What happened in Vegas

I just got back from Vegas yesterday. It was the third time in six months that I've gone, all for work. Before getting my current job I had never previously been there. I understand the appeal of Sin City but it's just not for me. Other than playing Texas Hold 'Em with friends, I'm not into gambling. The whole "what happens here stays here" mystique has never been particularly compelling for me. And while it'd be cool to check out some of the shows they always have going on, I really have to wonder if it's actually worth the time and expense it takes to go out there.

I went to Vegas for CTIA. These conventions/trade shows are interesting to me. Not just because I'm a gadget freak and they are always full of new toys (in all honesty, between meetings and all the running around I have to do to actually get to meetings, I don't have much time at all to really see them) but because of the people. They are fascinating to observe during these kinds of things. My favorite part is watching what I like to call "badgerism." Different badges are given out to people depending on why you're there. That allows security to know who can go where and when they can go there. But the interesting part is the way people react to them. They essentially turn the entire convention into Animal Farm, with your badge signifying your class. Any time someone pases by you, the first thing they do is look to see what kind of badge you have and quite often, that determines how they treat you.

For some reason, being a market analyst falls under the category of "press" so I get a press badge. Those pretty much allow me to go anywhere at anytime. But the interesting thing is watching people as they look at my badge and then look at me. I can see it in their faces as they try to work out who I am and how I can help them. It's quite fascinating, really.

Another thing about these conventions: they tend to be very male-dominated, so it's always fun to observe the women. Specifically, the hot ones. There are two kinds of hot women at these things. The first are the professional ones. They know what they're doing at these shows. They'll wear blouses that have just a little bit more cleavage than would be appropriate at the office. Or they'll wear the pantsuits where the jacket is just short enough to show off the pants that are just tight enough to accentuate the curves that are in the right places. Women. I love 'em.

Other than the professionals, the other kind of hot women are the professionally hired ones. These are the ladies that vendors hire to "work" at their booths. Apparently, research has shown that tech geeks are more likely to visit a booth if it's being manned by young, beautiful women in tight and/or revealing clothes. Who knew? Ok, I have to admit: the tactic does kind of work. They couldn't get me to visit any booth that I didn't already intend to visit but I did find myself taking certain, longer routes on occasion because I knew that the scenery would be more appealing.

It's funny how these shows turn me back into who I was in college. Between sessions or meetings, I'd have on a backpack (containing my laptop and/or various folders for the meetings) and my ears would be plugged up with my headphones. The difference between college and now is that 1) I'm not quite as snobbish a backpacker as I was then and 2) I'm a lot less self-conscious. Especially since I was around a bunch of strangers whom I would most likely never see again. So sometimes, when I was walking through the convention center, my iPod would find itself playing an uptempo funky joint. At these times, my body couldn't help but react. I mean seriously, there's no way I could listen to "Always Fine Tuning" without a reaction. So I know there were some people thinking, "Who's that Black press guy over there dancing?"