I spoke to an organizer of a conference producer yesterday who says the big-tent events are getting tired. I also spoke yesterday to the head of marketing for a big agency who said they’re cutting back and focusing more on specific vertical conferences — and a lot fewer of them. Finally, I met today with one of Wall Street’s biggest Internet analysts who says he now rarely goes to the big Interactive conferences because they’ve gotten routine with all the same people everytime.
With gas prices skyrocketing and a bubble of conferences, I suspect we’re going to start seeing a lot fewer of the big events. Instead, we’ll see fewer, more local and grassroots gatherings begin to emerge. And online, virtual conferences will start to find their way as well. Perhaps a good time to invest in the online meetings sector.
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