the chatter emanating from Texas — SolidWorks World 2011 — this week has been prolific, and, to put it bluntly, largely irrelevant.
Whether it is in the form of blogs or tweets, often both, the "information" hitting the net is more representative of the social- / celeb-centric world that we live in rather than any applicable business / software solutions for everyman! There may have been one or two notable exceptions.
SolidWorks World has a tradition of being the place to be in January for any serious reporters/Editors in the 3D software sector. It still is, apparently, but it's no longer an exercise in reporting on new developments and applications, rather it is a flimsy excuse for a piss-up — or should that be piss-take — with plenty of bitchy comments flying around.
Kevin Bacon's appearance on stage seems to have been the highlight, although it seems no one there could work out why! (That little snippet, however, has subsequently been topped by Will.i.am's appearance for Intel.) Interested parties can also find plenty of information on boring sessions and glazed eyes all round, bets taken between delegates to break the tedium, and an endless description of what they are all eating and drinking. Soooooo not interested!!!
Seems pointless all round really, particularly the unnecessary (and extensive) addition to the T&E budgets of the media.
Surprised — hardly; irritated — definitely.
Rach, very little damage to the T&E budgets for media, SW pay for it all
ReplyDeleteWell that explains alot. LOL.
ReplyDeleteGets the publicity I suppose, I wonder what ROI they get in real terms though??
To some extent I must agree, but it must also be said that of all the events I have attended SWW stands out as different. I feel confident that a majority of the press in attendance (most significantly more experienced than I) would agree.
ReplyDeleteSWW almost has a party atmosphere from the very start. The glitz, glamour, music, rodeo and food/drink are all part of the show — for the most part it is SW themselves that provide it!
As Duncan mentioned the tab is picked up for the media attendees by SW, so they must consider that they're getting 'bang for their buck'.
There is a lot of good reporting still going on at the show in the form of blogs and to a degree tweets — perhaps it's more a reflection of how social networking/media is blurring the lines between participation and reporting?
Presentation is also of value to the business. It's one of the integral assets.
ReplyDelete