Today, Apple announced that it would cease participation in Macworld Expo after the 2009 event and that Steve Jobs will not be present for the keynote address. In his place will be Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. In 2010, Apple will be absent from the show altogether – no keynote and no expo floor booth.

I was planning to do a longer write-up about this announcement, but I will point you towards Rob Griffiths’ excellent coverage instead – “The end of an era for Macworld Expo.” He makes many of the same points I would have – Apple’s reasoning makes business sense, but there are some ramifications for the community here that are disappointing. I will miss the annual opportunity to connect with Mac and iPhone users, vendors, and my friends. While developers will continue to have WWDC as the summer anchor event, the same can no longer be said for users, vendors, and the press. Whether IDG World Expo is willing to admit this or not, Macworld will not survive as a conference of this scale past 2009. A 2010 event, in fact, may be its last. The company is likely already locked into a 2010 facilities deal with Moscone Center.

I will be at Macworld 2009 all week to meet with clients, vendors, and my friends who are also making the trek. I may even be back in 2010, assuming the same can be said for the people I would be traveling to meet. 2007 was the best Macworld for me, with the announcement of iPhone. And while the content of the 2008 keynote is often critiqued, the MacBook Air was a pretty phenomenal addition to the product lineup. I am sad to see this era come to an end.