What qualifies me to talk about this stuff?

Thirty years of technology tinkering and more than a decade of communications experience in corporate, agency and not-for-profit high-technology organizations including the Consumer Electronics Association and their annual tradeshow, the International CES.

I misspent much of my youth foraging for discarded bits of technology in the dumpsters and alleys of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in which I grew up (a practice that would eventually earn me nicknames like “computer redneck” and “techromancer”). 

The phone company dumpster behind my house was a goldmine of dead technology as was the hospital and the local rental properties from which people were often evicted.  In only a few blocks, I could usually find more stuff than I could carry home - so I would tie the power cords to the seat post of my BMX bike and drag the day’s booty home behind me, leaving a trail of sparks, knobs and plastic shards in my wake. 

In college I worked as an automotive electronics technician, preparing two-way radio communication and ignition systems for NASCAR racecars.  After graduating, I became an account executive at TMP Worldwide Advertising and Public Relations where I designed and implemented communications and investor relations campaigns for technology clients.

In 1999, I became a media spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association - the industry trade group serving consumer electronics manufacturers and dealers.   As Staff Director of Communications at CEA, I covered emerging consumer technologies, home networks and automation, distributed audio and video systems, structured wiring and automotive technology. 

I was eventually promoted to Director of Business Analysis at CEA, researching new technologies and assessing their potential impact on consumers and the electronics industry.  Through staff briefings, white papers and podcasts I identified and reported on emerging opportunities for the association and their trade show, CES. 

For seven of my nine years at CEA, I served as the “Hot Products” analyst and spokesman for CES - the world’s largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind.

I live in an 800 square foot house in which I have installed more than 1200 feet of CAT 5 and RG6 wiring.  I still horde and strip “end stage” CE products for use in projects ranging from whole-house AV and automation systems to RC helicopters and robotic lawnmowers.  

My wife (who is a friend from high school) is no more supportive of my “electronics recycling” hobby than my mother was, but fortunately, I now have two dumpster-diving sons who love nothing more than nipping wires and de-soldering components for their own projects.

But enough about me!  Next up, how does NXTcomm fit in to the tech tradeshow landscape and what can we expect from the industry event formerly known as SUPERCOMM?

Matt Swanston