Tech expos fall on hard times
By MIKE BERMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
September 24, 2003

Once upon a time, PCExpo was so huge; folks were left standing in line without being able to purchase tickets on the first day.

Microsoft and other major players in the industry would be so dominant, that they would occupy all of the prime floor space at the show, relegating the "little guys" to booth space on the lower level of the Javitts Center.

Members of the press attending the show were inundated with invitations to parties at places ranging from comedy clubs to great restaurants and hotels.

Unfortunately, what transpired last week was a mere shadow of a show that once showed great promise as one of the premier computer exhibitions on the East Coast.

The "little guys" were now the major attraction, moving to the middle of the show floor that was once dominated by the behemoths of the industry. You know who they are. These are the exhibitors that would normally be relegated to extremely low or very high-numbered booths, lining the left and right sides of the floor, leaving the middle to their more dominant brethren.

Now encompassed under the umbrella of TechXNY, PCExpo has become a victim of tough times that have hit the computer industry in the proverbial pocket book. Exhibitors that once scurried from one event to another are now only attending two or three per year.

We could see this coming as exhibitors and attendees began to "fall off" several years ago, but this is the first year that there hasn't been at least one major player hawking its wares on the show floor.

Organizers predicted that TechXNY would attract about 30,000 visitors (twice what CeBit America drew in June), and the show floor was crowded on the first day. But, its 240 exhibitors - according to the show's organizers - barely filled half the exhibit space on the main floor of the exhibition hall, making the absence of companies like IBM, Microsoft, 3-Com and Intel even more obvious. And, as word spread, attendance dwindled during the second and third days.

The days of "build it and they will come" are gone.

Folks are more techno savvy nowadays. They want to be wowed and amazed by new gadgets that will make them drool and say "I've gotta have it!"

Hopefully, as the economy returns, so will the gageteers and innovators as companies generate more cash to become more innovative.

I guess we'll just have to be patient and wait this one out.

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