« Screw Entitlement | Main | My entire reply to Violet Blue claiming that the reaction to her booth babe article was based on sexism and fanboyism »

Disclaimer:I do a lot of work for IDG with regard to Macworld. I'm a part of the Mac IT Conference board/committe/cabal/whatever term you'd prefer. I typically spend a half-year or more prior to the show, off and on, helping set up what becomes Mac IT. I do not do this for free. I probably would do that work for free, I think it's that important to the community, but I don't currently do so.

Also, while I wouldn't normally do this: This article is me and all me. IDG/IDG World Expo has nothing to do with it, it doesn't represent them in any way, shape or form. If you're pissed off about this piece, first, why, and second, don't be a punk and whine at IDG/IDG World Expo. The fault and responsibility for this is mine, and mine alone.

There, that out of the way, if you wish to ignore everything I'm about to say because I'm "part of the system", well, there's the door, watch the knob.

There have been a lot of really, really...well, I want to say "stupid" but instead, I'll go with a more useful term: useless things written about the 2012 Macworld|iWorld event. Most of them do not even begin to point out solvable problems, because they're in the realm of "Well, I don't like it, but I can't tell you why". Thanks for that feedback.

Quite a few complaints, (they'd have to work hard to be "criticisms") come from people who weren't there. I have a very hard time taking those seriously, but I do try, when they give me something to work with. They often don't.

Then of course, we have the "all the Mac press are a bunch of trekkies because they don't say enough bad things about Macworld". Well, the *actual* quote is:

Considering the unfailingly praiseful descriptions of Macworld|iWorld Expo coming out of most of the Trekkie-like Mac press, it's probably a good idea to look elsewhere for accurate coverage of the show.

My Ass, you may kiss it.

There's so much wrong with all of this. First, most of it is just useless. "You're not bagging on the show enough". That's what the above quote means. It's useless to say stuff like that, because what the hell can anyone do about it? It's not like you can win either way with that, so why even bother. I also really resent the statements from some quarters that the show staff and management doesn't listen to anyone but itself. I believe one particularly precious phrase was "Paul Kent Expo". My personal favorite, from Shawn King at "the four misanthropes of the apocalypse" in his "Macworld|iWorld iFan Pass" bit:

Yes, you can get into the conference track (which is no longer available – they are called “Tech Talks” now) for a fraction of the price.

Sigh... Bless your heart.

Another one, which I personally find amusing, by Stephen Hackett of 512pixels.net, in his "Reflections on Macworld" piece:

On one side, the old-school. The guy wearing the NeXT shirt. Guys like me, who have used the Mac basically their whole lives, and wouldn’t learn much from the Mac IT track.

Dude, based on your picture, I may have been doing IT work longer than you've been out of diapers, and there were sessions that I desparately wish I could have attended because they had gobs of knowledge I currently don't. There were folks there with years on me, and they were learning during the show.

You should maybe check your awesome "I know everything" ego at the door. You'll be surprised at how much you can learn when you don't know everything. (For example, in your article "How to Return the “Bounce Message” Feature to OS X Lion Mail", this line:

It was great for spam and emails from the mother-in-law.

Shows that you have a rather large misunderstanding of how spam works in the 21st century. Maybe you don't know everything after all. hmm...a session on How Spam Works and What You Can Do To Better Manage It On Your Network...actually, sessions on managing email servers and services in the modern computing environment...hmmm...)

In any event we see that if you ask enough people, eventually everything is useless.

The idea, dear reader, that the show is planned in some kind of bubble wherein all external input is ignored in favor of our whims, is bullshit. Pure and simple. I can actually prove it, at least in part, because well, I help put at least part of the show together. The sessions you see on the list are what people in various industries submit. We don't create the sessions and then find someone to fill them. Do we try to find someone willing to speak on various subjects or various areas that we think are of use to potential attendees? Of course, but we aren't creating the sessions and then telling "the chosen few" to run them. The foundations of what we're looking for in sessions are based on:

a) Our on experience in the field. For example, the Mac IT conference committee contains people who are IT consultants, IT managers, IT writers (If you've ever read an IT-focused book on Mac OS X or iOS, there's an excellent chance one of us wrote it), security and networking professionals. Between the five of us we have over a hundred years, combined, of experience in the IT arena with a Mac focus. We have a good idea of what is of importance to people in our fields.

b) What attendees tell us.

Yes, that's right, we actually listen to attendees, because those are the people the conference is for. It's why I, and many presenters, ask people to fill out the evaluation forms, because, well, that's their best chance to tell us what's going on. Some of the initial feedback we got that we'll be spending a lot of time figuring out how to act on:

1) 45 minutes, while right for some sessions, sucked for others. It really killed my AppleScriptObjC session, because it cratered the time available for looking at code. Not every session needs 90 minutes, but there are enough that do to warrant looking at setting up sessions with different lengths.

