Reaction to Apple's Withdrawal from Macworld, Apple Expo Paris Cancelled

[MacRumors]

Apple's decision to withdraw from Macworld entirely has been generating a massive amount of feedback, both in our forums and the industry in general. Aside from the immediate impact, many are concerned that the withdrawal represents the end of the Macworld conference in general. Indeed, Apple's withdrawal from Apple Expo Paris has resulted in the cancellation of that show going forward.

Veterans of the Macworld show such as MacOSXHints' Rob Griffiths sees it as the end of an era, and feels it represents a loss for the community:

The most-affected group, I think, will be the Mac fans who made the annual trek to the Expo. Speaking as one of those folks—yes, it’s my job to go, but I still have a blast going—I’ll definitely miss the keynote, the One More Things, the cool new products (not just from Apple but the other vendors as well), and that great psychological kick I get from seeing the show every year. But those aren’t the things I’ll miss the most.

Instead, what I’ll really miss is the once-a-year chance to meet with people who I would otherwise never get to meet in the flesh.

Macworld.com's Jason Snell believes the expo could continue and be better off without Apple:

Macworld Expo is the premier showcase for third-party companies who develop products for Apple’s markets. And yet every year, those same companies schlep out to San Francisco to announce their next big products—and find their announcements completely washed away by whatever Steve Jobs announced on Tuesday morning. Completely washed away. Every company I’ve met in advance of Expo, I’ve implored to announce their product before Jobs gets on stage, because after that announcement everything else gets lost.

Analyst response has been mixed with some who believe that this means there will be no major announcements at Macworld, while others feel it is just a natural transition.

Article Link: Reaction to Apple's Withdrawal from Macworld, Apple Expo Paris Cancelled

[PlaceofDis]

expos are so costly to companies its almost holding onto tradition for tradition's sake. while they are nice place to announce products it also puts pressure on them to top last year and everyone else. i dont see how that is a good thing personally.

i see things like WWDC as a better sort of conference, with lessons and more workshops that are helpful to the community. but who knows what will happen with WWDC in the future as well.

[CyberBob859]

Companies may find it expensive, but to consumers, having a place to go every year to meet and network with other Mac fans will be a big blow.

[mmcxiiad]

Originally Posted by PlaceofDis

expos are so costly to companies its almost holding onto tradition for tradition's sake. while they are nice place to announce products it also puts pressure on them to top last year and everyone else. i dont see how that is a good thing personally.

i see things like WWDC as a better sort of conference, with lessons and more workshops that are helpful to the community. but who knows what will happen with WWDC in the future as well.

WWDC is different because it is both profitable for apple and essential to the apple developer community.

[schneb]

Originally Posted by PlaceofDis

expos are so costly to companies its almost holding onto tradition for tradition's sake. while they are nice place to announce products it also puts pressure on them to top last year and everyone else. i dont see how that is a good thing personally.

i see things like WWDC as a better sort of conference, with lessons and more workshops that are helpful to the community. but who knows what will happen with WWDC in the future as well.

I agree with everything you said. I think Apple should just build a state-of-the-art theater at their headquarters and do a live broadcast of new product announcements. The audience could be a combination of employees and guests.

[koobcamuk]

Well, it's all a big waste of money anyway. Just do it all online - much cheaper.

[madrag]

online is a good idea, but the "real" thing in presence is something no online event can beat

[iPOD there4 Iam]

These type of websites are a buzz kill.
How would you like to be an ego maniac (Steve Jobs) and have the honors of going up on stage and saying here is what you already know about?
Seems like a waste of time to me.

[errol]

I just don't understand why Apple is doing this. I'm so angry I could scream. I don't care if Macworld ceases to exist. I don't care if Anderson Cooper gives the macworld keynote, all I care is that the stock is down nearly 7% today. That is a lot of market value for something so silly. Why do companies make such announcements, knowing that their value in stock will fall off a cliff? Make it less harsh. A giant WTF to apple.

[Cameront9]

Originally Posted by errol

I just don't understand why Apple is doing this. I'm so angry I could scream. I don't care if Macworld ceases to exist. I don't care if Anderson Cooper gives the macworld keynote, all I care is that the stock is down nearly 7% today. That is a lot of market value for something so silly. Why do companies make such announcements, knowing that their value in stock will fall off a cliff? Make it less harsh. A giant WTF to apple.

Maybe because Stock is an ephemeral thing?

Sheesh, give it time and it will go up again. This is just people panicking, JUST LIKE after Macworld!

[Dmac77]

It's obvious. Apple pulled out of MWSF, because it's called Mac World, not iPhone World.

Don

[lftrghtparadigm]

Great decisions by Apple all around. This is what you call RESPONSIBILITY

This is what companies are supposed to do, before they've wasted all their money on archaic traditions and crap. No one needs an expo. They are "fun" for dorks, expensive for businesses. No money to be made. Its a waste of time.

Congrats to Apple for making a great decision and setting an example at a time when other businesses need an example set for how NOT to fail.

[BRLawyer]

Originally Posted by errol

I just don't understand why Apple is doing this. I'm so angry I could scream. I don't care if Macworld ceases to exist. I don't care if Anderson Cooper gives the macworld keynote, all I care is that the stock is down nearly 7% today. That is a lot of market value for something so silly. Why do companies make such announcements, knowing that their value in stock will fall off a cliff? Make it less harsh. A giant WTF to apple.

