I will NOT be attending Tribeca this year.

Just in case anyone was wondering, my programming travel will not be including a trip to NYC this year. It's hard times all over and our resources are stretched pretty thin so we have to choose selectively what travel is most valuable for us. I had a great time in New York last year and saw some interesting stuff but... Tribeca is the only festival of its kind since it is a for-profit entity. It's a masterpiece of marketing and publicity. Mostly it does this by having a sparse, simple marketing campaign anchored by celebrity presence. But it's difficult to saturate an area such as Manhattan with a festival vibe, no matter how much money you have. So while there is a value there for many people, I'm not convinced it would be a sound investment for me. At least not this year, maybe in the future the landscape could change.