To come to Macworld, you don’t need any special titles or secret handshakes. It’s a consumer event, and it’s open to anyone who registers.

I talked with Michael Lowdermilk, business development manager for , and he said what makes a show like Macworld so great is the opportunity to interact with customers (and, of course, potential customers). Being able to show products to people directly and answer questions (as well as address complaints) is the kind of the thing you can only do in this type of environment.

Many exhibitors at Macworld sell a lot of stuff during the event (often helped by show specials, which many attendees specifically come searching for). As an example, —a company I also met with at CES—told me it was very pleased with its sales at Macworld after the first day of this week’s show.