But fewer and fewer major brand companies are unveiling new products at the show.  Press events have proven that, with only a handful of new major products being announced on the traditional Sunday press unveilings.

Instead, the show is more about small gadgets and more and more it’s about foreign gadgetiers – especially Asian companies – showing off their wares.  Apple never releases new items at CES, neither does Microsoft, and Amazon chose to go solo with a non-CES press event for thier Kindle Fire unveil as well.

Instead, CES is mainly becoming about televisions, audio equipment, and so on.  In fact, this year marks the last that Microsoft will be at the show at all and no major CEO of any large computer or telecomm company is keynote speaking at CES with the exception of Microsoft’s Ballmer.  Hewlett-Packard did its last CES appearance in 2009 and Dell left soon after.

The show will have about 1,000 less vendors thsi year compared to last and attendance is expected to be slower, down by 8-10,000.

The show’s promoters like to say that it has “no rivals” in the industry, but that may be because there is no longer a call for events like this.  More localized, specialized events like South by Southwest (SXSW) seem to be gaining popularity as CES wanes.

Perhaps it’s the end of an era then.

• Integrate divisions between marketing and PR on campaigns and brand presence
• Harness the power of social media and leverage online relationships for commercial gain
• Enable consumers to move from social network communication to sales
• Understand social commerce as an effective multi-channel strategy
• Monetize content to generate revenue through mobile technology adoption and behavior

It will feature case studies from experts in many industries and businesses including Sears, Blue Shield, Hallmark, L’oreal and others.

The Social Commerce: Driving Results Through the Power of Social Networking conference will be two days packed with fast-moving, info-packed presentations and networking opportunities for C-Level executives, VPs, EVPs, SVPs, directors, and senior executives who focus on marketing in various media and technologies.

In today’s markets, social marketing is inseparable from social communication, which is the new word-of-mouth marketing.  With social commerce permeating everywhere, staying abreast of the latest developments, changes and techniques is imperative.

This is definitely a must-attend event for marketers who want to stay on the cutting edge of the social revolution happening online and in business.

But now there has been a new announcement from the company, namely to say they have taken on a chief financial officer who used to work for Amazon.com. Sources have speculated that this could be because Groupon could be on the verge of going public with its business.

It is too soon to say whether this speculation will turn out to be true. But the chief financial officer they have taken on – Jason Child – has had a good pedigree coming from Amazon, and he would be the ideal man to have on their side.

Groupon recently reportedly refused to accept a huge offer from Google to take over the company. The figure was reported to be $6 billion. Whether that is true or not, it will be interesting to see whether they do indeed choose 2011 to go public. Many have speculated that they will not want to wait for too long before they do; perhaps their refusal of Google’s offer means they are keen to do it sooner rather than later.

The conference features speakers and panel members like Peter Shankman (angel investor), Kris Jones (PepperJam), Dennis Geodegebuure (eBay), and more.  It doesn’t, however, include me, which means it won’t be as great as it could be.

Entrance to the event includes food (breakfast, lunch) and will be a great opportunity for interaction with some of the industry’s leaders in all things online marketing.

The BlueGlass LA conference in Los Angeles, California earlier this year was a huge success and this one promises to be even better.  It will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Registrations through the BlueGlass FL Eventbrite system can use the code “WM15″ to get a 15% discounts on tickets.  These are selling very fast, so move quickly to get in on this excellent event!

The site is sort of an Indian-local version of whatsOnwhen.com, though eventNu is definitely more focused on community.

The site started in July, launching at Proto.in in Pune, India. The eventNu site is still in beta. Users can interact with eventNu through the website and also by following city/area-specific Twitter accounts such as eventNu_pune and eventNu_delhi, amongst others. Alerts to new events in these areas (there are about half a dozen accounts) are sent through those Twitter accounts. There is also a weekly event newsletter that users can subscribe to which highlights the latest events listed.

Event managers can even list their events and take pre-registrations (RSVPs) for those events to get a good idea of the attendance level for logistic purposes. Events through eventNu cannot have tickets pre-sold through the site, which has to happen elsewhere, but the free RSVP feature is a good tool for the smaller event organizer–especially for outdoor or other events that don’t really have a seating or attendance limit.

The site is definitely something cool and very useful. Hopefully this trend catches on and similar sites will pop up in the U.S. as well. That’s a big hint to you netrepreneurs out there.

The event will be broadcast worldwide through the MashCast website, choreographed by Rich & Tone Productions, and will feature comedian Jon Lovitz and a crowd of helpful silly walkers.

The event is both for charity and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Monty Python.  The silly walks will be from one of Python’s most-loved sketches, The Ministry of Silly Walks.  The money raised is hoped to be enough to provide a million meals for families in the U.S.

MashCast is an online video streaming and collaborative social network and its CEO, Scott Page, says the event will ìinstantly call people to action with technologies like IM, texting, and especially Twitter, we will be able to reach millions of people all over the world…î

A further link comes from MashCast’s early beta client: Monty Python (pythononline.com).  The troupe uses the collaborative nature of MashCast to create custom content for their website.

SillyWalks for Hunger will take place on the  Universal CityWalk, centered on the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club, but will range the street as participants.. well, walk funny.  All in the name of charity and all broadcast live, online.

Listhings.com is extremely simple. In fact, if you go there now, you’ll be presented with a blank page with a yellow sticky in the center prompting you to enter something. It remembers you via cookies, so you don’t have to create a login or anything.

