Speaking of Trade Shows

There's been an interesting conversation about trade shows bouncing between this blog and John Blyler's. One thing that hasn't been discussed, however, is the competition between industry groups and events. The competition between CES and COMDEX eventually killed the latter. And DesignCon and DAC have been working at opposite ends as well. But last week the Fabless Semiconductor Association announced a name and purpose change. They are calling themselves the Global Semiconductor Alliance now, claiming worldwide membership of semiconductor, EDA, manufacturing and SIP companies. The FSA events are far flashier and exclusive than the semiconductor and EDA events, much less academic and relatively profitable for the organization. However, their exhibitions have been less than stellar and that's where the real money is. I'm wondering if they are making a play for the exhibition business from the smaller organizations.