Instead of even getting into the alarming levels of irrelevancy Tokion has reached or how they can’t even get permalinks on their website, we’ll just let the attendance numbers for this year’s alleged “Creativity Now Conference” speak for themselves. Out of 2000 forecasted attendees, only 715 actually attended. Ouch! Are they gonna go back now and change this description of the event, used to ensnare advertisers: “Held annually in New York City, Tokion’s Creativity Now Conference assembles the top names in art, design, music, filmmaking, fashion and photography to speak about their work and respective industries before an audience of 2,000.”
This weekend is Tokion magazine’s so called “Creativity Now Conference.” It’s no secret that the once cool, bastion of Japanese subcultural wonderment was headed for irrelevance right about the time founder Adam Glickman cashed out. The young publisher left at an opportune time, reportedly netting a nice hunk of cash selling most of his interests to Larry Rosenblum. He’s the the fumbling media guy who hasn’t been able to move the dial, which could be due to adopting a strategy that involves pouring more money into the print product than the website at a time when paper based media entities are struggling and ad spending is increasingly moving to online. After a brief shuffle up last year, the magazine has continued to be a non-read among the “tastemaker and “key influencer” demographic they purport to reach. With the magazine’s lackluster content and the conference’s increasingly boring format, it’s not unreasonable to question whether Tokion is even capable of pulling off a conference promoting creativity. Especially when they can’t even implement permalinks on their website, an offense worthy of disqualification—that and inviting David Cross back.
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