Apple Pulls out of MacWorld – Just After My Podcast is Done. AUGH!

So I usually do my Podcast in the afternoon for Wednesday consumption. I put on my voice, fired up the news aggregator and Podcast away. When I get everything done, post the podcast and send the messages, I usually walk away from my computer and not look at the news. That way if something comes after the fact, I don’t go – DOH!.

Of course that happened today.

In my podcast, I talked about MacWorlds’ prediction of what Steve Job’s keynote is going to be in 2009. The hot and heavy talk is about a new iMac. But when I got everything done and posted, I found that CNet reported a news story that now Steve Jobs will NOT be at MacWorld. Further, Apple had put out a statement saying that this will be the last MacWorld for Apple.

DOH!

Apple – In a statement on their website – Announced they are “reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches it’s customers.” This is not the first trade show they’ve been moving away from. NAB, Apple Expo in Paris are a couple that Apple has scaled back on or moved away from.

While I don’t totally agree with Apple on this, I do see why they are doing it. Apple can reach the masses without having a hyped up show that less than 1% of the public can attend. A “Town Hall” meeting in a more intimate setting does just as much as a major convention.

However, there is a lot Apple is not only losing out on, but also a lot of people Apple is abandoning. For example, MacWorld brings a level of speculation and suspense that people get into for a couple months. “What is Steve Jobs going to talk about in January?” Kinda like your College team going to a Bowl game – you want to be part of it, so you make the plan to go to the show and see Steve talk.

I remember going to Comdex when it was in Chicago and seeing Bill Gates, President William Jefferson Clinton and many others give Key Note speeches. It was always an exciting moment to get into the hall, sit down and watch the presentation. Of course, with the President, it was a little longer wait due to security, but well worth it.

The other thing that Apple abandons is the 3rd party companies that use MacWorld as a launching pad for their Software / Products. These are companies that don’t have the power of the media to really push their wares, so they rely on things like MacWorld to be that Major vessel to at least get their stuff out to the people that can really hype it up.

I always expected CES and MacWorld to join forces. It might be the best thing for MacWorld to do come 2010. After all, without Apple backing, who will want to go? More important, who will want to display?

One thing is for sure – Steve Jobs will not be at MacWorld this year. Phillip Schiller – who is Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing – will have that honor.

All in all, I think it’s a bad move. Steve should at least give the last Keynote, then move on. I am wondering if there is anyone out there that planned to go to this show just to see Steve Jobs? Wonder how many people are canceling hotels and plane tickets right now.

If they only would have announced that 2 hours before, I could have had that on my Podcast. Oh well…