Europe Deserves Better Mac Events
Apple is known for its secrecy about upcoming products. While other companies like Microsoft scream and shout about what will be available from them in the far and distant future, the people behind the Mac and the iPod (try to) remain quiet until the official announcement is made. The premier opportunities for new product announcements, of course, are the infamous keynote speeches by Steve Jobs, where he can utilize his Reality Distortion Field skills to the fullest. Therefore, it’s only natural that the news that there will be no keynote speech at the upcoming AppleExpo Paris has been reason for disappointment for a lot of Mac heads. But there’s more to it, I’m afraid.
Looking Beyond Apple Home Territory
There’s no doubt that Macworld Expo San Francisco, traditionally held in January, is the signature event for the Mac community. Could you imagine that this event would not feature a keynote speech? Of course not. So what does it tell us European Mac-heads that Apple management sees no need for a keynote at the premier European Mac event?
There are currently three major Mac-related trade shows around Europe that I’m aware of: AppleExpo Paris, MacExpo London, and MacExpo Cologne. I’ve been to all three of them, and it doesn’t come as a surprise that some people were planning to attend the Paris show mainly because of Jobs’s keynote: while the flagship San Francisco event qualifies as must-attent, the European shows definitely do not fall in that category.
They all feature a decently packed show floor, some OK conference sessions, and a few interesting presentations. But none of them comes close to choice and depth of topics that the San Francisco event has to offer. Now that the Paris keynote has been cancelled, there simply is no more signature event for the Mac crowd in Europe. You simply attend the event closest to where you live, if you do attend at all.
Macworld Conference Goes Europe
Last month, Derrick Story was wondering why the Mac conference landscape was shrinking. Considering the state of the European events, I’d assume there is more than enough interest to get a new show, or two, succesfully off the ground. While Macworld Conference London is pointing in the right direction with the most interesting session schedule and most entertaining panel of speakers yet, what is still missing is that one event that stands out as the Place To Be™ for Mac users in Europe. Who knows: maybe something like Mac OS X Conference would work out in Europe even thought the US show was discontinued, if some aspects (including pricing…) were fine-tuned just a little bit.
All Geeks Aboard!
Ironically, there is an event quite different from your average trade show experience that may be leading the way in providing us Olde Europe Mac users with a truly amazing experience. Just have a look at the photos from this year’s inaugural MacMania Europe geek cruise in the Baltic Sea, and check the planned itinerary for next year’s cruise in the Mediterranean. This is exactly what I would consider a first-class get-together for Mac fanatics: interesting seminars, well-known and competent speakers, and that “big family feel” that you can usually only find in San Francisco in January.
Europe deserves better AppleEvents (sorry, couldn’t resist…), and I’m convinced there’s ample opportunity in that market. I’m curious to see who will be first to fill that void.
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