Macworld 2010: Don’t Count It Out Yet

When Apple announced at last year’s Macworld Expo that they would not be present at MWSF 2010, the reaction was grim. Many of us remember what happened when IDG (the producers of the show) and Apple squabbled over the summertime East coast show. Apple wanted it in NYC, IDG wanted it in Boston. The show proceeded in Boston, without Apple’s presence. And within 2 years it was gone.

It was only logical to assume that San Francisco’s Macworld Expo would suffer the same fate.

I was not on the East Coast when those Macworld Expos devolved into what one pundit called “glorified user group meetings.” Thus I have no idea if MWSF is heading down that same path. Here’s what I do know:

This has been my fifth visit to San Francisco in five years. I was here for the switch to Intel, the release of the MacBook Air, and the pinnacle: the debut of iPhone. The Steve Jobs keynotes had lines of eager devotees circled around the building many hours in advance. At one point, all three of the Moscone Center buildings held Expo booths. There were so many iPhones in 2008 that AT&T was unusable for a four block radius.

This year? No Jobsnote (that was a couple weeks ago with iPad). The Expo show floor didn’t even open until Thursday at noon. And it filled only one of the buildings – and I use the word “filled” generously. The towering Apple booth and theater that once dominated the middle of the South Hall was absent – and so were a staggering number of really important Mac vendors. Those that remained seemed to pare down their booths and staff. You could just as easily blame the economy for these facts.

A bright side? From what I read somewhere, registrations were actually on par with previous years. The annual Cirque Du Mac party had a really good turnout. The lines to get Expo Hall badges weren’t Keynote-esque, but they were enough that I instead went to lunch so to avoid them. The crowd on the floor was also reminiscent of previous years. Maybe that was just increased density from the populous being condensed into one hall? The annual Apple Consultants Network meeting had roughly 100 of its 1000+ membership. I remember a couple years ago that meeting being triple the size. Hard to say if what I heard about registrations being even or up was like the Chiefs claiming a 76000 person sell-out at a half-empty Arrowhead.

I’m not the only one who noticed. I heard many people saying things like “It’s dead.” and “So sad.” A good friend, also a Macworld veteran tweeted: “This is like going to minor league baseball.”

Is that the beginning of the end? Will we the Macnoscenti need to get our fix elsewhere next year?

I’d like to offer this to those who really loved Macworld and would hate to see it go away: I’m very glad I ended up going.

I almost skipped it. In fact, had I not been appointed to the ACN Advisory Council, and had the ACN not decided at a late date to have a business meeting there, I would have spent the last couple days in Kansas.

Macworld for me was always about two things:

1. meeting up with good friends in the industry that I only get to see once a year

2. setting the course for the coming year, gaining perspective and tweaking my vision of the industry

Item 1: check. Although many of my colleagues didn’t make it I caught up with some old friends and made a bunch of new ones.

Item 2: check. There was nothing truly revolutionary in my take-home notes from Macworld this year. Nothing ground-shaking like “Man, I have got to get out of retail.” The 2010 vision (and beyond) for BestMacs is already a work in progress. Some of what I learned influences the plan a bit, but doesn’t reverse its course. Keeping with the the “minor-league” theme, most of my notes are minor items: call this vendor, try this product, here’s some noteworthy market data.

Wayne Gretzky is famous for saying his success lied in not being where the puck is, but where it’s going to be. And that’s what Macworld has always done for me. This year was no different. Less dramatic, but enough that the trip paid for itself.

The point is this: if Macworld was always about matching the business direction with the industry and having dinner and drinks with colleagues from around the country, it’s not dead. Smaller, yes but alive and kicking. And worth coming back for next year.

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