“I love it when a plan comes together” - John “Hannibal” Smith, A-Team.
You know how it is, despite your best efforts to pour over the show floor maps and make your tradeshow travels as efficient as possible, Day one always forces a change in plans and to paths less traveled.
Yesterday was indeed the social show and thankfully I am not a germaphobe or I would still be scrubbing my hands with brillo pads as I felt my walk about the show floor was one long hockey handshake. Everyone – from attendees to exhibitors wanted to chat but not necessarily about the products. Indeed there was the eventual emergence of the sales personality from deep within the tormented psyche of the booth staff but this was a gradual process, no Jekyll and Hyde here.
Could this be a macro influence of social media? One would like to think that all of the talking head chatter about engagement, outreach and natural voices has finally changed the perception of what it means to ‘act professional’
Part of this may be due in some small part to the methods and reporting of the rAVe Pubs folks whose diligent efforts cover and record every single booth at the show. Part of the pressure is off, PR folks can use videos as reference and focus on delivering the message, not creating every part of it. Booth staff can focus on building relationships with clients, not hammer us over the head like simple customers.
Within this happy din AV Social broadcast a live stream of the show (Episode 6! Whoa) out in the middle of the main lobby on Wednesday –( a recording of the show will be posted to the rAVe AV Nation site shortly) – this was social as social does. The experience was both invigorating and daunting all at the same moment. Normally we record the AV Nation shows from the comfort of our respective offices or homes via a Skype connection. While our regular shows have a feeling of comfort and coziness – this was a whole new ballgame. The cast was up on a small dais as attendees passed by or stopped to listen for a bit or ask a question. Nearly all of us, cast and guest panelists alike constantly caught the eye of associates, co-workers, friends and a few family members. We were finally not just talking to you but with you. Freaking awesome.
The Women in AV hosted a very fun Tweetup at the Los Vegas Hilton with a great turnout of folks some old friends but especially nice were all the newcomers. To be honest I was all ready to end the evening there, head off to some room service, gentle tea and much needed sleep. Yeah, thank Hannibal.
A few hours later I found myself, quite lucidly – no really, wandering the long freakish avenues of the Bellagio in search of food with a gang of six. I would like to say that we rolled the wide paths of gold and faux Italian marble like hipsters on the prowl but the heavy bags of computers and show tags kyboshed any hope of that. I was personally carrying an SLR, a great swag bag from Panasonic (pictures to be added later) , my rAVe bloggers thank you package and of course the albatross of Polyphemus (my Dell XPS 17” laptop) around my neck. It started out with such hope, like Moses leading his people out of Egypt, I also felt like we traveled through the desert. The turns and twists and going up to go down had me so turned around that if not for the hysterical banter of my companions I would have sat down to bake some unleavened bread.
Finally back at home base of my Hotel room I did take some tea and curl up under the covers with the air conditioner on full blast, the window shades open to a city scape and mountains framing it all in the background.
Oh, the gear? Yeah, we looked at a bit of that too, we will be recording a Live stream of the Live Life today – check to hear some of the exhibitors describe this year’s offerings and some insight from our panelists.
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