Call this an ad! However, our company Jupitermedia, the publisher of the InternetNews.com Web site, announced earlier this week the creation of Computer Digital Expo (cdXpo) as a replacement for Comdex. Computer Digital Expo will run on the same days that Comdex ran (November 17-21) in Las Vegas. Our venue is the new 1.8 million square foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
The reason we did this was simple. Our industry requires a state-of-the-art and state-of-mind annual exhibition and conference, which bring together professionals from throughout the world to promote the tech industry and discuss the issues of the day and the coming year. For the last few years, Comdex failed to accomplish this. And now Comdex’s parent Key3Media is in bankruptcy making it even more unlikely that Comdex will ever regain its stature as a trade show force.
Computer Digital Expo, or cdXpo.com, will rapidly become America’s main technology event for the 21st Century. I believe that American and major international technology companies are craving for this initiative. The CES show held annually in Las Vegas in January has made attempts at filling the Comdex void. CES is a terrific show, but it is not an IT show. IT executives and the rank and file require a trade show devoted to computing issues, not one that is overwhelmingly biased toward entertainment and even toaster ovens.
I am so excited about this opportunity that I am personally about to start a weblog to detail my thoughts about cdXpo’s launch. This soon-to-be-launched blog will be just one of many initiatives that Jupitermedia plans to undertake to maintain 24/7/365 contact with attendees and exhibitors. Jupitermedia will also utilize its many developer- and equipment-oriented online discussion forums (frequented by over one million “techsperts”) to further create a community for the new cdXpo.
The foundation of a great trade show is a well-conceived, intellectually honest seminar program. Comdex seminars, on the other hand, have been nothing more than “dog-and-pony show” sales pitches. cdXpo will have five seminar tracks over the five-day conference including the Jupiter Research Symposium, which will offer sessions with Jupiter analysts on dozens of industry-focused topics. Six keynote speakers round out the sessions at the inaugural Computer Digital Expo.
My career in publishing and trade shows has been marked by innovation. I not only look at Computer Digital Expo as a great challenge but also as a service to our readers and our industry. There is too much depression and concern in the world today. I do not take terrorism or war lightly. However, life and work must move forward.
We are part of an $850 billion industry and we need an annual business gathering where “things get done” … where both the present and the future of our industry are discussed … where deals are consummated. We need to update such a forum with the goal to foster communications throughout the year, not just over a five-day period. As such, I am offering this new and exciting event as an option to our industry and to you, the readers. Please let me know your thoughts and see you at the Mandalay Bay!
