The Events are Coming
Steve Gibbs Jr.
It has been a long time since the last chance to visit a roadshow or an event that allows us to see products. The events and invitations are now starting to come and they are coming fast. Are we ready? What will things be like in this post-pandemic world? We have figured out a new way of life so now we need to add back this part of what makes us tick. Seeing people and products is one of the life-giving aspects of our jobs in higher ed. This is what keeps us motivated and allows us to shape the future of our classrooms and campus. The people that we network with and meet are the ones that help us along the journey. The ups and downs of successes and failures and joys and frustrations. This is the team that encourages and helps us educate ourselves and grow our knowledge about the AV industry. Especially after last year, we do not have the option of not growing or refusing to learn. We need for this to happen and the trade show is a central part of making this work!
We will finally get to see real and live products again at a booth. It will be good to see what is going to be shipping soon and to see and talk with others about the things that are being worked on to solve all of the issues that were brought front and center because of the need to do school virtually and then via hybrid and now probably back to a lot of in-person. The one trend that I will be watching as ISE and InfoComm happen, in some form again soon, is will products still be tied closely to when these events happen especially since they are out of the normal calendar schedule this year? Or instead, will companies put released and shipping products in the booths with experts to help you learn
about it and figure out how it fits into what you need? I would rather build on my relationships and learn about a product that I can use than see something that might still be a dream or at least not fully evolved. It will be great to have the industry together for these events that are coming up. We learn and grow because of others and we have much to celebrate together.
The other aspect that I will be watching for at these first trade shows is what will look different. I am assuming that a virtual component will be offered to some degree. It will be interesting to see what that is and how much effort is put into that. Will all of the other virtual events happening go away? I am guessing many will not but it will be something to watch as our industry reacts to these changes. I believe higher ed will still benefit the most from events with a component or vendors geared to what our needs are and how we operate. Virtual training and shows I think have shown that they can work but it needs to be intentional and the purpose has to be defined. It will never be able to replace going there in person but needs to be an alternative for those that can’t come or who cannot send everyone that they want to. This is especially something that I am sensitive about being from a small school that can’t throw money and as much time at these types of events as I would want. It has been good to see what can be leveraged and used in tandem with bigger in-person events that I think will give us access to both of these needs of virtual and seeing people in real life.
Another thought that is present with me as we start seeing people in person again at shows is how important it is to keep growing the awareness and action of diversity and opportunity across every way of life in our AV community. We need to be welcoming to those who are not like us and give them a chance to work alongside everyone else who makes tech great. I challenge us to meet and grow a relationship with someone that you can learn from and that you might be able to mentor. This is the only way that we will be able to grow our ranks to allow others to feel at home. We need to share love and not hate. We need to refrain from talking or looking down at others because they have different stories than we do.
Instead, let’s find the value that each person brings. This is what we want to celebrate and highlight when we are together again.
Let’s enjoy having a chance to gather again and not take it for granted. We want to build upon where we have started and yet understand that we still have much ground to cover. Giving back is so good for the soul so please keep doing that and breathe in the value of seeing others from our industry. For better or worse this pandemic has put our industry on the world’s showcase and now we have a chance to continue to shine and make a difference!
Steve gibbs jr
Stephen Gibbs, Jr. is a Senior Educational Technology Engineer at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. He enjoys spending time with his three young kids and interests outside of AV include disc golf and soccer.