Eric and I went to Wired’s NextFest last weekend in New York City. Here are some impressions:

While there were indeed some very cool and exciting glimpses of future technology, many of the exhibits at the show could be described as: “oh, that’s kind of cool” vs. the anticipated: “Wow – that’s incredible.” Oh well. It felt more like a trip Epcot center than a “glimpse of the future.”

Brand Presence:

GM: There was a major corporate, eco-friendly PR presence throughout the show. Most noticably, General Motors maintained about 50 square feet in the middle of the Javitts Center with some of their new hybrid-like vehicles. The sprawling presence gave one the impression that GM spent more money on the PR campaign and exhibit space than any actual hybrid research (don’t they make the Hummer, H2, and H3)?

GE: The GE exhibit was actually very exciting and it included a variety of intriguing new advancements: desalinated water, hybrid trains, off-shore wind power generation, and a new form of MRI/medical imaging. Well done.

RIM Blackberry: I got a chance to try out the Blackberry Pearl and I’m happy I did because it was not easy to use at all. Sure it’s as thin as a nano-pod but the “pearl” trackpad that replaced the trackwheel is horrendous. More importantly, both blackberry kiosk attendants had memorized about 3 facts about the pearl and had probably never seen it before. It was almost embarassing.

Stay tuned for Marketing.FM’s coverage of DigitalLife, 10/14-10/16.

[tags] nextfest, wired, gm, ge, marketing.fm, marketing bogs, blackberry, pearl, epcot center [/tags]