This blog began as a report-diary on the launch of a new trade show called cdXpo. It evolved to its present form in late 2003 when it was apparent our company would no longer run cdXpo.

Recently we sold our Search Engine Strategies trade shows for $43 million. Our remaining trade show is running in Chicago as I write this. The show is called ITSMF. We have been producing this show for the ITSMF association for four years and have built it into one of the great tech trade shows. In 2001 we had 75 paid registrants and 500 feet of paid exhibit space -- the Chicago show has 1,000 paid registrants (average registration fee is over $1,000) and well over 20,000 square feet of paid exhibition space ($50 per square foot). The show will be even bigger next year and for years to come. But we do not own this show. We produce it for a healthy fee, but there is no sense in continuing with this event when it would be our only trade show.

We decided to forego running this event after the 2005 edition. The Association will soon select another company to run this event(Incisive Media, the company that bought our Search events will run ITSMF in 2006).

Jupitermedia has exited the trade business with two huge winners -- San Jose SES in August and now ITSMF (we still have a partial ownership of the ISPCON trade shows, but we have no involvement in producing these shows).

It will be odd for me to be out of the trade show business. I have been running events since 1975. A non-compete prevented from being in the trade show arena from 1999-2001, but during that period I was planning my return. Now I have no such thoughts. I am devoted to growing our image operations and running our research and online media properties. I still have a modest role in "events" because we produce small breakfast forums at JupiterResearch and also have a thriving Webinar and Webcast business. So good-bye to trade shows. I shall soon be forgotten, but not gone.