2) Having podcasts in a 'regular' conference room didn't really work. Podcasts aren't sessions in the traditional sense. We're going to see about fixing that too.

3) The Mac OS X section was poorly laid out. It was hard to see, the traffic flow design was, well, really bad, and while it did create a respite from the crowds, it was just a bad design. Again, this is a solveable problem, and it's going to be.

That's just what I had by Saturday. There will be others, and they will also be taken seriously. (Keep in mind that while I don't work on the conference committee for free, I do have to pay my way out to S.F. and for all my lodging while I'm here. I want this stuff fixed for my own sake as well as for others.)

Will every criticism be solved in the way the source wants or even at all? No. Macworld is a business, there are things they will do to keep that business going and profitable that some won't like.

However, there are things we can't goddamned solve. Idiocy like the "SXSWisation of Macworld." What drove that statement? The lack of a designer/artist track at the conferences. Now, let us be clear, there were sessions aimed at designers that were not "how to draw a line" talks at Macworld. For example:

WB: The Passionate Photographer: 10 Steps To Becoming Great
Steve Simon, Documentary Photographer, stevesimonphoto.com
From the book of the same name, this workshop has revved up the passions of many a photographer. Steve Simon deconstructs the elements that make good photographers great; taking you to a higher level in your own photographic journey. Through this innovative 10-step process, you’ll be inspired to transform your passion into a unique personal vision. Steve will take you out of your comfort zone helping you determine what you want to say in your work while providing practical knowledge to translate your feelings into strong content.

WI: Speak to me O Muse: Adobe’s MUSE [code name]: Web Design for Designers
Andrew Shalat, Designer, Writer, Author, ShalatDesign
There’s a reason why Graphic Designers consider Web Design something of a speciality, something more esoteric than just plain old Design. It’s a different animal. It has a whole different set of technical issues that have to be understood, and overcome. To the dismay of most Graphic Designers, people who are experts in page layout, in typography, in logo design and branding, to their dismay, Web Design has never been as accessible to their skills and talents as it should be. There’s all that code, all that geek speak, all that technical jargon that gets between a designer’s vision and the web’s reality. But Adobe’s new (beta software) MUSE is the "rst major step by the software powerhouse to overcome that divide. MUSE lets you create sound, viable, robust web sites, using a familiar model that most designers who know InDesign and Illustrator, will be able to make sense of. The use of code is minimal, or even non-existent, in the user interface. So you get pretty close to that original ideal of Desktop publishing, WYSIWYG.

TT905: InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator: A Creative Sweet!
David Blatner, Co-Owner, InDesignSecrets
Whether your creativity fuels your work or your hobby, you need these power tips and techniques to build amazing-looking artwork efficiently using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. This is a fast-paced, fun-filled exploration of how to get these programs to dance together for spectacular results.

TT912: What Would Don Draper Do?
Dave Wiskus, Chief Creative Officer, Black Pixel
Designing elegant mobile interfaces requires more than intuition and an understanding of your user’s needs. By walking through successful and rejected designs, you’ll learn what to do—and more importantly, what not to do—when creating the interface for your next top-grossing app.

TT936: FEATURED ARTIST PRESENTATION: Digital Painting with Bert Monroy
Bert Monroy, Artist, Author, Lecturer
Bert demonstrates how he uses Photoshop and Illustrator tools – and shares the techniques he develops – to create his photo-realistic paintings. Especially noted for his hyper-realistic Photoshop illustrations, Bert’s masterpiece is Times Square. Every element was meticulously created from scratch — not from photographs — using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. The 6.5-gigabyte image was built pixel by pixel, using more than 750,000 Photoshop layers.

TT934: Back to Work: Rebirth & Transition in the New Workplace
Ben Spear, Brand Designer, Thinkside
Allana Taranto, Photographer, Ars Magna Studio
The advent of cloud computing, remote interaction, and social networking has created fertile ground for a new type of working environment…one that values agility and interaction over physicality and permanence. Co-working is a growing movement among independent entrepreneurs that leverages these values — illuminate the unexpected, expose new business models and increase our contact with the marketplace. As expectations for personalization and responsiveness continue, we respond with a co-woring-based practice that is enriched, sustainable, and interactive, resulting more creative work and stronger economics. How can this solution be applied to the world outside of co-working?

Six sessions, including two full-day workshops aimed at the "design" field. (Design having about as much specific meaning as IT). Is that the same as a full-on track? No. But it shows the idea that there was "nothing" for the professional designer is simply not correct. What there weren't were sessions on "How to use Photoshop". I'll make zero apologies for that, you can find a ton of cheaper, probably better, and more convenient ways to do that. Lynda.com is particularly good for that. Now, someone wants to do a session on Photoshop based on the skills and knowledge that they've acquired, and it's not generic stuff you can find anywhere, by all means, submit that session. But "here's what a gaussian blur is"? Really? That's the kind of thing you want at Macworld?

