Welcome to a special edition of our online column, Worst of the Week. Industry trade shows are especially nutty, so this column is a chance for us to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
So that trade show floor is a scary place. From naked people to inanimate-but-still-creepy base stations, traversing the show floor is more like trench warfare than a business convention.
When I first stepped onto the show floor yesterday afternoon, I was immediately accosted by a public-relations professional. Although usually very helpful, some of these individuals can be extremely dangerous if given a conversational opening such as “hello” or “don’t touch me.”
My chance encounter with this particularly aggressive PR person involved a discussion about “end-to-end solutions” and “portfolios” that was so boring I pretended to have a seizure in order to end the conversation. Although this didn’t succeed, it was amusing, and left said individual unprepared for my roundhouse kick.
Shortly after the “end-to-end” fiasco, I happened upon a woman in the Info-Sonics booth who was completely naked and covered in paint. The show floor can be a strange place. I’m not sure why she was naked, but I’m sure it had something to do with the wireless industry.
I eventually managed to reach the RCR Wireless News booth (#2817) where a colleague kindly warned me to watch out for “pirates” roaming the show floor. Working at RCR Wireless News can do that to you. Make you crazy, I mean.
However, as I pressed on through the barrage of flashing, glitzy displays and unintelligible marketing speak, I happened to stagger into the Nokia booth, which has padded carpet. If you’ve ever walked through a booth with a padded carpet you know-it’s heaven on Earth.
I was so happy to find a booth with padded carpet I decided to just make camp there and reschedule my meeting for the next day.
Best. Booth. Ever.
Worst of the Day: Padded carpet
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