eComXpo virtual trade show--- great idea; can it beat face-to-face networking

First things first: eComXpo, a virtual trade show and conference targeted at ecommerce marketers (we all would fit in that description I believe!) will be held from October 6-8.

The second run of this "online only" event does boast of an impressive line of speakers from the (online) marketing world --- Seth Godin of Permission Marketing fame is slated to the the keynote speaker, while some of the other speakers include the renowned John Battelle, a co-founder of Wired magazine and author of the popular Searchblog, Frederick Marckini of iProspect, Paul Colligan of The Affiliate Guy and Bruce Clay of Bruce Clay Inc. (there are too many names to list here). There will be some of the leading names in search and performance-based marketing in "attendance" including Google, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Commission Junction, Performics etc., and lots of educational tracks and panel discussions, that would be worth listening to. Starting at $29.95, it's not too expensive to register the attend (well you don't have to catch the red-eye flight for starters) and the best part is that you will have access to the presentations even after the scheduled run of the presentation.

I had attended the maiden event in February which I thought it was pretty well done. So, it's something I'd definitely recommend to everyone who's interested in this area. It could be money well spent...

Ok, now to the point of this post: not withstanding the clever idea of a virtual trade show complemented by good execution, I am a strong believer in the value of real-world trade shows.

One of the key reasons that most of us in business go to trade shows for is the opportunity to meet with people and network. I believe that is often the cornerstone for long-lasting business relationships. A virtual trade show takes away the opportunity (well, to a great extent at least) to build that relationship quickly (this comes from someone who successfully does a lot of business remotely with associates and vendors all over the world that I haven't met with).

I reckon that is the reason why "virtual trade shows" (the term has been bandied about ever since the Internet took off) have yet to achieve a serious level of acceptance. Numerous such events in various verticals have come and gone, while physical trade shows endure.

Can an event like eComXpo sustain itself after the novelty factor has worn off? Will it be able to deliver value to attendees and exhibitors and provide the right networking opportunities that can match the flavor of face-to-face meetings?

May be they will be able to-- after all, we live in a world of chat rooms and webcams and VOIP..... it could happen much sooner than we expect to.

I don't mind being proven wrong--- but at this point, you could still brand me a sceptic...

Until next time,

Ben Flux, Traffic Junction

posted by Ben Flux - Traffic Junction @ 10/04/2005 07:37:00 AM