If you missed it, CI associate editor Zach Comeau recently reflected on his first two weeks of covering the pro AV industry, saying the size of the market, the success of niche companies, the need for new talent and the quest for diversity are four things that have stood out to him so far. [related]
Zach’s musings come a couple of years after senior web editor Adam Forziati waited three weeks into his tenure with Commercial Integrator to take a closer look at this wacky world of AV.
At the time, he noted flashy installations are often more popular than more functional ones, diversity is an issue, and the term “AV” itself is a bit stale and could probably use a refresh.
Well, as the lone survivor of the early days of Commercial Integrator, I’m not going to stand idly by while these newcomers try to impress you with their pontifications on an industry that’s completely new to them. No, sir. After nine years, I’m here to tell you that what Zach and Adam said…is pretty much right.
I’ll quibble a bit with Adam on his contention about AV as an outdated term. That’s a debate that’s raged in the industry for a while now, but no one can seem to come up with anything better—with sincere apologies to those who’ve taken to calling it the communications technology industry.
To me, that sounds even less exciting and appealing than AV. Then again, I’m not exactly a high school or college student at this point. In fact, this year will mark 25 years since I earned my diploma from a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire, where I like to say I majored in editing the school newspaper.
Examining the AV Industry
I certainly don’t disagree with both Adam and Zach saying the AV industry needs more diversity—and I’m not just talking about racial or gender diversity either. The AVIXA Diversity Council has helped AV make huge strides since it launched at InfoComm 2018—but there’s a lot more to be done.
Just take a look around the room the next time you attend an industry conference or walk for miles on a trade show floor. As someone who’s nearing this demographic, if not already there, there’s certainly a preponderance of middle-aged and old white guys still making the big decisions in the AV space.
And, while the NSCA Ignite program and AVIXA’s grant scholarship initiative has helped more young people understand there’s a career for them in AV—or whatever you want to call it, I’ve talked to too many young people who don’t realize they can do something they love and get paid to do it.
I’ll close by saying my time at CI has been—and continues to be—among the best experiences I’ve had in my professional journalism career. From day to day, I don’t know what kind of innovation I’ll encounter or success story I’ll hear about from a reader or someone looking for a little free publicity.
The frenetic pace of mergers and acquisitions in the past several years has been fun too, especially for someone who really enjoys finding a unique angle to the big story of the day.
I know we can’t bring you every one of the 8 million stories in this naked city we call AV—despite Adam’s best efforts to change it—but here’s hoping we continue doing a good job bringing you some stuff you didn’t know but are glad you read.
I’ve told plenty of people at trade shows and AV industry events and even in phone interviews and casual conversations that you do things I couldn’t even imagine. I’ve never had an engineering mind so the fact you can walk into a room or picture a room and how it could look will never stop impressing me.
I’d like to think if you shared that story with your local high school students, there would be a lot more of them knocking down your door to make AV a career.
