CES Is A Kaleidoscope

When I first became editor of Home Furnishings Daily's Electronics section in the late 1980s we had typical Monday morning editorial meetings where our staff would discuss what top stories we should cover in that week's issue. At my first meeting, the reporter covering video said, "Nothing's going on." When the reporter, who left the business a long time ago, repeated the phrase at next week's meeting, I knew I was in trouble.

I asked myself how someone who was covering the largest category in CE could say that? The problem was the interest and energy level of the reporter involved.

I was reminded of this when I read a blog posted on www.TWICE.com last week by contributor Stewart Wolpin, who took to task Wall Street Journal columnist Lee Gomes who said International CES was "dull" and there was nothing "new" presented. Newsweek's Steven Levy said in a column that there was "no breakthrough product to stimulate conversation" at CES and attacked the hype surrounding the show.

CES was "dull" and featured nothing "new"?

Based on that reasoning, I guess that last week's MacWorld was "dull" and featured nothing "new." After all, what did Apple introduce anyway? Steve Jobs just had a thin laptop, a deal via iTunes to carry movie rentals and some updates with iPhone to peddle. Please ...

Seriously, I'm no apologist for CES or the Consumer Electronics Association, who run the show each year, but I have news for Gomes and Levy: There isn't a "breakthrough" product at every CES. Categories like HDTV, mobile DTV, cellphones, high-definition video discs (HD or Blu, take your pick), portable GPS, among many others, don't debut every year.

Many times CES is described from a technology viewpoint as being "evolutionary, not revolutionary" if such categories do not appear. That's not bad for the industry, but probably tougher on reporters and editors who need a "breakthrough" product to hang a headline on a trade show.

CES has never been like other shows for other industries, where one or two SKUs steal the spotlight. Diversity is the CE industry's strength.

Where else would you find top executives with computer, cable, broadcasting, entertainment, telecommunications, retailing and automobile industries interacting with each other and government leaders from the United States and around the world to talk about technology, environmental issues, education and the like?

CES reflects the industry it serves. CES has evolved into a kaleidoscope. It isn't a one-trick pony. CES is where new technologies are introduced, and its attendees now include execs from other industries whose business models have been changed by digital technology.

Get Well Soon

One thing that was very different for many CES veterans was the absence of two industry legends who attended every CES since 1967: its founder Jack Wayman and our founding editor Bob Gerson. Both had some health issues recently and missed the show. Gentlemen, plenty of attendees told us it wasn't the same without you. From your industry friends, get well soon!

One last note ...

Speaking of Home Furnishings Daily, the day before we left to attend CES we received sad word of the passing of our colleagues from that staff, Manning Greenberg. Manny covered the CE industry for HFD from the early 1950s until the mid-1990s. He was a great reporter in this industry and will be missed. For more about him, visit my blog on www.TWICE.com titled "By Manning Greenberg."