A friend of mine wrote a weekly sports column once called “Things I’ll Never Understand if I Live to Be 100” with column entries like “Is Reggie Jackson REALLY worth a million dollars?” 

Okay, this was a while ago.

Today I’m just as baffled by some things that perhaps will become clear with time – like Reggie Jackson in October.

My conundrum – virtual tradeshows.

We’re in the meetings business.  The real, get-‘em-in-a-car-or-on-a-plane-bring-‘em-to-your-town-put-their-head-in-a-bed-and-their-rump-in-a-restaurant-seat business.  Which is why sending clients to a web-tradeshow has me jumping up and down.  Don’t we know by now that sitting behind a desk and double-clicking has far less economic impact than actually traveling to interact with people?  It’s not even close.

I’ve even looked at the avatars that wander through make-believe tradeshow corridors.  Where’s the fun?  I don’t get it.  No smells, no pervasive hum of business activity.  Instead, you’ve got mute and pause buttons so you can tone down the din or escape to the fridge whenever you want.  Total economic impact: about $.55 for a Coke.

If I’m missing something, tell me.  That’s the beauty of this, I guess – interactivity…sorta.
 

David Zunker, President