October 2007
From the publisher: What business are you really in?

By Donna Sanford

It’s been several years since I’ve been able to pontificate in this space, but with Editor Danica Tormohlen out on maternity leave (her return on November 12 cannot come soon enough!), I gleefully sit at the keyboard, ready to regale you with my wit and wisdom. But, hmmm, what to write about? Should I discuss the graying of our industry — or the greening of it? I could comment on what I see as the dwindling number of entrepreneurs in our midst, or analyze the latest numbers from the private equity players. Then again, I’ve got a lot to say about exhibitors and site selection.

Oh, what the heck, let’s talk about my kids!

Nia is 11 now and struggling through sixth grade homework. (Did you know schools actually teach algebra in sixth grade? I didn’t attend algebra classes until high school.)

Other than school, much of Nia’s social life happens online. Don’t write me a letter — she takes plenty of bicycle rides and plays volleyball, and we do a lot together as a family. But whenever she gets the chance, she’s on the Internet. And her current obsession is Webkinz. (Her younger sister, 7-year-old Kira, is just as Web-savvy and Webkinz-connected as she is.)

For the uninitiated, Webkinz are small plush animals that “live” online. When you buy the toy, it comes with a code that you enter on the Webkinz Web site. Your animal gets a home, and you earn “cash” by playing online games to purchase furniture, food, clothes, toys and more. Not surprisingly, you have to feed and care for your Webkinz nearly every day, making the site all the rage among the ’tween set. The site logged 1.9 million unique visitors last December, and according to Business 2.0 magazine, more than 2 million Webkinz have been sold, at $12 to $15 each.

After weeks of begging for her first Webkinz, I sat with Nia as she logged on to Webkinz World for the first time, wanting to see for myself what was what. I directed her to the “about” pages so we could start an exploratory journey through the Web site, but she would have none of that. “Mom, I don’t want to read about it, I just want to do it.” So in she jumped. Did she get frustrated because she didn’t know what was happening or how to do anything? You bet. Did it deter her? Nope. Did she figure it out? Absolutely — in just one session.

Nia is our future. And her Webkinz attachment is our lesson. She likes Webkinz because she interacts with it and controls it. It’s not a Web site she just reads. She names and determines the sex of her animal. She decides what its house will look like and how it will dress. She chooses how she will earn her money. It’s her own personal portal into the world of pet ownership — Web 2.0 at its most basic.

Are you ready to let your attendees and exhibitors build your Web site into what works best for them? Web 2.0 is upon us, which means information flows many ways, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You may have started in the exposition business, but now you’re in the information business. Just like toymaker Ganz is in the Internet gaming business.

P.S. Danica had a baby girl — Maile Anne Tormohlen, 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and 18 inches long — on August 20