Conventions

Mar. 28-29, 2012. CET, also known as KioskCom, stands for Customer Engagement Technology World.  From digital signage to mobile marketing, from self-service kiosks to social media… CETW is focused on leveraging the integration of emerging media across multiple channels to activate customer engagement.  People are constantly consuming information through a variety of channels, we learned, often simultaneously and whether they realize it or not. They are engaging with each other and their favored brands in new ways every on a daily basis.  Delegates were there to experience the newest technologies and innovative thinking behind some of today’s multi-channel campaigns and experiences.

Feb. 19-23, 2012. Actually its complete name is Molecular Med Tri-Con 2012, and its core programs included Diagnostics, Drug Discovery and Development, Informatics and Cancer.  Over 3,000 attendees took in interactive lectures, discussions, and various receptions.  The event once again showcased case studies, cutting edge solutions to challenging problems, and successful medicinal chemistry strategies. Technology sessions highlighted current approaches and philosophies around fragment-based medicinal chemistry, property-based design and recent trends in flow chemistry and the development of ADC cytotoxics.  In all there were 450 speakers, and 140 exhibits.  Is there a doctor in the house?  Okay, one at a time please….

Jan. 24-26, 2012. SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, and SPIE Photonics West is the world’s leading photonics, laser and biomedical optics event.  Industrial applications such as laser-assisted manufacturing and Micro/Nano Fabrication were a hot topic.   Papers were presented on biomedical optics and biophotonics, lasers and their applications, integrated optoelectronics… and there was even a green photonics virtual symposium, which brought together the latest developments in a broad range of photonics applications across Photonics West.  There was an educational and vocational development aspect to much of what went on at the show.  Visitors to the job fair came prepared to discuss their skills and talents with industry leaders, who were there to encourage them to sign for courses as well as for job openings.

Jan. 23-25, 2012. MacWorld and iWorld are held as twin events, and were being held for the first time since the untimely death of Steve Jobs.  That did not stop a torrent of new product demonstrations, demos of the hottest iOS Apps, and new software.  There was an iPhone Film Festival, Digital Art Gallery, art-tech talks and seminars, live art competitions… plus add-on premium training sessions for MacIT, specializing in such esoteric topics as The Passionate Photographer, Telling Your Story in iLife, Speak to Me O Muse (built around a new Adobe gizmo codenamed MUSE) — “There’s all that code”, they explained, “all that geek speak, all that technical jargon that gets between a designer’s vision and the web’s reality. But Adobe’s new (beta software) MUSE is the first major step by the software powerhouse to overcome that divide”…

“Dealing With Disruptive Technologies”; “Tangible Retail Lessons from the Digital World”; “Retail Innovation Do’s, Don’ts and Do-It-Nows”; “Ask: Why?”. These are bigger issues than deciding whether to put the Oreo Cookies in the gondola-end display unit nearest checkout number 12. How about this for a challenging issue to grapple with?: “All manufactured goods, especially intangible goods, are headed down a one-way street toward (but never actually reaching) zero price. This paradigm presents a problem for sales, and an opportunity for a different approach. In a world where free copies dominate, the only things that have value are those that are difficult to copy”. That’s from one of the keynotes. But never fear, another keynote tells delegates that “With 20/20 vision, Clear Customer Insights Will Reveal Your (Retail) Future”. A clue: Sam’s Club knows the secret…