The stock will come back up again, worry not...as for announcing it, this is just an absolutely normal fiduciary duty of any publicly-listed company, also known as transparency.

[cyberakuma]

Originally Posted by errol

I just don't understand why Apple is doing this. I'm so angry I could scream. I don't care if Macworld ceases to exist. I don't care if Anderson Cooper gives the macworld keynote, all I care is that the stock is down nearly 7% today. That is a lot of market value for something so silly. Why do companies make such announcements, knowing that their value in stock will fall off a cliff? Make it less harsh. A giant WTF to apple.

As someone who just picked up some Apple stock, I feel I can forgive press announcements causing a temporary dip in price.

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by errol

.....all I care is that the stock is down nearly 7% today. That is a lot of market value for something so silly. Why do companies make such announcements, knowing that their value in stock will fall off a cliff?......

I thought about it exactly the opposite way: I thought "Cool the stock is down 7%" You have to remember that for every seller there is a buyer. I'm a buyer.

I'm kind of thinking this housing down turn a good thing too. I've got money I want to put into real estate.

[Wie Gehts]

Some of us will fondly remember the days when Apple was a computer company.

[rick3000]

Originally Posted by Wie Gehts

Some of us will fondly remember the days when Apple was a computer company.

Like when it was Apple Computer Inc. not Apple Inc.

[SFStateStudent]

The thing I like about MWSF is the opportunity to do "the hands-on" thing with everything Mac and the other vendor's wares. I enjoy picking up new software, a new portable hard drive, a new laptrap or a new case for my iPhone. Oh well, I'll enjoy Apple's last MWSF '09...

[Gasu E.]

From the standpoint of an overall Marketing budget, trade shows are ineffective, and I can understand where Apple is coming from. On the other hand, Apple was sustained for years by a core group of fan-evangelists, without which the company would have gone out of business, and the recent Mac mini-renaissance would have been impossible. Now, undoubtedly puffed by the iPod and iPhone, Apple seems to be ignoring the traditional fan-evangelists and going straight for the larger market. The end of MacWorld and the minimization of FireWire both reflect that; both moves are of little significance to the larger market, but are major losses, respectively, to obsessive users and creative types, two legs of the fan-evangelist base.

[sishaw]

Originally Posted by Gasu E.

From the standpoint of an overall Marketing budget, trade shows are ineffective, and I can understand where Apple is coming from. On the other hand, Apple was sustained for years by a core group of fan-evangelists, without which the company would have gone out of business, and the recent Mac mini-renaissance would have been impossible. Now, undoubtedly puffed by the iPod and iPhone, Apple seems to be ignoring the traditional fan-evangelists and going straight for the larger market. The end of MacWorld and the minimization of FireWire both reflect that; both moves are of little significance to the larger market, but are major losses, respectively, to obsessive users and creative types, two legs of the fan-evangelist base.

A couple of thoughts on fan evangelism:

1. As Apple becomes a mainstream company, fan evangelism is simply less important. If 10 million people have an iPhone, does Apple really need poorly-groomed nerds ranting about how much Microsoft s*cks (hey, I was one, I'm allowed to say that). Like me, Apple is growing up.

2. The fan evangelists stopped buying Apple products a couple of months before each event, in anticipation of the next great thing. I suspect Apple wants to have more normal product cycles.

[DMann]

Originally Posted by sishaw

The fan evangelists stopped buying Apple products a couple of months before each event, in anticipation of the next great thing. I suspect Apple wants to have more normal product cycles.

The fan evangelists and informed consumers alike, mostly waited until week 2 of January before buying. Apple could have held out introducing the new Macbooks until January 5th, but this would have hurt holiday sales. The writing has been on the wall for Macworld, and they seem to have majorly pissed off Steve for him to bail at the last minute.

[morespce54]

Originally Posted by iPOD there4 Iam

These type of websites are a buzz kill.
How would you like to be an ego maniac (Steve Jobs) and have the honors of going up on stage and saying here is what you already know about?
Seems like a waste of time to me.

Okay but how would you like to be an ego maniac (Steve Jobs) and have the honors of going up on stage and saying "here is what you don't already know about" in front of... nobody?

These type of websites brings some hype to the brand and future products!

[crees!]

I'd expect an event at Apple HQ a couple months or so after Macworld unveiling a new product.

@Lesser Evets
Look out for the SEC knocking on your door soon!

[Rot'nApple]

Apple Paris canceled - good, because Apple France has been a thorn to the "core", pardon my pun, to Apple's doing business within that country!

[mlmorg]

i tend to agree with the idea that now apple will have more control over when they want to come out with new products and not be tied to a specific date every year.

But, at the same time, I don't agree that this means apple will come out with products after they've been thoroughly tested...I mean look at the new macbooks and macbook pros for example. Many have argued that those weren't tested enough - plus the 17 incher wasn't even ready (and still isn't) - yet they decided to have a presentation anyway...

I love my new mbp but there definitely are some annoyances (the battery cover) though most of them are software related (trackpad, et al) - plus these are things that you thought would have been noticed before they decided to ship them, no?

But maybe they decided to have the presentation at that point because of the impending Macworld and didn't want to be releasing a whole slew of things then...but that's a whole other story...