Generally, I begin talking about Macworld around August 31st as registration opens in mid-September and people find MacworldBound a valuable place to learn about MWSF, parties, activities, travel tips and more. I’ve been talking about Macworld since the first time I attended MWNY back in 2003. Since then, I’ve attended 10 Macworld Expos in New York, San Francisco and Boston. I’ve been a long time supporter but no longer.
Honestly, aside from updating old entries, this blog has plenty of info available that will fill the needs of most people. Starting with page 1 and working forward will help you find a place to stay, find that cheap flight to San Francisco and find things to do when not at the show. The resources on this site are still great for first timers and I suggest following my “BEST OF” category for the entries that will help you at Macworld 2010.
If someone would like to take the reigns of MacworldBound, be my guest but to be clear it’s an upaid position w/ little ad revenue and I’ll retain ownership of the content and domain.
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Regarding my relationship with Macworld both personal and professional, I’ve moved on. I’ll try to keep this brief. My fanaticism for Macworld Expo and, most importantly, the Mac community has been ridiculed and mocked by many. There are people at IDG World Expo who don’t give a shit and actually threaten me with legal action for using “Macworld” anywhere in my events, groups & website. There are Mac users and companies who think my role as a MW Evangelist is pointless and weird and finally, there are current and future clients that have given me puzzled stares after I dedicate months of planning to bring Mac users together at my events, meet ups, parties and trips to Apple headquarters. Well, no more.
It was never about Macworld.
My approach to all of this had more to do with the community of amazing people and less to do with growing the Macintosh community for my personal profit. I’ve spent thousands of dollars going to Macworld and never recouping the costs. I’ve spent nearly 4 grand each year on Macworld events, parties and meetups and I even quit a job because they wouldn’t let me go. The reason for all of this was that I wanted to show people the lesson of giving without expecting anything in return because that commitment to our small community is what kept it going all of these years. Apple never endorsed it and since Mac OS X, The Intel Switch, The iPod and now, The iPhone, the community we’ve known and loved has gotten larger but has changed to a decentralized collective that are so separated between long time Mac users (15+ Years), OS X Mac Switchers 6+ Years), iPod Switchers (3+ Year) and iPhone Switcher (6+ months). Anyone that’s been around less than 10 years has no clue there’s a Mac community and they don’t see the relevance of Macworld Expo. Everything is online now and they don’t see a point in going.
My inspiration of these events was to help get people to Macworld. One user at a time, I’d arrange travel, help them find roommates, plan events and answer every single email with enough info & encouragement to get them to go. I made it my duty to prove to every Mac user that Macworld was the one trip they had to go on as a Mac user. See Steve Jobs, meet other users and see what it’s like to be a part of this culture. This would, in turn, excite them about Mac blogging, joining Mac forums and even going to Mac User Groups. My work was a success. In 2009, my city tour had over 75 RSVPs and I was turning people away. My parties were exceeding 600 RSVPs and we turned people away at our trip to Apple HQ. I had done my part but some Mac Elite and IDG World Expo thought I was completely insane and never supported me.
This is a little history that I never talked about. It’s too late to convince me otherwise because I moved on. I moved to San Francisco because I could do work year ’round to plan for Macworld and as I attended more tech conferences, I realized just how bad Macworld Expo was. It really was for the community. The more work I did, the more I was shunned by people who make money from the mac community such as authors, bloggers, instructors & developers. The more I fought, the more I was ignored. I gave up.
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That’s all in the past. When Apple announced they’d be absent from Macworld 2010, I was optimistic. When I attended Macworld 2009, doubts started to cloud my Apple worshiping logic and soon I realized just how depressed people were at January’s show. It was a different group and people had little faith in the future of Macworld. More and more developers, friends, bloggers, press & exhibitors told me throughout that week that they wouldn’t be returning in 2010. What’s great is the timing. I had started moving into a more broad market because living in San Francisco on a day to day basis opened my eyes to the world of startups and marketing to a larger audience and not just those that are in love with their Macs. That’s right. The Mac user base is growing which is good for Apple. The base of people who love their Macs is dwindling and even less love their Macs enough to go to a conference to meet other people who love their Macs.
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So, with a heavy sigh and much internal conflict, I am not attending Macworld Expo 2010. I can think of a handful of people who will celebrate my “giving up” but there are a few hundred who will email me over the next 4 months begging me to plan a party or event. As more of the people who I convinced to come to Macworld a 2nd & 3rd time check my blog for travel deals and party info, they’ll read this and see what I’ve been going through.
For the thousands of people who I’ve met from 2003-2009, I thank you. There’s about 5 people who have been coming to Macworld since 2005 and attending every one of my events. You guys rock and I’ll miss you the most. I live a block from Moscone Center and go to every tech conference that’s in town (usually 2 a month) but Macworld will not see me because I’ve moved on. I’m still in town for my old friends who want to meet up.
Got something nasty to say? Save it. I didn’t give a shit about you anyway. Good luck Mac Users. I’m going to miss you guys.
This will be my last post on MacworldBound.
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In closing, if you love the Mac and you’re new to the Mac. Buy the book called, “Macintosh: The Naked Truth”. It’s the ultimate book for any Mac user. Those old timers like me read this book and remember how it was. Switchers will read this and have a new found respect for those of us who fought back for The Macintosh & Apple. The author of this book, Scott Kelby signed my copy back in 2004. He signed it, “Adam – Keep fighting back for The Mac.”
“Macintosh: The Naked Truth” on Amazon
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