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		<title>Digital Signage Expo 2008: A speaker's take on the show</title>
		<description>Discuss Digital Signage Expo 2008: A speaker's take on the show</description>
		<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show</link>
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			<title>Lean Education says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-518</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The digital signage industry has yet to cement a leading position in the mind of venture capitalists. Digital signage suffers from the "chicken and egg" problem that has befallen many other industries with so much promise. Without a sizeable footprint, a digital signage network cannot scale. It can't garner the attention of serious advertisers or investors. Networks that grow from the minds of entrepreneurs who act more like 19th century speculators than true businessmen impact the entire industry's ability to garner funding. While the industry's growth projections are very promising, the ad-funded digital signage model has yet to be proven.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Lean Education</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-518</guid>
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			<title>Bill Gerba says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-517</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Joyce and Rebecca,
Yours is definitely a common complaint of the show, and it's one of the reasons we didn't exhibit. DS software is still a pretty complex undertaking, and there's simply no way to adequately explain if your product is the right one without getting a good understanding of a new sales prospect's needs. Ditto for players, which can be optimized for low-cost, high-flexibility, or some combination of the two, again depending on the client's needs.
There will probably be some degree of software consolidation (see BroadSign purchasing Navori and NetKey buying Webpavement, for example), but more than likely a good number of the current companies vying for marketshare will either change strategies or go out of business altogether.
We're also embarking on a pretty major project to forge industry standards for software interoperability, which means that the companies that remain will be able to focus their attention on their core differentiators instead of re-inventing the wheel for problems like content transfer and screen zoning, which will be part of a standard specification.
HTH, Bill]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Bill Gerba</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:11:21 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-517</guid>
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			<title>Rebeca Chan says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-516</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There seemed to be an incredibly large number of companies offering players(at least 20, possibly more). That's a lot, considering that a player is merely a mini-pc in a small box. The players range from $300 to $2000 and most come with some type of content management software. It would be very nice if someone were to write an article to sort out all the differences, like a Buyers Guide to players and content management solutions with reviews; inclusion of a shootout would also be nice.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Rebeca Chan</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:15:49 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-516</guid>
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			<title>Joyce says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-515</link>
			<description><![CDATA[All--I have a comment regarding key exhibitors...We need to proceed with standards and some player consolidation. This "category" is getting SOOO hard for customers to shop. I feel like I know this industry and its specifics pretty well, and yet, I found it very difficult to understand the role each player had in the full solution. I think we have way too many vendors that are trying to be all things to all people. It seemed to me like there were way too many vendors with a single important client that were convinced they were the next big thing. Seems like some industry consolidation is in order. And what about content? I didn't see more than one content provider. Is this now assumed the "come-along" with other solutions...a commodity of sorts? Would love your thoughts?]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:13:51 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-515</guid>
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			<title>Bill Gerba says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-514</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Jason: Glad you found it worthwhile, both as an exhibitor and a speaker. Apparently Shane (above) found that, like me, the sessions were cut short at inopportune times. Such is the nature of trade shows, I suppose. You also make a good point about doing the show in Vegas - it will remain a personal gripe for me, but from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense.
I also agree with your opinion that these new shows, seminars and "organizations" that are seemingly coming out of the woodwork may do us all more harm than good. I'd love to have a single show, set of conferences, and governing body/industry association and be done with the rest!
Zensufi: There are lots of sites (including Digital Signage Today and the Minicom blog) that have show reviews that focused on the exhibitors. Since I only spent a total of about a half hour on the show floor, I don't really have much to comment on about it.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Bill Gerba</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:25:16 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-514</guid>
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			<title>zensufi says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-513</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Love the flash and high energy of Las Vegas, but hate the smokey environment! How about more re the key exhibitors?]]></description>
			<dc:creator>zensufi</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:07:10 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-513</guid>
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			<title>Shane Riddle says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-512</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As an end user of the technologies I'd say it was a great show. I do agree with Bill though about the timing of seminars. I really enjoyed hearing from the speakers, but the most insightful times were when the audience was allowed to interact with the panel; that was when we had opportunity to actually hear from peers about what they were doing, what real life business concerns they had, etc. There was no need to rush us out of the seminars like happened a couple of times.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Shane Riddle</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:08:31 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-512</guid>
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			<title>Jason Goldberg says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-511</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I'll echo everyone's sentiments about not enjoying Las Vegas; but as an exhibitor I have to say I prefer it to other common trade show cities due to cost. The problem is that with all the expenses for exhibiting going up and up every year, Las Vegas is a comparative bargain. I had about 20 rooms at the show that I paid $60/night for, versus the $200/night ITMll pay for a similar amount of rooms in Chicago next week. Airfare to Vegas is cheaper, Union rules in Las Vegas allow me to use more of my own setup labor than I can do in Chicago, etc All told a similar tradeshow presence in Chicago probably costs me $30K-$40K more than in Las Vegas.
