CES: The guys who decide what gets on the shelves, and yes, they're guys.

So what do the other fellow geeks at CES look like? Predominantly youngish to middle-aged male (white or Asian), blazer and jeans, and almost certainly on a cell phone. Vendors at the CES have certainly kept that in mind. Whether its attractive women wandering the floor (I still have no idea what the cheerleaders were selling), sports stars opining on this year's Superbowl at Samsung (Randall Cunningham), or cars galore (everywhere you look), vendors know their market, but in what sense? Of course there are women attendees here, and of course these decision-makers will sift through market data and consider variables of selecting items to stock in their stores, but CES is a very visceral event. If I don't know the brand or what vendors are hawking in less than 10 seconds chances are that I would have already moved on to the next booth unless there is something shiny or sexy grabbing my attention. Even with Pioneer's 9 mm thick Kuroplasma screen tv I had to do a double-take and stop as I was walking by it, it even had shiny flashy things too.