When the...precious...person who came up with the "SXSWification of Macworld" started bitching, I gave him the answer that I tell anyone pissed off with conference content:

Submit a session

That's not being snarky. If you, or anyone you know wants to change the content, do so. Submit a session. It may not get picked, but what the hell, if you don't even try, then honestly, stop complaining. You're allowing other people to control this, stop being upset they didn't read your mind. So of course, I get the "I don't know enough/I'm not good enough to teach". That of course, gets my bullshit-dar pinging, because unless someone is really new to their field, I don't believe it. I'm not an IT "genius", I didn't invent SNMP or anything I talk about. I just use my own experience, and figure if it's interesting or useful to me, it may be interesting to someone else, or help them solve a problem. It's how the community works.

So, on a lark, I check out the guy's website. Here, some data from his "about" page:

Degree in CompSci in 1982

Started as a print production artist in 1984

Been a Mac user since 1990

Been a print production designer since 1995

Been a graphic designer since 1998

He has *far* more experience in his field than I do in mine, yet he's not "good enough" to teach a session?

Bullshit

Anyone in a field for coming up on thirty years has a gob of experience and knowledge to draw on that others in that field can use. Hell, the first time I spoke at Macworld was 1999. I didn't even have yet ten years of IT experience, yet I took that chance that maybe I had something worth saying. (It must have worked, because Paul can't get rid of me now.)

This isn't a case of not being good enough, this is a case of no self-confidence or being too lazy to actually try to fix the problem. But don't try to tell me that in almost thirty years, you've learned nothing worth sharing. (Also, that whole "get my company to pay for me to come to Macworld? If you're speaking, that's a great reason. Publicity if nothing else. "Our people are so awesome, they're speaking at industry forums." Come on people, this is not hard to figure out.)

There's another part to this of course, and the "SXSWisation" comment is a pretty big clue: Designers are no longer the class of the Mac/iOS world, they're a class. Other areas have gained prominence, including Music. Where once, a designer knew that if it involved Macs, they were the focus of attention, now, well, now they're just another customer. Some don't deal with that well.

Of course I was told that I was "lucky", that IT had "survived" the "SXSWisation" of Macworld.

BAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHA.

We didn't survive you schmuck, that implies luck, and there is no luck whatsoever involved in Mac IT's success. We busted our humps to create content that attracts people and gives them a reason to attend. Instead of sitting back and waiting for what we "deserve" we went out and as a community, created the conference we want. Designers of all stripes can still do that. But you have to actually try. You have to take a goddamned chance and do a little work. You have to do something. No one handed Mac IT to me or anyone else. We created that shit. We built it, year by year, session by session, and any "reward" we have is because we worked for it. You can have the same reward, and if you want some advice or help, ask me, I will gladly help however I can. But you gotta do the work, no one's handing you anything. (Yes, I'm serious, I'll help. If nothing else, the more, better content we have for the show, the more reasons people have to attend, and the better the show is for all. Why would I not help?)

Mac IT is a reflection of the people who attend and teach it. The people putting it together only organize their input.

Same thing with the rest of the conferences, regardless of what they are called. If Designers want more designer content, then designers need to step up and create it. Or even give us criticism we can use. But "the SXSWisation of Macworld"? That's not a solvable problem. So I shan't be taking it seriously.

As far as the show floor goes, well, I can't say anything that will do anything for anyone. I was there, the vast majority of complainers were not. Were there times and places when and where the show floor wasn't packed? Yes, of course, don't be stupid. That always happens, even in the "glory days". Fuck, the last day of Expo was traditionally dead, especially about an hour before closing. This year, the lines to get badges on the last day were still out the door even at noon. Saturday hours work.

The reason it doesn't matter, is because impressions of the show floor end up being confirmation bias fodder. IDG will release numbers which will either be assumed accurate to prove the show is dead, or castigated as faked up lies to prove the show is dead. Anyone saying "Well, I was there, and it's not dead by a long shot" will be dismissed as a trekkie with no critical thinking skills. It's tiring, but I can't do anything about it, so I don't really care what those people think. It's like the drum circle. Normally, they're kind of stupid-looking, at least to me. But 500 people were having a great time in one. So it may still be stupid-looking, but was it a stupid idea? Hardly. People may bag on the music focus, (and thereby show they know nothing about the importance of music in the Apple ecosystem), but it meant I got to see Sal Soghoian play guitar, something I have long wanted to do, but never had a chance to do before. It was cool to see Sal doing the thing he loves so much, and you could tell by the way he plays that he loves to play guitar very, very much.