I also agree with Bill that the conference scheduling and spacing was a bit odd. I spoke on a panel and it seemed we stayed in the room longer than 30 minutes after the scheduled conclusion and werenTMt chased out, so hopefully BillTMs experience was an anomaly. As an exhibitor, I hate it when an event has a great conference schedule that overlaps the exhibit hours. ITMd rather see a smaller amount of exhibit hours with no counter scheduling, maybe itTMs a 3 day show with conferences from 9 to 11 and 4:30 to 6, and make attendees walk through the tradeshow floor to get to the on-site restaurant. WhatTMs driving me crazy at the moment is all these trade shows popping up in the space. DSE announced a second show this year! So now just in the U.S. you have DSEx2, KioskComx2, Global Shop, At-Retail Media, Infocom, In-Store Marketing Expo, and more that ITMm sure ITMve forgotten about (and as a retail only guy, I donTMt even have to attend the advertising oriented ones). Oh and while your attending all those shows be sure to join the 6 different trade orgs! ItTMs just diluting the attendance. ITMm frankly eager to see some of these shows fail, so that we can all make more serious efforts to support 1 or 2 events a year.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Jason Goldberg</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:24:43 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-511</guid>
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			<title>Bill Gerba says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-510</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pat: Excellent points, well taken. I think I wouldn't mind it so much if I weren't:
(a) there too damned often, and
(b) less jaded :)
Like you said, though, it's clearly a well thought-out place to have such a show.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Bill Gerba</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:27:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-510</guid>
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			<title>Pat Hellberg says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-509</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Bill Yes, Las Vegas is bizarre, surreal, pick your adjective. It's a dry cleaner's dream. Didn't all of us immediately dump our convention clothes at the neighborhood dry cleaner to get rid of the smell of smoke? But there's something to be said for the show being held in a city that knows how to put on a show. In Vegas, the airport is close, there are cabs, buses, monorails, etc. for easy transportation, the convention center is user friendly (save for the overcrowded Starbucks and cafeteria), there are thousands of hotel rooms and judging by the number of cranes in the skyline, they are building thousands more. Plus, there's digital signage everywhere. That huge sign outside of Wynn's with the animated/mechanical "wipe" was worth the trip alone. I had no desire to stay another minute but 2-3 days in Las Vegas, once a year, is fine and I hope the show stays there.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Pat Hellberg</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:09:33 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-509</guid>
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			<title>Bill Gerba says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-508</link>
			<description><![CDATA[All: thanks for the input. Having every show in Vegas is definitely one of my pet peeves, though I of course do recognize that there are pros and cons for everywhere else (though the POPAI and Strategy Institute NYC conferences in mid-fall during Advertising Week are hard to beat, IMO).
Tim: I liked the book signing app too, though I wonder if it'll really be practical. After all, one of the reasons I go to booksignings is to actually meet the author. If I wanted to see his/her face on video, I could do that on the web, from home. There's certainly a gimmick to seeing the robotic hand sign your book, and of course there's the potential for great interaction, Q&A, etc., but that could be an example of an application that winds up taking away from the customer experience instead of building upon it.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Bill Gerba</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:14:55 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-508</guid>
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			<title>Minicom says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-507</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Vegas is becoming a cliche as it could be if you had it in NY but wherever you have it there will be pros and cons. 10 years ago we could have had the show in a phonebox but as Digital Signage grows so to the size of these shows grows.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Minicom</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:44:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-507</guid>
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			<title>Axel Vera says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-506</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Bill. I totally agree with you on the part where you mention about the timing.
Last year in Chicago, I wasn't able to finish my presentation because I was the last one from three presenters and I only got around 10 minutes for me and they rushed every one out of the room because the next session was starting.
This year in LV again with one hour sessions and almost another hour until the next, it would've be great that they let us share our experiences with those interested what we can say if the room wasn't going to be used and people were interested, after all, they paid a great deal of money to hear us and help this industry grow.
Anyhow, if anyone here reading needs more info on the session we gave, and exactly on what I said, please contact me. averad@televisa.com.mx
Axel]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Axel Vera</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-506</guid>
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			<title>Tim says:</title>
			<link>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-505</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Bill,
I agree with you on several key points about the show, the schedule of seminars could be improved. And yes, after about 1.25 days of being in Las Vegas, I am over it! So plastic and everyone is looking to get your tourist dollar out of your pocket.
The show was huge this year and there were ten of each kind of vendor (at least), but a few stand out tools and items. I liked the remote book signing tool which combined video conferencing with a robotic hand to allow an author to do a book signing from his office! I also liked the facial recognition software to track who is looking at signage. I think they are not 100% accurate but do a decent job of getting numbers that are close.
And I liked the models and gimicks that vendors used to draw attention to themselves. Tradeshows are great for that.
We will be exhibiting at KioskCom Vegas in April at Mandalay Bay conference center. It should be a huge show, and this year they have a digital signage show too... imagine that. Everyone wants to include digital signage.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Tim</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:52:02 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>https://www.wirespring.com/30-legacy-blog-digital-signage-insider/651-digital-signage-expo-2008-a-speaker-s-take-on-the-show#comment-505</guid>
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