Quote:
Originally posted by JimB@Feb 11 2005, 04:08 PM
Are you telling me that the majority of the webmasters enjoy Florida in August? They wouldn't prefer someplace a little less oppressive? Or did you just ask about where webmasters would like to have a show a few days after New Year?
Aly, you know as well as everyone else that it is only about the money. Nothing wrong with that but when people stop going, something needs to be done. Perhaps not forcing people to go to the hottest most humid place in the US in August might help.
So tell me, how is this years Florida in August going to be different than any other year. Except for less people going I mean.
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OF COURSE it's about the money! Internext can't afford NOT to listen to it's audience. But come on Jim, don't you agree that there might be a little more to the changes you DO see at Internext than price points? I see the shows as very reflective of the changes this entire industry goes through. We're not spending the money we used to on loud music, flashing booths, skimpy booth-bunnies and open bars. There's not an awful lot the show managers can do about that if we're still going to do big conventions. That said... Florida Internext is substantially different. this year the entire hotel's being taken over by sponsors, and while there are still (totally revamped) seminars and a show floor, nobody is required to buy booth space in order to participate in other ways (as a result of client feedback). The focus is being taken away from the show floor (while it still exists to provide companies with a place to exhibit and meet) and and on to the entire experience as a whole. It's promising to be a lot more interesting because a company can now choose to market themselves by pretty much whatever means can be dreamed-up. This change, as I mentioned, is a direct result of listening to the audience and acting on what they want.
As far as the location goes, this isn't a Vegas-type event (although Vegas in August is hotter than hell in a heatwave anyway) - it's a conference now, so it works well with the type of facility the Diplomat Resort is. The show managers have/ continue to look elsewhere for future potential event locations but the options are remarkably limited (IN THE US... to get back to the initial subject!
..)
And on a different note, while I general detest Florida at any time of year, I've rather liked going to the Florida show - as a client - in the past. I'm not alone in that.
I couldn't agree more that Internext staff haven't communicated well with their audience in the past... that's kind of why I decided to jump in here, but what I'm finding is that while there's a lot to 'fix' an awful lot of it is more around customer relations than anything else. ie: they never actually responded to the complaints we all posted about the events in public forums!
I have no interest defending crap... actually I have no interest working in crap either... LOL... I see something we can all work with here and have every intention of pushing thru the changes the industry needs, so please do hit me up personally with any ideas or requests.