It’s Wednesday and you know what that means at my house — American Idol. Yep, it’s true; I’m addicted. It’s hysterical because before this year, I’d never even watched the show. My friends made fun of me for being out of touch, and it’s true — I didn’t get half of Leno’s late-night jokes. But not this year. Now I plan my Tuesdays and Wednesdays around it. I know more about Big Mike, Casey, Crystal and Lee than I do about my neighbors. I talk about their performances at the grocery store, on the soccer field and with pretty much anyone who’ll listen to me. I thought I was going to hyperventilate the night Mike nearly got voted off. Dinner on show nights is a rushed affair so we don’t miss a minute.

Frankly, I’m sick of it and I can’t wait for the season to end so I can have my life back! And I will never watch it again. I feel like a prisoner chained to my TV. This show alone has more than doubled my usual weekly TV viewing hours.

But at a marketing level, you just have to love the grip this show creates. I feel like if I miss a week, I’ll be lost — out of the loop. You have to admire the way the show lures you in with the early auditions and gets you invested in the process. I even love the way the sponsor, Ford, is melded into the program with a song and a commercial every week. Imagine building your show this way. Getting attendees and exhibitors invested in the process of creating your event.

• Forget last year’s post-show survey. What would attendees add today to your education program? Do you have a mechanism for them to “vote” their issues?

• And imagine if your physical show was just a three-day component of a year-round “season” filled with activities — from webinars and podcasts to online interviews and roundtables. Are we creating events that people feel lost without?

• How can your exhibitors and sponsors be more embedded in your events? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to sell someone the right to have their name and logo on a sign anymore. I want that sponsor to be an integral part of my event — they all have something of value to contribute to my attendees.

I really think that one of the keys to keeping any business fresh and exciting is to watch what’s happening in pop culture. Be an early adopter (which apparently I’m not, considering it took me six years to watch American Idol) and incorporate what the younger generations are watching and doing into your show (mobile and social networking are perfect examples).

So who wants to debate with me about who’s going to win? It’s going to be Crystal or Lee.