I’ve had a chance to settle back down into a relatively normal office schedule now that the show is over so I’ve dedicated some time every other day to bring regular postings here.

We sent out an online survey this past week to every attendee. It’s fascinating to read the reviews of the show. The beauty of RSS keyword alerts via Google News and Google Blogs is seeing all the posts and articles that get written (and spoken by podcasters via Podscope). I try not to take it personally when the Expo gets slammed, but I’m human and sometimes it’s hard not to get miffed. Others make me feel warm and fuzzy. Here are some excerpts…

“The Expo has literally changed my life - I’ve come home ready to tackle my own podcast with enthusiasm I haven’t felt for something in a very long time…”

The next review…

“This Expo was the worst convention I’ve ever been to - you won’t be in business 5 years from now…” - this one came in via email. It takes everything in me to not reply with an angry “…well then do us both a favor and stay home next year!”

The hardest comments to read, for me, are ones that have good intentions but come from folks who have no idea how tradeshows are put together and run. “The exhibit hall was too noisy - please, please consider moving it into a smaller room.” Things that I have no control over are also tough to read…”As long as you are charging $8.00 for a hamburger at the concession stand, I won’t be back…” as if I personally make a couple bucks off every burger and dog sold by the convention center (hmmm…..maybe I need to look into that).

Typically it seems like unhappy folks tend to be the most vocal, but it’s rare that I can’t find some little nugget within their wrath that I can use to improve the Expo for next year. And when I find myself dwelling on the bad comments, I have to remind myself that we get vastly more comments from folks that had a great experience at the show. And as Emile reminds me, as long as they are talking about the show, it’s better than silence in the blogosphere.

Frank Barnako of MarketWatch has 7 Ways to Improve the Expo. Some I agree with, others I definitely don’t. “Ontario is a lazy choice”??? You’re killing me, Frank.

All I can do is join the conversation and make my point - which is exactly what I did in the comments.