I've written before about the "bigger is better" syndrome when it comes to meetings. Now this article about the CES show reinforces my feeling that sometimes, bigger just gets in the way of better, especially when it comes to trade shows. A snip:

The convention, one of high-tech’s most important annual gatherings, has never been bigger. Roughly 140,000 attendees will trudge through 1.85 million square feet of exhibition space.

But despite its size, or perhaps because of it, the annual conference has become a challenging and sometimes ineffectual place to introduce new products...

...Technology companies now frequently introduce their products elsewhere, in an effort to reach consumers more directly. The Apple iPhone, the Nintendo Wii and other recent must-haves were not unveiled at C.E.S. One of the industry’s biggest hits in 2007 was the Flip Video camcorder, an easy-to-use pocket-size device that sells for $120.

Executives from Pure Digital Technologies, its maker, visited Las Vegas last year during the show but kept to their hotel suite at the Wynn, quietly briefing retailers on the device.

Some of the problem with CES is that it is all about technology, and technology is everywhere. Its market just got too diffuse. But I also think sheer size factors in.