No more external cross bills?

[Toby]

The last Summer Internext I attended was in '06. The sponsor/vendor reps outnumbered webmasters by about 3 or 4 to 1.

With all the reps that have been downsized, and programs that just aren't sending anyone, webmasters may outnumber reps for the first time in ages.

[softball]

Originally Posted by Toby

The last Summer Internext I attended was in '06. The sponsor/vendor reps outnumbered webmasters by about 3 or 4 to 1.

With all the reps that have been downsized, and programs that just aren't sending anyone, webmasters may outnumber reps for the first time in ages.

So what you are saying, is the sky is really falling this time?

[Toby]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

So what you are saying, is the sky is really falling this time?

I don't think the sky is falling, but it's most definitely changing. It was already starting to happen over the last several years, but the bottom falling out of the economy has increased the pace. Show sponsors aren't simply looking to make a big splash any longer, they need to see some ROI on those dollars.

Shows are going to have to change in order to survive. But those changes have to make sense in ROI terms not only for the show operators and sponsors, but also for those that attend.

I think Cybernet has a better grasp of that concept than any of the others right now. It will be interesting to see which ones survive into 2010.