such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Other World Computing. Still, there will have to be changes in order for the show to be a success.
The biggest draw at MacWorld has been Apple Inc. Without the prime mover in the Mac world, the MacWorld Expo will have to evolve, becoming much more innovative in order to be successful. A lot of eyes will be on the planning for the show next year, and if the organizer cannot generate Apple-style excitement, they could have a major problem drawing the usual throng of attendees.
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