THIS is why I love tech trade shows

And, no, it has nothing to do with tech

Well, this is embarrassing. I completely forgot to write my Substack newsletter yesterday, hence today’s rather late delivery.

Apologies. Although I have a great reason for it: I was in Berlin yesterday morning, slightly hungover and needing lots of coffee. The last thing I wanted to look at was my laptop.

That’s not a ‘great’ reason, is it?

Again: apologies.

I’m here for IFA, which is Europe’s answer to CES - a colossal (although not as colossal as CES) tech trade show to which the entire contents of the tech YouTube creator list flies each year to get drunk, eat schnitzel, and wander bleary-eyed around the Messe convention centre. In that order.

However, there’s just one reason why I love coming to these shindigs, and it has nothing to do with technology.

Last night, I ditched my laptop, camera, and collection of trade show paraphernalia in my hotel room, hopped onto a Lime scooter and headed to Das Haus der 100 Biere on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. Having spent most of the day with a rather heavy, confused brain following a very late night, I was looking forward to getting away from the craziness of the tech industry.

It might, therefore, seem slightly ironic that my destination was a table in the aforementioned bar which contained four other tech YouTubers (you can see them all below - I’ll play pub quiz master and ask you to name them all in the comments section). However, having done this on numerous occasions during similar tips, I knew that it was just the tonic I needed.

If you’re wondering, yes, we do spend most of our time at gatherings like that talking about the process of content creation, and our dealings with brands and sponsors. We also geek out over each other’s production processes and share all of the wins, losses, and unintentionally funny stuff we get up to during our day jobs. It might not sound like it, but this process is such a laugh, so insightful, and brilliantly restorative.

There’s a simple reason for this: we all know what it’s like to run creator businesses. We’ve all battled with imposter syndrome, we’ve all said “yes” to things we should have declined, and we’ve all worried endlessly about stats, revenue, and the future.

Everyone on that table has a supportive family behind them. We all confide in our nearest and dearest when things get tough, and share the wonderful moments that make those tougher times worth it. But as supportive as those people are, and as much as we all love them dearly, they don’t really know what it’s like - just like I have no idea what it’s like to study intently for three years to become an acupuncturist, as my girlfriend is doing right now.

This is why tech events like CES and IFA are a must-visit for every creator. You just can’t - and shouldn’t - do it alone. The more friends you make in this space, the more successful and - more importantly - happier you’ll be.

We’ve got a WhatsApp group with 22 members, and while they couldn’t all be in Berlin this week, I dearly hope I get to meet them all in person one day. I’ve learned more from my creator mates than I have from anything else in this industry, and if I had the choice of spending another day in the convention centre or the same amount of time with the guys you see above, I’d pick the latter every time.