Attending the eComXpo Virtual Tradeshow Next Week

I'll be heading to eComXpo (aff) next week to find out the latest and greatest information related to eCommerce marketing and social networking. And where will I be heading? To my computer. eComXpo is a virtual trade show where people log on from all over the world to seminars, keynotes, etc., from emarketing folks.

I first learned about this conference in a noodle shop in Chicago - a very non-virtual place - while talking to one of this year's speakers, David Dalka. David will be presenting information on "Mobile Search Marketing and the Evolution of Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Customer Officer." And chances are pretty good that he'll be on-topic since he has already recorded and submitted his presentation.

Online Marketing Blog's Lee Odden will be presenting on Social Media Optimization - a hot topic these days that Lee has been staying on top of. Other notable speakers include "The Long Tail " author Chris Anderson, Nacho Hernandez from iHispanic , and link building expert Eric Ward of EricWard.com.

The expo is free but access to presentation archives run $99. The last eComXpo in April drew over 7,000 registrants!

For those of you who've attended before, what can I expect out of this conference? Do you have any strategies on how to make the most of it? My biggest concern is distraction caused by everything else I could be doing on my computer while listening to presentations. Has that been a problem for you?

Your comment about the potential distractions of "the office" as you participate in eComXpo is accurate. There's no question that having folks in a room where they can't (or at least shouldn't) be answering calls or emails while they watch a presentation is a better way to have complete focus than something completely online.

Knowing this could be an issue, we've worked hard to make the event as compelling as possible so that the distractions lose out over staying focused on the event. This has affected every aspect of how we've built the show, from keeping presentations shorter than usual and leveraging polling questions during them to keep folks focused on what there watching, to a heavy emphasis on prize opportunities and networking.

The result is that, on average, folks spend around 3-4 hours at our event over the three days. Some spend 10 minutes, other spend three full days. We also find that folks spend more time then they expect to, once they show up. And that 2nd time attendees spend more time than 1st time attendees because they've learned to "block out" the time once they've figured out there's value in the event.

The 40 presentations are free, and include live interactive Q and A afterwards. Hope to "see" you there and get your feedback as we're always looking for ways to improve the experience. www.ecomxpo.com

John & David, thanks for stopping by and sharing your perspectives on the conference. Now I'm even more fired up about this.

alert me of any conferences in e-commerce because i want to start attending the conferences.i am a student of technology and e-commerce.

Comments

1. Posted by: David Dalka on October 19, 2006 12:40 AM:

Stated simply, the last eComXpo changed my life in ways I never could have envisioned.

Great well thought out and focused speeches by thought leaders - John works hard to uncover the interesting and not yet famous talent - as you pointed out it is prerecorded and they put guidelines on it!

The on demand speeches can be viewed in the evening or at any time around the world. The expo vendor booths have people manning the chat stations during normal US business hours. I can envision a future eComXpo not to far off that will have rolling worldwide teams covering it 24 hours a day.

One thing I love the best is that enables people of all levels and interests to attend without the associated costs.

Make sure you are there right when the conference opens, you will feel like you are in geek heaven.

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