| Moment Home Page | Current Article Index | Search | Back Issues |




Internet World Home and Office Expo

by John Wong

On a freezing Sunday morning, many computer-loving people visited the nation's largest open-to-the-public Internet and World Wide Web Show and Conference. The Moment sent several writers to join the myriad of newspaper reporters crowding the convention floor, gathering the hottest info among the countless number of demo booths.

The Convention had quite a successful turnout
Were people looking for a glimpse of the "Bill Gates" of the World Wide Web? Maybe not, but they can find many new and innovative ideas from the displays of startup Internet service companies, as well as respected and blue-chip companies, which attended the Internet World Home & Office Expo '96, from February 2 to 4 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Why a convention center?

It may seem that the World Wide Web is the ultimate advertising and marketing medium -- people can access a commercial site from all the corners of the world. Why would firms pay premium dollars to get its own place at the Javits Center? Most companies are present to publicize their image. Citibank had a large booth trying to convince PC users to do banking over the modem. There were many Internet provider companies, such as IDT Internet Services, trying to sign up new computer users.

Apple Computers was trying to convince potential customers to buy the PowerMac, because its user-friendly interface would make it easy to get connected on the World Wide Web. It was a huge opportunity for big companies to reach the common user.

Small Companies

The businesses that may benefit most from such a conventions are small Internet related companies and start-ups. For new startup companies, it is very hard to get publicity and exposure to the general public. They want people to know what makes their firm special, and what niche of the Internet world that they want to fill.

For example, NetCreations is a relatively new company that specializes in publicizing Web sites for other businesses and organizations.

When an organization wants to publicize its site, it must fill out a form for each Internet search pages, such as Yahoo, for each search site. The PostMaster of NetCreations automates this process, requiring participating companies to fill out only one form. This form will then be sent out to over 325 sites and media outlets.

Many businesses said that although the Web can become a big advertising and marketing medium, many people in the convention are not familiar with the Web. In this case, the convention serves as an educational tool to familiarize people to the Web.

People have a tendency to visit only the company Web sites that are well-known, such as Microsoft or IBM. Smaller companies have a harder time getting noticed on the Web. One way to legitimize a small business is to participate in such a convention. Anyone who has access to the Web can declare that he has his own companies and empires.

Impressive Web pages can be built by anyone (after reading Christopher Tse's Web tips). Are they real? Getting listed in the Internet World Show Directory is a sure way to separate the wheat from the chaff. Also, it gives businesses a chance to show there are actual human beings working behind the scenes of the Web page.

By participating in the convention, businesses can also hit the local New York market. In fact, one company said that it signed up 2000 new customers by attending conventions and the word-of-mouth business that came with it.

Integration of the Media into the Web

When the television became primary form of media, there were people who questioned the future of radio. With the World Wide Web, it is possible to have an integration of various media sources. A radio station represented is CBS's NewsRadio 88. They said that being on the Web allows listeners to foster a closer relationship with the radio station.

For example, listeners can email opinions and suggestions to the station. In fact, the station has recently received more email than regular mail.

Listeners can access the station's archives of past interviews and the latest-breaking news from the Web page. Technical reports can also be accessed by audio format by using RealAudio. You can check out the page at http://www.newsradio88.com/style/welcome.html.

http://www.newsradio88.com/style/welcome.html
Internet World Home and Office Expo '96


| Moment Home Page | Current Article Index | Search | Back Issues |