10 Tips For Attending Tech Conferences

August 29, 2008

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There are a LOT of tech conferences out there, some of which I attend. Here are some tips for you if you’re attending any:

DO IT. Seriously, if you can afford the money and time to travel to attend a tech conference I recommend you do so. Of course, this is assuming you’re in a line of business which could benefit from attendance.
Bring lots of business cards. And a related tip, put info on your biz card that is relevant in today’s world. For example, I’m a pro blogger. Another blogger couldn’t give less of a shit about my snail mail address. What would they rather know? My Twitter ID.
Schmooze. At least half the benefit of a tech conference takes place outside the conference schedule. Even if you’re not exactly Mr. or Mrs. social, put your discomfort aside and go talk to strangers.
Check the weather before you go. This thing called the Internet is really handy for checking the weather forecast before flying to your destination. If its going to be cold, bring a jacket.
Shop around for a room. Realize you’re not going to spend very much time in your room (most likely) so think before spending $300 per night on it. In Seattle, I stayed downtown for about half the nightly cost as the more well known hotels which were only about 2 blocks away. My room was perfectly fine. Just because you make enough money doesn’t mean you should be stupid with it.
Monitor the back channels. There is a lot of value in following Twitter, FriendFeed and other similar back channel communications during a conference. I found immense value in Twitter while I was attending Gnomedex, from getting people’s opinions to something as simple as trying to find a restaurant which was hidden underneath Pikes Market. Obviously, it helps having a mobile device that can access these things.
Check up with Meetup.com and Upcoming.org to see if there are any side meetups taking place around the event. Many times, other attendees will get together in separately organized meetups. This is also another reason to monitor the back channels.
Drink a lot of water. Its good for your health all around.
Put stuff on your laptop you might need, assuming that you won’t have decent wifi. Many times, the wifi net access at a tech event sucks. It isn’t always because of the network, but it could be because of the building or even the fact that so many geeks are trying to use the same pipe. If you come prepared to not have good wifi at the event, you’ll be better off. Then, if the wifi is good, all the better for you.
Bring the digital camera. People dig pictures. Upload them to your favorite photo sharing site and tag them for the event you just attended.