I’ve been NABbed! A superficial look at NAB 2007

And so here I was, flying on my own to Las Vegas. Please understand that I am a HUGE CSI Las Vegas fan. I mean – like a mega mega fan. I’ve watched every episode there was, and then watched them again and then some more. The thing is, each episode of CSI begins with an overshot of the Las Vegas strip, and if you don’t pay too much attention to the fact that the CSI series is all about gory killings and murders, they actually make Las Vegas look like a great place. And then of course, there are those crazy stories you’ll hear from people who will tell you how wild and fun the casinos are…

To see the irony it is to have me, as in Rabia Garib, travel to Las Vegas, the casino capital of the world, you have to only see me once. The fact that the National Association of Broadcasters organizes the world’s largest electronics show there, was purely a coincidence. Believe me! Even my program officer, Jan, was relieved that I wouldn’t gamble my life down the tubes there when we met for the first time. I mean, look at me!

The conference was unbelievable. The conference had everything I could possibly dream of, and then some more. They had about 8 different, concurrent sessions that had everything to do with the integration of traditional media with new media. So whether it was television, radio or print, they had experts from around the US who flew in to teach you the cutting edge trends in expanding the horizons a little bit more. And these workshops and seminars catered to large audiences but addressed the nitty gritty of everything. We were introduced to the workings of either different software, animation or just techniques that made it all worthwhile. I was enrolled in an intense Pod Casting Summit, for example, where we discussed not only how to create Pod Casts but also how to effectively market them and promote them. Heck, these are the inside secrets nobody in the business ever tells you!

I’m not a programmer and am quite hopeless at exerting patience to understand what tags and lines of code mean, but I learned how to create and read an RSS Feed. So according to David Lawrence, since I attended his sessions, I can successfully be called an RSS Wrangler. Wow! I’m a Wrangler! Ha ha!

The organization was superb; the setup was out of this world, it was a self-check in system where you plugged in your confirmation number on one of maybe 30 terminals and boom, you get your registration cards, badges and the works. But shocked the pants off me was the number of publications that are produced and made available to everyone who visits NAB. I know I freaked out and picked up about 18 different magazines that appealed to me. Sure this was stupid and all considering the fact that on average, a magazine weighs about a couple of pounds and then to have 18!! But personally, its all worth it. The halls that had the actual exhibition in, opened on Monday and took the breath out of me. Hundreds upon hundreds of companies who were there to showcase their products and services and network and get to know their customers.

Studios and production facilities were storming the place just to find the right equipment, do their demos and start getting into business.

A phenomenal experience!