A Quick Chat with Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA

I’m sure that some of you have been reading your regular gadget/tech blogs and noticed a lot of coverage about CES. So what is CES? The Consumer Electronics Show is the biggest electronics trade show in the United States, and it officially begins this Thursday in Las Vegas.

It is at CES when consumer electronics companies generally roll out their newest products for the public to see. Attendees of CES can get a hands-on demo of the latest consumer electronics before they are released. If you are a gadget blogger like me, it is like tacking on a second Christmas two weeks after the real one.

I’m sure there are some of you readers who are very technically inclined and probably saying duh after reading the first two paragraphs, but even some of you hardcore tech guys (again, like me) don’t know why the show takes place or how it got started.

During CES Unveiled, I had a chance to sit down and ask Gary Shapiro these questions. Shapiro is the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. For those who don’t know, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) sponsors CES, and they are a non-profit organization whose vision is to grow the consumer electronics industry. CES Unveiled is a little sneak preview show before the show two days before CES officially begins. You can read my next article about what I discovered there.

Gary really couldn’t tell me much, because he was saving his material for his keynote on Thursday. He answered my questions about how CEA got started, and what CEA does when CES is not in full swing.

CEA was started by a few radio manufacturers back in 1924. By 1967, there were a few more companies that were radio, television, and phonograph oriented. By 1991, the number of companies/members was at 80, and it is now over 2,200.

These members are allowed to tap into valuable resources like market research, up-to-date educational programs, and technical training. Members pay about $750 per year for this service, plus a chance to give their product maximum exposure at CES.

CES began in 1967, and first began in Chicago. When a bad winter storm hit, it was decided to move it to Las Vegas, where it is now every year. Since I’m attending this year, I will have several articles about CES 2009 on Zmogo, so stay tuned.