The second annual (and perhaps final) CeBIT America is running at the Javits Center in New York City. The show was an abomination last year and even worse this year.

CeBIT America will probably not run again. Now we can wonder what will come of Ziff-Davis' new show slated for mid-June in Los Angeles. This show has the oddest name for an enterprise IT trade show that I have ever encountered. There is originality in the concept, but then again the program and the concept are very difficult to comprehend upon reading the promotional material. Several prominent companies appear to be exhibiting (a sponsor sometimes is not an exhibitor in the trade show business). I doubt there will be much attendance in LA for this show, but time will tell.

Our own first-time show Internet Planet runs 15-16 June at the Hilton New York City. We have a handful of exhibitors. I would have liked to have had more. However the paid registrations for the seminar program look to be very strong with three weeks before the start of the show. Once again time will tell if a new show can work or not. We have had our share of unsuccessful first shows. Computer Digital Expo was not a highlight for us last year in Las Vegas (and while on the subject I wonder if Comdex will actually run this year?). It does not appear that Microsoft is exhibiting at this time --- no Microsoft means the show is over.

Since 2000 it has become very difficult to create new and successful trade shows. That is why our SES (Search Engine Strategies shows) are almost unbelievable in their level of success. We started SES a few years ago. The last USA show in New York City in March attracted 60 exhibitors, 1200 paid seminar attendees and a few thousand exhibit hall attendees. The next USA iteration is in San Jose this August and promises to be significantly larger than the March show. We also run SES in five countries (England runs next week at the Novotel in London and Toronto, Canada was a critical and financial success last month).

Another great trade show just ended in San Francisco this week. Ad-Tech was a huge success thus validating all the more that the Internet is changing advertising and the way we all do business.

I am sitting in an a airplane in Denver and am online thanks to the Wi-Fi connection at the Centennial Airport main terminal. Sitting you ask? Radar is down in Denver so I have time to post.

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal (19 May) by Charles Goldsmith titled "Looking Under 'B' For Buyer."

VNU is a Dutch publisher of a variety of media properties and also owns Nielsen Media Research. In 1998 VNU acquired its Yellow Page business for nearly 2 billion euros. Now it wants to sell because it wants "to focus on its market-research operations."

Wow! Methinks what VNU is really saying is: "We are terrified of paid search and we are doubly terrified about the coming tsunami of local search." In other words let's see if we can find a sucker to take over this business.

The black book is out. The bids are due any day. The prize is Lycos!

My guess: Google goes for the killshot and adds a Yahoo!-like service to its business line. Getting the Lycos traffic and distribution will add a terrific dimension to Google and make it more of a media company.

Of course do not rule out MSN, AOL, InterActive and a few others.

Most media attention has been on the Google IPO. But the Lycos deal is where the real action is taking place. The acquirer will get a great new distribution network that can be worked in many ways.

This story should be getting more press. Let's see what happens.

The inaugural Search Engine Strategies show in Toronto, Canada, opened as an immediate success. Readers know that Jupitermedia owns the SES show tour and while we like to take credit for starting successful trade shows, having the SES brand is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. Toronto proved to be no different than launches in Germany, Japan and England (SES also takes place in the USA in San Jose, Chicago and New York City and we will have a new launch in Sweden in October and additional new countries in 2005).

We all know about the Search revolution in marketing. While our company is not a "Search" company, we are able to ride the current and benefit with trade shows, as well as running contextual ads throughout our JupiterWeb network.

Virtually any Web site can make additional money by linking up with any of the Search companies that offer contextual ad linking. Search probably enables many smaller sites to remain in business because of the boon of this extra revenue that comes their way with little to no work or effort. Things will only get better in this space.

The first INTERNET PLANET takes place in New York City on June 15-16 at the Hilton New York at 53rd Street. The exhibitor list is growing and now includes Dice.com, Ektron, EmailLabs, Icetracks, iProspect, Learn.com, Overture, Prime Visibility, TechSmith, Xaffire and more to come over the next few weeks.

Internet Planet is the evolution of the old Internet World trade show. Internet World died because there was no longer a need for a horizontal Internet trade show. Internet Planet on the other hand is a focused event. The vertical focus is entirely devoted to the concept of "growing business online." No company, large or small, can be without a strategy devoted to growing business online.

Internet Planet will have a lively exhibit hall and a terrific two-day, three-track seminar program. We are particulary excited to have John Patrick, the father of the Internet at IBM, as our keynote speaker on June 15th.

Check out the latest issue of BUSINESS WEEK. E-Biz is the cover story! The theme of the cover story further validates our upcoming Internet Planet and growing business online. Our show is June 15-16 in New York City. I had worried when we announced the show that we might be too early with the concept, but it appears that we were right on schedule and that future Internet Planets will be on the mark too.

I see that John Battelle is launching a new trade show. John is an original thinker for sure. His show has lots of interesting speakers --- many luminaries from the hot Internet days of Wired magazine and the Industry Standard. The show will have glitz in contrast to our Internet Planet. Internet Planet is a practical show. Two days and three tracks devoted to growing business online. John's new show will be fun and will grab lots of press, but one has to wonder about how practical it will be. In any event John's show certainly validates Internet Planet and it certainly validates that the Internet is hot again and growing business opportunities.