Yesterday - Thursday, Gantthead launched an online project management exhibition PMXPO2009 (for the first time I think?) Imagine Project Challenge but in the comfort of your own office (or home, because it was US based and we could take advantage of the time difference). The experience was actually quite good, you didn’t get hassled to “talk” to anyone if you dropped by a stand, you were free to listen to the pitch, pick up a brochure and move on. You could even drop your “businesscard” into the box for a free draw (let’s see how many marketing emails I receive now!). Each of the stands also had a dedicated live assistant link so you could you post questions direct to the exhibitor. There was a networking area to exhange views with other “delegates” and keynote speeches and presentations. There was also an opportunity to earn PDUs (which is a big deal for the mainly US audience and PMI followers)
Downside for me was the American-ness of it all, yes some of the presentations and products have a universal audience but I’d really like to see how and if it could work in this country. There’s also a tendency to wander off and do other things rather than get drawn into listening to yet another seminar which of course is harder to do if you’ve made a trip to the venue. All in all the experience was a positive one for me and it seems a lot of the delegates were also taken with the technology of this. The site is still available for you to have a look at and wander around, of course the live element is missing but you should get a feel for what could be the future of project management exhibitions
Great update! Sure will save one expenses in these ‘crunchy’ times to be able to ‘attend’ these virtual fairs and importantly continue to develop yourself. I had a nice ‘feel’ of the virtual ‘XPO’, albeit the possibility of getting distacted by phone calls etc in the real world is a big threat!