Tired of traveling around the country for yet another trade show? Then you might be interested in InterAct'96, the world's first virtual trade show and conference which was introduced on the Internet on Apr. 23-25. Located at http://www.interact96.com, the event drew a crowd of over 50,000--and that's actual registered visitors, not just hits on the Web site.
Sponsored by InfoWorld and Time magazines and Stratus Computers of Marlboro, MA, the show provided visitors with a fast, convenient--and free--way to check out some of the latest news and technology through virtual exhibits, conference rooms and online chat sessions. Participants logged on from as far away as Munich, Germany, as well as from all parts of the United States.
At the conference, participants could download text, video and sound clips, as well as participate in discussions about topics including Web site building, virtual reality markup language (VRML), cyberspace and, of course, the ubiquitous Java technology. At the trade show, visitors with the necessary software (downloaded from the Interact'96 site) could visit a virtual exhibit area which included three-dimensional booths, multimedia theaters and interactive product demonstrations. Visitors could see and talk with computer-generated figures that represented other attendees and exhibitor personnel. And if visitors became tired of "walking" through the trade show area, they could even "fly" over the aisles if they wanted to.
David Bernstein, a San Francisco Bay Area consultant, helped lead a chat group on electronic commerce on Apr. 25. He reports that although the technology was still a bit "creaky" (the password system developed problems, for example), the experience was valuable. "This could easily serve as a model for future shows," Bernstein says. "The Internet is ideal for this sort of thing, and it's a great way to get tons of information easily."