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No Steve Jobs Keynote, But The Show Must Go On!

Apple has officially announed that CEO Steve Jobs will not be giving the opening keynote at the upcoming Macworld expo in January, as well as this being their last year at the expo in general.

Despite some recent comments regarding Jobs’ appearance at Macworld, it has been confirmed that he will not be giving his traditional keynote at Macworld 2009.

While this news is incredibly momentous, it should come as no surprise. CEO Steve Jobs has given his heart and soul to the company, and as he gets older, retirement, time with his family and life outside of Apple are surely growing incredibly important to him. As far as shareholders, the long-term effect this will have on Apple as a whole remains to be seen.

Steve Jobs giving Macworld’s annual keynote has become a staple of Apple’s culture over the years. Various companies have relied on the expo to expose the masses to their products. But as the economy quickly deteriorated over the last 12 months or so, companies began pulling out of Macworld expo, and downgrading their exhibitors booths. Worried speculation began to appear that Jobs wouldn’t deliver the keynote, or that maybe the expo would be a big disappointment in 2009. Unfortunately, much of the worried analysis has been correct and Jobs will in fact be forgoing his keynote speech.

Apple Announces Its Last Year at Macworld

Apple’s Press Release: CUPERTINO, California—December 16, 2008—Apple® today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

This year will be Apple’s last year at Macworld, if you were not previously planning on attending the event, perhaps giving it a little more thought will encourage your final decision. As many people will surely have a hard time stomaching this news, it’s important to remember that the show must go on.