Yes, this posting is much delayed, and for that we apologize. But, the first month of the new year was a very busy one. There was lots of catching up to do following the holidays and all the traveling during the first couple weeks of January. The inauguration and Super Bowl weekend got into the mix as well, making January a super busy month. Still, as they say, better late than never! So, here’s the next installment of our recap of the crazy new media related events we attended in January…..

While New Media Creative founder JOE KLEIN was still busy scurrying around San Francisco and partying with MICHAEL BUTLER during the first couple of days of the MACWORLD EXPO, associate BRETT BUMETER headed west from North Carolina to Las Vegas to check out the 2009 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW. All of us had set up press credentials for the CES and the other events happening in Las Vegas during CES week. Brett arrived a couple days before the first “official” day of the huge trade show to preview the exhibit floor with other members of the press corps.

Brett also wanted to attend the SOCIAL MEDIA JUNGLE, organized by JEFF PULVER, that was going on early, to network and check out the new media mavens that were already there.

JEFF PULVER	ROBERT SCOBLE	CHRIS BROGAN

Joe and Michael traveled down, by car, to Vegas on Thursday to join in all the madness already going on in town. It was the fourth trip for Joe to Sin City since the summer. Joe and Michael checked into their hotel and joined forces with Brett at the end of the day and dove right in to the party scene Thursday night. We’ll have a separate CES PARTY POST online within the next couple of days.

On Friday, the boys hit the sprawling LVCC exhibit floors, each with separate, albeit overlapping agendas. Joe and Michael needed press credentials, so they headed up to the CES press office with Brett, where Joe literally bumped into his friend, Las Vegas television news anchorman DAVE COURVOISER and the two decided to check out the exhibit floors together for a few hours while Brett and Michael did their own things.

Of course, everyone wanted to take in as much new technology offerings as time would allow. But Michael again wanted to some video clips for Mevio along with Mac gadget guy SAM LEVIN, who had also traveled down to Vegas from San Francisco to attend CES and meet up with several of his own consulting clients.

MICHAEL BUTLER SHOOTING A CLIP	JOE CONDUCTING A FOLLOW-UP

Brett had certain technologies he wanted to check out and a few meetings scheduled at other convention halls. Then, at the massive LG Electronics booth, Joe and Dave met up with Dave’s good friend, DR. FRANK VIGGIANO, JR., a freelance consultant, television reporter and one of the only professors emeritus in the field of consumer electronics.

Brett joined in for lunch and then all four checked out a private press demo of the buzzed about new PALM PRE smart phone, which had just been unveiled at the show, in a large, catered company suite within the convention center. It was a very cool demonstration of a very cool new phone, that may offer some real competition to Apple’s iPhone when it’s released late in the spring and the device won the coveted “Best of CES” award from the CNET tech television network. Brett, for one, loved this new phone.

CHECK OUT THE CNET VIDEO OF THE PALM PRE BELOW…..

Dave and Frank then proceeded on their own while Joe and Brett also toured around the show a little more before reconnecting with Michael to head back to the hotel and prepare for the evening’s parties.

On Saturday, there were separate agendas. As Brett arrived in Vegas and checked out the CES a couple days earlier than Joe and Michael, he elected to spend most of the day attending WORDCAMP LAS VEGAS to network and pick up tips and tricks for blogging in the Wordpress environment. Brett reported that the event, organized by JOHN HAWKINS was quite well attended and that there were healthy doses of knowledge and information to be consumed. Here are a few photo highlights…..

WORDCAMP CONFERENCE ROOM	ORGANIZER JOHN HAWKINS

MATT MULLENWEG	CHRIS BROGAN

LORELLE VAN FOSSEN	WARREN WHITLOCK

For Joe and Michael, first there was a bit more roaming of the exhibit floors at the LVCC, then a trip over to the Sands Convention Center to check out a few more CES exhibits there. Two of The Sands xhibit halls (behind what is now the Venetian Hotel) are also home to the annual ADULT ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (the name of the trade show says it all) and it’s definitely a little bizarre to see these two trade shows sharing convention center space (espcially since the AEE used to be an official part of the CES until several years ago). After a visit to the AEE press office  and getting hooked up with a couple of press passes, Michael and Joe couldn’t resist turning into two “bad doggs” for a couple of hours in the midst of all the tech and new media stuff to check out product categories of a different nature at this wild trade show. The AEE culminated Saturday night with the annual Adult Entertainment Awards ceremony, which the doggs had passes to attend, but other party commitments for Saturday night took precedent.

Joe Francis (creator and CEO of the Girls Gone Wild franchise) pulled his huge company bus on to the show floor and, later, delivered an address at the event, but Joe and Michael didn’t attend this appearance. Francis recently got the attention of the press when,  along with famed Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, he requested a five billion dollar bailout from the federal government “just to see us through hard times," he said, in a press release. "The $13 billion industry is in no fear of collapse, but why take chances?" Francis was also quoted as saying. His appearance at the AEE was his latest publicity ploy in a campaign to expand the GGW brand to themed restaurants and clubs.

Here are a few more juicy photos from the exhibit floor of the Adult Entertainment Expo….. 

   
  
 
 

Saturday night, after another day filled with miles and miles of walking and gawking, everyone got together for yet more parties (which will be covered in our next blog post).

On Sunday, with everyone starting to show signs of wear, there was still one major event to participate in, that being AFFILIATE SUMMIT WEST conference, which took place at the Rio Hotel Convention Center. Interestingly, this event was the most positive and promising of all the week’s shows. We’ll cover our experiences at this very vibrant conference within the next few days.

Now for some pretty cool photo highlights of CES 2009…..

 
CONVENTION CENTER CENTRAL FOYER DURING THE CES

SAMSUNG BOOTH	SONY BOOTH

STEVE BALLMER DELIVERING CES KEYNOTE ADDDRESS	TOM HANKS AND HOWARD STRINGER AT THE SONY DEMO

HOWARD STRINGER AND REGGIE JACKSON	USHER PERFORMING AT THE SONY DEMO

INTEL CEO CRAIG BARRETT AND ADAM LEVINE AT CES KEYNOTE	CRAIG BARETT AND ADAM DURITZ AT CES KEYNOTE

ALEX TREBECK AND CONTESTANTS	CES CELEBRITY JEOPARDY SHOW

JIMMY FALLON WITH VIDEO RIG	JIMMY FALLON AND VERONICA BELMONT

REVISION 3 TEKZILLA CREW IN NBC BOOTH	JIM LOUDERBACK

PATRICK NORTON OF REVISION 3	CNET CES BROADCAST BOOTH

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTERS ON THE CES EXHIBIT FLOOR	MARK CUBAN AND UFC SUPERSTAR RANDY COUTURE

MICHAEL BUTLER AND JOE IN FRONT OF THE CHEAP TRICK TRUCK	JOE AND A COOL HOT ROD LINCOLN

As usual, it’s not our intent to try and offer comprehensive coverage of this massive industry event. However, there is some great coverage and post-show wrap ups provided by REVISION 3 (in partnership with NBC Universal). Of course, there is lots more CES coverage, including videos, podcasts and photo galleries at CNET, ZDNET, the TECHCRUNCH BLOGS and ENGADGET BLOGS.

It sure was a wild and crazy couple of weeks traveling, not to mention the ten days of nonstop business and madness San Francisco and Vegas—two cities that definitely are not lacking in “action” of any and every kind!

Check back here soon. Coming next, posts about Vegas partying and networking at the AFFILATE SUMMIT WEST conference….