Day three of SES (Search Engine Strategies) New York starts in a few hours. This post represents a bit of reflection on what SES means in terms of trade show evolution and Internet evolution.

SES started in 1999 with one track of seminars and a handful of exhibitors. Nobody involved at our company had any idea and neither did Danny Sullivan (the one and only search engine god) that SES would evolve into the most exciting trade show in America (perhaps the world) today. But then again nobody (in 1999) knew that search was going to be the killer application of the Internet.

The evolution of search and paid search is miraculous in the annals of advertising business history. Paid search is becoming one of the largest parts of paid ad placement across all media. And this is what is driving the growth at our SES shows. Marketers cannot get enough information in this field. It is a dynamic one that continues to evolve.

And this brings me to trade show history. I have learned a few things in 30 years in the business. One of these items is that in order for a trade show to grow, the topic it covers must be dynamic. That is, it must continue to morph -- almost to be confusing. The more confusing it is the better and bigger the trade show gets (both in terms of paid seminar attendees and exhibitors).

I have been fortunate in the past few years to have attached myself to a show called Internet World (1993-1998) and now Search Engine Strategies (1999-?). Internet World is what I would call a horizontal show --- it covered everything to do with the Internet.

But now vertical shows are "in vogue." And nothing is more stylish than Search.

We are about to see the morphing of the Yellow Pages into local search and the rapid development of niche search sites for a variety of topics and industries.

Just a few thoughts late at night after the first two days of SES.