Live! and direct
While you were busy blowing on dice and praying for a hard eight, MRT’s editors were hunched over the keyboards.
Chances are, in a couple years the trade show as we know it will be the next activity to be assimilated into the increasingly pervasive world of the Internet. Businesses with no physical storefront to speak of are setting up shop on the Net, and now even colleges are offering courses online. It would appear that activities that once required human interaction are being supplemented by monitors and broadband lines.
“But trade shows?” you say. “That’s all conjecture and wide speculation. We want proof!” Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you IWCE Live!
From the people that bring you Mobile Radio Technology and the International Wireless Communications Expo itself, comes an entire Web site devoted to bringing you updates from the show floor as they happen.
So, you spent a late night in the casinos, and now you’re too tired to make it to the show? Roll out of bed, turn on the laptop and log on to www.mrtmag.com. Click on the “IWCE 2000” logo. The IWCE Live! button is at the bottom of the page.
While you were busy blowing on dice and praying for a hard eight, the sleep-deprived editors of MRT were hunched over keyboards pounding out stories on the previous day’s events.
Daily recaps would be sufficient, and if the only “dealers” you talked to while in Vegas were at the black jack tables, that’s all you would deserve. But MRT likes to spoil you.
Throughout the show, IWCE Live! will bring you, in keeping with its name, live updates from the floor. Wondering what exhibitors and attendees have to say about the show’s turnout? The site’s “The Word on the Street” section will provide you with quotes from those in attendance. Are the two sessions you just had to go to scheduled at the same time? “Conference Highlights” will give you the low down on what went on at those discussions you missed.
And what would a trade show be without product announcements? If a new product is displayed at IWCE, Live! will let you know about it. Lest we deprive you of visual stimuli, the reports will be accompanied by snapshots from the show in the “Scrapbook” section.
For up-to-the-minute exhibitor and conference updates, just check the “Show Directory Updates” and “Daily Stats and Conference Highlights” sections. The trade show staff will also be posting special events under “What’s Happening Today.”
If you do make it to the show, though, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the site, as well. Visit the MRT booth to access Live! from the staff’s on-site Web station. Members of the staff will be on hand to show you where to go to find the best information on the site. You will also be able to access Live! in the registration area on one of the two computers provided. (Don’t forget to check your email too.)
The idea of a virtual trade show may not be as farfetched as you think, and MRT and IWCE Live! are paving the way. Just imagine the possibilities: less air travel, no more canceled hotel reservations and more time to spend at the casinos.
