Too much of a good thing? Nah.

In our household of three, we have four computers, four iPods (of various ages and stages), an iPhone, a Droid, a Nook, and an old-school flip phone (which my husband refuses to get rid of). We Skype. We text. We email and Facebook and Tweet. My two year old daughter is a whiz with the iPod Touch. At any given moment, something is whirring, chirping, beeping, and/or ringing. I am a huge fan of technology. It allows us to work from pretty much anywhere at any hour of the day, and connects us to friends and family in far-flung corners of the world. Probably not surprisingly, I find it very hard to unplug; only rarely do I want to chuck all of our techie toys into the bin and run away into the hills, a la Maria von Trapp in the Sound of Music.

And yet, even with all of the technology we have at our fingertips, I honestly and truly lust after the iPad. I was reading a magazine last night, and lo and behold, there was an ad for the iPad 2 on the back cover. "Look," I urged my husband, who was reading a case study. "Look at this new iPad. It comes in all of these colors! Have you seen the commercials? I really, really want one." My husband yawned and said, "What on earth do you want one of those for?" When I said I wanted to use it for travel, so that I didn't have to lug my hefty laptop all over the place, he laughed. "Not company issue," he pointed out (oh-so-unhelpfully, yet as a point of fact, a truthful statement). Logging as many miles as I do on the road, I feel quite sure that I'd find plenty of use for an iPad. Everywhere I look, droves of business travelers are using iPads in airport lounges, and I would be willing to bet some good money that they aren't all just playing Angry Birds. I suppose I could just get a Netbook and be done with it, but the multitasking aspect of a tablet is immensely appealing. (Plus, I'm just kind of a techie dork that way.)

Still, I'm loathe to shell out upwards of $500 myself, and so I am wishing and hoping that I WIN an iPad. Yes, my friends, conference season is upon us, and not only does that mean that it's time to clear out the cobwebs and retrain our brains to think in new and different ways, but many, many brilliant vendors are using iPads as door prizes on the trade show floor. Just last week, I was at the AIM Conference in beautiful Huntington Beach, California, and multiple companies (including the conference organizers) were giving away iPads. Sadly, I went home empty-handed, but the NAA Education Conference is right around the corner. Hooray for more networking, learning, and the prospect of coming home with a fantastically useful new gadget!

If you happen to end up with an extra iPad on your hands during this busy conference season, I happen to know someone who would just love one. And for what it's worth, I have a sneaking suspicion that her husband would probably like it, too.

Comments

  1. I really hope you win one Sara. I have been contemplating getting one myself but have a hard time buying anything for "me". Having kids I guess makes you a little gunshy on spending sometimes. I am curious on your opinion regarding the value door prizes bring to the vendor. I know it is a great traffic booster but if most of that traffic does not come from the right people is it really a wise approach? I am truly curious because this topic comes up for us every time we plan for an event.

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  2. So funny you have that "I want to win one" mentality as well. It's why I threw my name into every drawing at AIM in that HOPES that I would walk away with one. It was not to be for me either but I'll keep my eyes peeled for any other giveaways out there. Good luck at NAA.

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  3. So sorry for the delay in responding...travel and a cranky Blogger platform have held me up.

    @Jonathan, I definitely see your point on the value that the giveaways have for vendors - my personal philosophy is to not visit vendors' booths at a tradeshow unless I know I have an interest in their product. Quite honestly, I don't want to waste your time or mine.

    @Bill, I'll keep you posted. Who knows, maybe I'll get REALLY lucky and win $10K, like one of my coworkers did last year! If that's the case, I think I'll just go and buy an iPad. :)

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  4. Sara I hope you will come see me to say at NAA! Just to see you and have a face to face hello you know means the world to me :)

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