Big press events: Do employees care?

I hope so! I’m asking this question as I head to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) first thing in the morning Thursday.

Overall, I think there’s value in attending and getting our company’s story at events like this. It’s no guarantee that external press is going to take that angle (unless you are Google, Apple, or Microsoft). Plus, it’s exciting to see what Intel customers do with the silicon innovation that we make. It builds employee pride to see the end result of years of hard work playing out in the marketplace.

I’ve never been to CES, but I want to try something different than our news team has done before. I’m going to help produce, star in, and edit a quick video tour of Intel’s booth, highlighting what’s new from the employee’s perspective. The main things that I’ll be watching for are:

• Our new foray into technology for TV
• The new touchscreen classmate PC
• New personal-area-network technology called My Wi-Fi for Centrino 2
• The Small Things Challenge

What do you think? Do big trade shows and press events matter to employees?