2008-10-30

Educause in Orlando

I'm torn.

I'm in Orlando this week for Educause. It's a higher-ed technology trade show and conference.

Of the various shows I do in a year, this is one of my favorites (along with NECC). Most of the attendees work with technology in their jobs and know their stuff, but the tech business is not their primary industry.

Which means they are less cynical about the products and technology. They are excited about the products filling the show floor, and they are enthusiastic about the possibilities. That's an excitement I just don't see from attendees are technology industry technology shows.

There's important business that goes on at both types of shows. It's just that the education shows are a little more fun.

So the show is great. But it's in Orlando. While the convention center may be huge, this is still one of my least favorite cities to do a trade show in. Does anyone enjoy doing shows in Orlando?

2 comments:

Matthew S. Urdan said...

Personally, I avoid all of Florida the way I try to avoid Chicago O'Hare, Atlanta, and LAX.

To me, the best cities for conventions are the ones with the least amount of outside distractions but have some kind of a nightlife:

1. Columbus, Ohio
2. Detroit/Windsor, Ontario
3. Milwaukee
4. St. Louis
5. Kansas City
6. Charlotte
7. Memphis
8. Lake Tahoe/Reno
9. Sacramento
10. Portland, OR
11. Minneapolis
12. Indianapolis
13. Lexington, KY
14. Pittsburgh
15. Buffalo

Anonymous said...

Sacramento, really? They have tradeshows there? Houston is another awful city to have a tradeshow. But Denver is pretty cool. And that's the extent of my tradeshow travel (so far).