Notes are created by clicking the “Add” button at the top right and the note style, color, etc. can be changed easily. They’re “grabbable,” so you can move them around the screen and they size themselves dynamically to what you’ve entered.

In fact, the site can be summed up like this: browse to it, make stickies, move them around.

That’s pretty much the whole website. You won’t find a more focused, simple, and easily-understood site than this.

Listhings has use for some people, surely, and could be poised to become popularly useful.

The question I have is where their income stream will be (I envision “popup” notes appearing as adverts) and why the reminder apps already available on my phone, notebook, or pen and paper need to be replaced in this way. Which brings up the inability to print individual notes from the site—a limiting factor in my mind.

I can see how this site could be greatly useful for some and I find it extremely refreshing that someone decided to not go to the trouble of making something overcomplicated when it definitely doesn’t need to be.

This is a great example of a good app with excellent execution and no wasted “extras.”

Not anymore.

ShirtsMyWay was created by two Danish guys: Michael Yang and Peter Crawfurd. Their vision was to create a site that allows the user to use a WYSIWYG shirt designer to choose fabrics, cuts, thread colors, collars, and more and custom-design a dress shirt to their liking.

Whether you want one or a hundred of them, you can design a shirt and have them made. Visual proofs are given at every stage of shirt creation, so you know what you’re getting.

The company’s HQ is in Hong Kong and it hasn’t been online for very long, but it’s already getting a fair amount of traffic.

ShirtsMyWay is definitely a strong niche site that will have solid appeal to its clientèle. The two partners started this site with very little overhead and resources and are proving that the Internet is still all about the niche.

Of course, this is a brand new site and it’s in a niche that will have demanding customers. So far, complaints are few and far between, but I expect a lot of nit-picky customers will begin appearing who’re hoping for a custom tailored shirt from a website that relies on you to take accurate measurements.

All told, though, this is a great concept and has a great chance of succeeding in the niche-driven world of Web commerce.

The third year anniversary party of Refresh Miami, will feature 2 presentations.  Last month (where I spoke) had well over 100 people come, and they are expecting even more tekkies to attend this month.  If you have never been to RefreshMiami before, make sure you check it out tomorrow night.  It is free!!

There will also be food, wine, beer, sodas and other snacks.  Everyone is entitled to bring a friend, just plesae RSVP at the facebook page.

Listening to the retread job search advice dished daily on “Good Morning America” and bolding your resume font simply isn’t enough to catch employers’ attention when you are vying for a new gig against an army of unemployed peers. These days you need to make real live connections that count, which is why job seekers and freelancers are heading to LaidOffCamp Miami armed with assertive energy and a proactive plan. The free one-day Miami event will take place Saturday, June 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Brikolodge at Midtown 4 (See a map here: http://tr.im/iT9V).

With Florida’s jobless rate teetering toward 10 percent — the highest rate since 1975 — employer touch points are more valuable than ever in this high and dry economy. LaidOffCamp Miami’s savvy staff and employers will give you proven insights for successfully leveraging these opportunities. Whether you are looking to network with those in your field, reinvent or recycle your career, LaidOffCamp is specifically catering to entry-to-midlevel career paths in the following industries: Digital media, advertising, publishing, technology and financial service professionals.

LaidOffCamp Miami is modeled after the successful BarCamp conferences — an international network of user-generated workshops on an eclectic range of topics — and will include all-access discussion forums, panels and workshops designed to educate, empower and connect community members who are experiencing challenges in the tough and gritty economy. LaidOffCamp Miami will reveal networking competitive advantages to participants, by exposing expert insights on building your personal brand, the ins and outs of starting your own biz, how to find alternative workspace, finding affordable insurance and alternative income sources, such as freelancing and consulting.

Also, if you are an employer looking for skilled and ambitious workers, you’ll find a windfall of top candidates — and get real-world solutions for fitting freelancers and consultants into your business model.

After attracting worldwide media attention and hundreds of job seekers when the inaugural LaidOffCamp laid its stakes in San Francisco, the events are already attracting thousands of job seekers and employers, and are touring cities across the country and world this spring and summer. Additional sponsorships are still available. Media partners include: sCommerce.com (www.sCommerce.com), Rev2.org (www.Rev2.org).

Visit http://laidoffcampmiami09.eventbrite.com/ to register, learn more about the event at http://laidoffcampmiami.org/, and look for updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LaidOffCampMIA or contact http://laidoffcampmiami.org/contact/comment-page-1/#comment-2

About VOIS, Inc.

VOIS.com (pronounced “Voice”) is a social-commerce website that combines the power of social networking with an online marketplace for professional freelance and on-demand services. At VOIS, individuals and businesses have the tools to either Post Work, Find Work or Network as well as staff projects and outsource manufacturing. VOIS’s social sourcing model connects a global network of talent, allowing individuals and business around the world to find and manage work cost-effectively. VOIS also owns sCommerce.com (www.sCommerce.com) and Rev2.org (www.Rev2.org). VOIS is publicly traded under the symbols VOIS, VOISW. http://www.vois.com

Safe Harbor Act Disclaimer: This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company’s most recent Form 10-QSB and Form 10-KSB filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media contacts:

Rick Tuttle
Telephone: 305-546-7497
Twitter: @LaidOffCampMia
Email: Rick@papasoft.com

Craig Agranoff
Telephone: 561-998-3882
Twitter: @lapp
Email: craig@vois.com