I was going to pore over my notes tonight and give some details about some of the sessions at the Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum, but Scott Briscoe from ASAE and The Center actually was posting about it live from the show, so for now, check out these posts on Acronym:
The Complexity of Designing Simple Experiences (I absolutely loved this session. While McManus, president & CEO of MAYA Design, didn't break a lot of new ground, he made the case for designing from a user's point of view sound like an imperative. Which, of course, it should be)
Trials and Tribulations of International Attendees
What Your Exhibitors Say about You
Data Gives Picture of the Experience
On a personal note, ECEF gets two big thumbs up from me, and I look forward to becoming a regular attendee. Organizer Sam Lippman, president of Integrated Show Management & Marketing, put together some great content, and gathered some of the best and brightest in the trade show world as attendees. And it doesn't hurt that the lunch the chef from Centerplate (which does the catering and food service for the Washington Convention Center) put together was not only organic and planet-friendly, it was by far the best meal I've ever had in a convention center.
If only intense storms to the north hadn't delayed my plane for hours so I didn't end up getting home until 2 a.m. ... but that's another story.