Soooo… in case you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that Apple is pulling out of Macworld next year. And here at Moscone, everyone’s buzzing about whether or not this is the death of Macworld (if I hear one more person say “Well, remember Boston…). But it sounds like IDG--the cool kids that put Macworld together--have a plan. And for 2010 at least, they’re committed to bringing Macworld back to San Francisco. Wednesday, they held a Town Hall meeting to toss out ideas and hear feedback from the community.
According to Paul Kent of IDG:
-Macworld is, and always has been about the community, and IDG is focusing on ways to strengthen the Mac community via Macworld.
-There are 500 exhibitors at Macworld, and 90% of the products being shown this year are not available in Apple stores (the math geniuses at Mac|Life would also like to point out this also means that 99.8% of the companies here are NOT Apple).
-60 companies have already committed to Macworld 2010, including many heavy-hitters.
-The date and location of Macworld 2010 is already set, but in the future, IDG is looking for feedback about dates and locations that might work better for attendees and exhibitors.
So, what’s the takeaway? Despite all the naysayers, Macworld lives--for 2010 at least. And we’re optimistic that Macworld can continue, even without Apple. If nothing else, the 2009 show proves that Macworld doesn’t live or die by blockbuster Apple products. Don’t get us wrong, the new iPhoto is rad… but it’s no MacBook Air, or iPhone. And yet, everyone here is still having a great show.
