Thursday, August 18, 2016

Is the Future of Conventions ONLINE?

There are now a staggering number of comic, anime and various, specific pop culture conventions across the GLOBE on a weekly basis. I'd say New Jersey has at least 10 to speak of! Now, one company is raising some important questions... Do fans really want to stand in sweaty spaces with strangers, waiting in long lines for hours to get their favorite celeb's autograph? Is it important to see new collectibles in person? Is it worth it to get a hotel room, fight for a ticket and travel to conventions just to see preview footage from new films that will be leaked online within minutes?

What if you could "attend" a major comic con once or twice a month, scouring through boxes of back issues, visiting with comic idols and checking out the latest creations from top toy companies...and you wouldn't have to put your pants on??!! Is this pantless world heaven? Nope..It's Tradeshow.net.

From Tradeshow's vendor greeting:

***Attention Artists and Vendors***
Very rarely has our Con community gone through big changes but that's all about to change. The time for change has come and it is happening now.
It is with great pleasure and pride that I share the future of Comic Cons and shows alike. No longer will you have to worry about setup, travel, hotel, food, insurance, and leaving family. In fact.you can have a presence in any comic con around the world and have a booth online. The possibilities are endless with virtual shows.
Log online and chat with fans or customers from your mobile device and double your sales. It's that easy!
By opening it up online to millions of people around the world, you will have access to customers from all over. This also eliminates the concern of not getting a ticket for a show. You are in as soon as you long on.
Even better, all our artists and vendors for ACCC get the first invite! These shows will be multiples of 6 in a year and 1 every month with unique shows being added soon in 2017.
The faster you secure your spot the closer to the middle of the floor you will be placed.
The Future is here and the future begins...now!
I am happy to announce Amaze Con with Stan Lee and United Comic Con.
Each show has different affordable pricing. You can purchase your booths now. Please email us and we will send you an invoice-

You've been asking yourself how Stan Lee will be able to interact with fans after his exit from convention life? Now you know! A run through the promo video for Tradeshow.net suggests Stan Lee is just the all important tip of the iceberg. Let's take a run through (sans Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody urging you on in the video...as this is all surely better than fantasy)...

Here's the show floor of a modern, virtual MEGA CON...



...you are those little dots, presumably...


Hop into a "booth" and browse



Chat with your fellow con-goers...



Chat with your buddy Stan!



A vendor buddy tells us the world of virtual comic cons will kick off with AmazeCon (with Stan Lee) 6 times a year and United Comicon 12 times a year. This hasn't been verified, but we are told placement is KEY in this arrangement, as those who buy first and buy big are closest to the center with more options for listings. To give a visitor the feel of wandering a convention floor, searching is limited, encouraging people to wander into booths and "look around". This whole operation is brought to you by Solomon Engel - CEO of Box.es, and Apple De La Fuente - CEO of Alamo City Comicon (and presumably someone in Stan Lee's camp). 

Interested in grabbing space at a virtual con, cutting all the costs and agony of hauling all your wares into a space for the weekend and then standing around 10 hours a day while you say "No, I'm sorry, I won''t take 12 dollars for this 50 dollar item"? Here's what the payment set up looks like...



SO...Let's discuss. Pros:
No smelly people
No violent people
No screaming people
No people cutting lines
No lines
No putting on pants
No travel
No wasting your cash on food and ATM fees and being talked into purchases you never thought you wanted in the first place

Cons:
No human interaction
No excitement
No anticipation
No tactile experience that goes along with hunting for the comics and collectibles on your list
No seeing things in person
No silly photos with Cosplayers
No silly photos with anyone
No meeting your favorite celebs in person
No sitting in a panel hall with a thousand people yelling excitedly about something you love
No discovering new things you may have never have come across on your own, on the internet
No real memories, as you didn't really experiences anything

For me, a big part of the convention experience IS the madness....the weird people in line, the feel of an old comic in your hands, the joy of discovering something new you never thought you might love, scoring that loose action figure you've been hunting for years at the bottom of a bin for 3 bucks. Yes, you sweat and you go home exhausted but that's what solid memories are made of. Effort. In a world where most people are glued to their phone screen for the greater part of a day, assuring your chances of befriending an awesome stranger have been chopped down to 10%, do we really need more reasons to sit at home and avoid the real world? When you take away the battle for tickets and lines and hunting and human interaction, you know what you are left with? The internet. ...and we've got that already, populated with artist websites and celeb blogs and countless estores where you can buy everything imaginable and have it shipped right to your home. Now... make it so we can actually FIND the awesome things among the millions of Google results and you'll blow my mind. Ka-boom. Just into comments and let me know what you think!

No comments :

Post a Comment