Light Traffic At 2007 Podcast Expo
By Rob Safuto on Oct 13, 2007 in Conferences, Podcasting, new media expo |
I was at the 2007 Podcast and New Media Expo two weeks ago and I was pretty shocked at how light the traffic was on the exhibition floor. I have been to the previous two expos and there was much more foot traffic on the floor at each of the first two events. I don’t know what the attendance levels were at the individual learning sessions as I didn’t attend any of those.
The gentlemen who organize the event, Tim and Emil Bourquin, are calling the 2007 expo a success for all on their latest Podcast Brothers episode. I can’t say that I agree. If you paid for a booth on the exhibition floor in 2007 you didn’t get very strong traffic.
Tim and Emil are making changes to the name and location of the Expo for 2008. In 2008 the gathering will simply be called the New Media Expo. The venue will also be changed to Las Vegas, NV from Ontario, California. I don’t know that these changes will necessarily help attendance. More people will certainly be attracted to Vegas but once there they may find the many distractions more interesting.
It is very likely that traffic to the Expo from podcasters will be very light next year. First off, with the word podcast excised from the name I think that many podcasters are going to get the feeling that they’re not as welcome. My perception as a longtime podcaster is that there is a distinct difference in the vibe of podcasters as opposed the many generic new media types out there. The shift in traffic will be better for the Expo but not necessarily good for the podcasting community.
I think you’ll see more mainstream press, public relations and corporate marketing folks at the 2008 expo. These are the people that live at Las Vegas conferences. And with Vegas being more expensive than Ontario those types of people will be the ones who can actually afford the trip.
None of this news is bad for podcasting. I think that 2007 is the year when the community came together on their own terms. That’s because PodCamp has come of age. What Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn started in 2006 has exploded.
I count sixteen completed PodCamp events worldwide in 2007. There are six more PodCamps planned this year including Perth, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa. The local nature of these events makes it eminently more convenient for people to go to a local event to get their podcast community fix rather than heading across the country or the world to go to a gathering.
You will ultimately make your own decisions about going to these types of events. For 2008 I think I’m turning over a new leaf and committing to going local on these events as much as I can.
Tim Bourquin | Oct 13, 2007 | Reply
Hello Rob - the attendance this year was actually 62 more people than last year. Not tremendous growth, but growth nonetheless and the move to Vegas will improve that greatly.
The difference you sense may have been that the event was 3 days instead of two this year - and the exhibit hall was larger - thus less dense than last year.
In terms of podcasters not feeling as welcome, I must disagree. Podcasting will still be a large focus of our event, but I strongly believe that independent content creators must also deliver their content in many other ways, in addition to RSS, in order to grow their audience long term.
Podcamps are a great way for a local group to get together on a regional basis. Our convention will provide a national forum for everyone to get together from around the nation (and the world) on an annual basis. A bit like the “local chapter and national association” model.
Best,
Tim Bourquin, Founder
The New Media Expo
PodcastNYC.net | Oct 17, 2007 | Reply
Tim,
Thanks for your efforts on New Media/Podcast Expos 1 thru 3. They’ve helped the medium to build strong momentum up to this point. The movement can get stronger if we expand the connections we make at the Expo beyond the national events to regional areas where people can gather to teach, learn and network on a more regular basis.
I’m one of those people who enjoyed the lack of distractions afforded by the Ontario events. As someone who’s done the Vegas conventions I’ve seen how the distractions turn the focus of the trip.
Either way I wish you folks great success for the ‘08 event.
Cheers,
Rob