The exhibitor numbers were up, but those don't matter, because everyone will dismiss it as nothing but iPhone case vendors. But then, for these people, one iPhone case vendor, or one iOS-only dev is proof that Macworld is naught but a turkish market, thick with the stench of iOS and dirty merchants trampling the remains of the once mighty Mac. There were gobs of exhibitors showing all kinds of products, but because there wasn't an Adobe, Microsoft, or Apple booth, the show is irrelevant. That's what those people say.

Those people are complete idiots.

Which is why I honestly don't care about their opinion. Because again, their complaints aren't anything I, or anyone else can fix. They're not even the complaints of someone complaining about session content, but won't do anything to change it. That at least is fixable on some level, even if it won't be by him.

What these people really want is the return of something that's gone, and can not come back: that feeling they got when Apple was the underdog. A successful Macworld Expo when Apple was under attack and "beleaguered" was something special. It was a banding together of rebels. Well, the emperor is dead, and the rebels won, and now they have to deal with living in the world that follows, and as we see in rather a lot of stories, and real life for that matter, are learning that surviving the end of the rebellion is harder than the rebellion ever was. Mac users are no longer special simply for their existence, and they don't like that it's not special. Now, they have to go and prove themselves just like everyone else. Designers are no longer the golden children, they're just children. IT...well, IT was never special in the Mac community. Mac IT was created by hard work, and unlike too many others, we understand that the way to sustain success is rather a lot like how we achieved it: we keep trying to be better than last time.

The show floor is bigger than it was last time, it had new exhibitors, and I know of some companies that didn't have a booth this year that will next year That's all the show floor can ever be, and I'm fine with that. The sessions are good, even if every specialty doesn't have its own track. I had a chance to have dinner with Dave Wiskus, of Black Pixel, the man behind "What would Don Draper do?" He is a young kid, I mean, if he's more than half my age, I'd be surprised, and yet, like anyone motivated enough to stand in front of a crowd and talk about what he knows and thinks, he's also smart, and insightful. He said something at dinner that was stunningly intelligent: "just because I work with people who are smarter than me, that doesn't make me stupid." That shows just how smart Dave is, and that he's absolutely the kind of person we want to speak at Macworld. I didn't attend his session, but having met him and talked with him, I now wish I had, I think i'd have learned a lot. I think anyone designer or not, would have learned something from Dave's session, but only the ones who were there, did.

Next year will be a little different, and a little better, but if you want Macworld to be like the past, then I recommend you stop even reading about it. The past is dead. We remember it, we learn from it, but we never, ever tie ourselves to it. To do that is to start a long, slow spiral. I don't play that, and I know Paul won't.

For my part, speaking about Mac IT, I'd like to see:

• Some sessions that deal with how IT and companies are creating and managing websites, with a focus on CMS's. There's a lot of issues with "modern" websites, including scaling, back ends, monitoring, programming and security, all of which matter in the Mac IT space. I want to see about addressing that.
• More speakers talking about how their companies are handling Macs and iOS devices, and not just deployment. We did really good on this one, with folks from Good, IBM, Jamf, and others, but I want to do better. As a community, IT does best when we can share knowledge across the spectrum of sizes and needs. This year was amazing, but I want to see more.
• Let's start talking about cloud computing and resources with more regard to implementation, and less about "Oooooh, CLOUD!" I know my company has done a lot in terms of integrating cloud and local resources, and my boss has been instrumental in the success of this. Mike, you may as well accept it, because you're entirely too smart to be on the crowd side of the podium.
• More speaker diversity. This one is a bit of a firestarter, so before the hackles go up, chill a second. I don't mean anything even vaguely resembling quotas or diversity just to win points. That'd be stupid, and an insult to the speakers we had this and previous years, all of whom deserved their sessions. But, we only had five speakers who were women for example, and out of almost 45 speakers, I think we can do better. I know a few of you who are going to have their arms twisted rather a lot. I've no shame here, there are a lot of damned smart women in the field who have smart things to say, and I'm going to prod, cajole, or annoy the shit out of them until they submit sessions. We may not say yes to all of them, but I sure as shit want the chance to say yes. So yeah. Also, any IT person who thought they have nothing worth contributing: You're wrong. Stop it, and send us sessions.
• The Donnas performing at Macworld Blast. (Seriously, does anyone doubt this is a priority for me???)
• Better setups for saving the audio/video from the show, and figuring out a way to post them. This stuff is awesome, and it should be available past the show.

I'm not sitting still and no one else is either.

If you want the Macworld of old, well, that's dead. Move on or do not, it's up to you. The rest of us aren't gonna wait. If you have a fixable complaint or criticism, by all means, tell me, Paul, or any one of the Expo folks, and we'll try to solve it. But you have to give us a fixable problem.

Comments