For 2012, the long-lived Macworld Expo changed its branding to "Macworld|iWorld" and began billing the conference as the "ultimate iFan event." The annual show, which has been running continuously for the last 27 years, has had a bit of a rocky transition since Apple announced in 2009 that it would no longer attend. Though the show no longer features Apple keynote presentations and some of the larger vendors like Microsoft and Adobe haven't had a significant show floor presence for a few years now, the event still somehow manages to get consumers lined up around the block to see new products or apps, talk to product managers and developers in person, or attend a series of events that cater to Apple fans of all stripes.
At the last Apple-attended Macworld in 2009, the floor actually covered two of the three expo halls at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Since Apple left, the show floor has shrunk down to just cover Moscone West. That has made it easier for the press to cover the show's myriad booths without feeling overwhelmed, but it also means that some of the larger vendors have shied away, and companies have much smaller booths than they might have in the past.
Macworld|iWorld also typically takes place within a few weeks of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the behemoth conference held in early January in Las Vegas. But without Apple anchoring Macworld, many companies that used to make use of Macworld to launch new products are instead opting to launch products at CES. Much of what we saw on the floor was a repeat of what we saw just a couple weeks ago in Las Vegas.
As a tech journalist, Macworld has gradually become less interesting. As a user of Apple's products and a geek in general, however, the show has become perhaps more interesting.
A cultural experience
In the past, the Macworld Expo consisted of the trade show floor as well as a $300-per-person conference that featured different tracks such as "content creation" or "IT." Macworld|iWorld has done away with that to a certain extent. On the first floor of Moscone West this time around was the usual trade show exhibits, and consumers could opt for a $45 pass just for the show floor. Unlike CES, vendors are allowed to sell their wares, and they usually offer special show-only discounts directly to consumers.
However, an extra $80 netted users an "iFan" pass, giving access to a variety of "tech talks" and panels on the second floor. Tech talks were generally shorter presentations covering a variety of topics like music production on a Mac, getting the most out of HTML5, the best iPad apps for work, and playing PC games on an iPad via desktop sharing. Full-day workshops (which did cost extra) were also available the day before the show, covering iOS device deployment in enterprise, using Apple technology in education, automating Mac OS X, and becoming a better photographer.
Additionally, IT professionals could opt for an $800 MacIT conference pass to attend the MacIT conference on the third floor. Enterprise-focused vendors, such as FileMaker and JAMF, had exhibits here. There were also IT-focused workshops and tech talks throughout the show's three days.
Augmenting the tech talks and panels were a number of other cultural events, including an electronic music show with artists that produce their songs on Macs or iPads, galleries of digital art produced using Macs, and two nights of film screenings consisting of short films shot (and sometimes edited) entirely on iPhones.
The show attracted several celebrity speakers, including actor Jonathan "Number One" Frakes, author Susan Orlean, hip hop producer Hank Shocklee, and comedian Rob Corddry. The popular jamband Moe played a show which included an entire set of songs played entirely with iPads, and discussed how iPads and iPhones have aided their songwriting. (Regular attendee Sinbad, who gave a keynote presentation at last year's Macworld, was also spotted on the show floor.)
In this way, Macworld|iWorld has morphed from more of a traditional trade show to more of a festival. It's sort of like a Burning Man for Apple nerds, but with far less heat and dirt.
"This is a year that has been so different from other years," Vice President and General Manager of Macworld|iWorld Paul Kent told Ars. "We've done so many things differently than before—the way we marketed, the events and speakers we booked."
Against all odds, it seems to be working. Traffic was light but steady throughout Thursday and Friday, but Saturday morning had attendees lined up out the door and all the way down the block for several hours. Though official numbers won't be released until Tuesday of this week, Kent told us that attendance was at least 10 percent higher than 2011—roughly 25,000 attendees (not including media or exhibitors).
"A lot of people came just for the show floor, and when they got here heard about the iFan events and upgraded," Kent said. "We've made that pass crazy affordable compared to past Macworld shows. When you line up some of the events, like Hank Shocklee's brilliant presentation on dealing with copyright and other issues for musicians in the digital age, it's like, 'holy cow what a deal.' This isn't an industry insider only event—anyone can come and see all this great stuff."
Bringing it back
Though the show didn't have as much appeal for the media this year as it has in the past, Kent believes that it doesn't have to stay that way. "Journalists still attend the event in large numbers, because Macworld has always sort of had this reputation that some small company off in the corner might be the next big thing," Kent said. "There's something like a two-to-one ratio of journalists to companies that are exhibiting, so there's a real opportunity for vendors to connect with journalists."
For instance, The Omni Group CEO Ken Case took time to sit down with us and give us a full overview of its upcoming software releases for 2012. HP's marketing manager for the Mac segment also gave us an extensive tour of its products, detailing compatibility with Macs and iOS devices.
Beyond that, though, companies have an opportunity to connect directly with users that few other forums permit. Again using Omni as an example, the company held demos and workshops all day long at its booth showing users how to take advantage of its Mac OS X and iPad apps. Smaller Mac and iOS developers had booths in the Mac OS X Zone and iOS Zone where they gave demos to individual users. IK Multimedia let users try out prototypes of an upcoming iOS DJ mixer which won't ship until later this quarter. And Seagate was selling a handful of Thunderbolt adapters for its GoFlex line of portable hard drives before that product ships in the next few weeks.
"We have shaped the show to appeal to a younger audience that maybe hasn't come to every Macworld for the last 25 years," Kent explained. "That's an opportunity to reach a whole new demographic for some companies."
The annual San Francisco tradition will continue on next year, as Macworld|iWorld 2013 is already scheduled for January 31 through February 2. Kent hinted that we may see more companies taking better advantage of the opportunity to reach out to both the press and the growing community of Mac and iOS users. And he told us that there are more ideas for more and varied events for next year, which he expects will bring back alumni as well as attract new visitors.
Macworld|iWorld has certainly become more of an "experience"—something you need to see first-hand—and as a journalist, that's hard to translate into words. For us at Ars, that means rethinking the way we cover this show, because "the ultimate iFan event" isn't likely to go back to the olden days of Macworld Expo yore.
Listing image by Photograph by Chris Foresman
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