A familiar face from last year, an old colleague, a new friend, a conversation overheard.
CES is huge, we all know that, but for all its might, most of CES doesn't always pertain to our immediate priorities, plans and what any of us has to buy or sell today. The best ways to keep CES manageable is to choose your own adventure by setting out to find the one percent of things and the people that matter most to you. Typically this revolves around sales meetings, the priorities of our companies and the content and tech we want to discover.
My CES adventure was (and this post is) about the people of CES. It's the reason events exist in general and why 175,000 people attended this one.
The most important person at this show was my longtime friend and CEO of StoryTech, Lori Schwartz, who produces the official show floor tours for CES. I was honored to be among her tour guides again this year -- each of them veteran digital media professionals whose POV adds another dimension of CES to the individuals who pay to be led around the giant exhibit halls. After splitting off from our LVCC colleagues on Monday morning, the Tech West crew set off for the Venetian, where we curated the best of AI, IoT, health tech and home tech at the Sands Expo and the more than 1,800 exhibitors from around the world at Eureka Park. Kind of like a technology scavenger hunt, we scoured the show floor as exhibitors were setting up, looking for examples of technologies in the CES Trend Report StoryTech publishes each year our guests would find most interesting.
Although my role as a tour guide didn't lend itself to scheduling meetings, I was able to make several meaningful connections throughout the week. At the MediaLink party I ran into old friends like Ira Rubenstein and Mike Rosner, both of whom I was able to spend quality time reconnecting on life and work, which resulted in insights and introductions that will be meaningful going forward. It was also fun seeing my friend Ken Weiner and reconnecting with Ben Plomion and members of the GumGum marketing team.
Conferences are also the breeding ground for new friendships. I was particularly inspired by Mitch Chaiet, a recent UT grad whose research on memes and exploration of AR/VR applications and voice activation hacks are opening up a world of possibilities for his budding career. My old friend Phu Styles' fiancé is now my new friend Casey James, an architect who is manufacturing eco-friendly prefabricated sustainable homes in Shenzen, which we vowed to launch formally at CES next year.
One of my favorite moments of the week, and more evidence of why it's all about people and relationships, was a conversation with my new friend and fellow guide Matt Moroz. "How can we help each other along?" I asked, to which he quipped "we have to...what else do we have left?" Maybe each other is all we ever had.
See all of my CES 2020 photos here. Want a copy of the StoryTech trends report? Hit me up!
