How do YOU prepare for a conference?

by Marcus on September 18, 2008

blogworld logoI don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that it has been one heckuva week for me as I’m scrambling to get ready for BlogWord and Godblog.

I’ve got my schedule printed–including meetings with several members of HighCallingBlogs.com, people I’m looking to recruit as bloggers, people I’m looking to recruit as writers, and people I’m just hoping to meet so I can say hi–Darren Rouse, Guy Kawasaki, and Brian Clarke have all had a big influence on the way I understand social media.

And of course, there are the exhibitors that I plan to visit:

  • b5media and their ongoing poker game with Darren Rouse. That’s a conversation that I need to think through carefully. I have tremendous respect for Darren.
  • cocomment is something that I think will finally work for us (here’s my cocomment feed, sort of)
  • buzzlogic looks promising as an ad solution, but I’m still not sure where we stand on our desire for ads
  • crowd science may provide some good statistics, but I already get statistics from google. So they’ll have to explain that. Also, they have some blackhat jokes on their homepage that made me wonder about them.
  • disqus will need to tell me how they are different than cocomment. I need to install their plugin here before I go to blogworld.
  • International Blogging and New Media Association looks like something I could help with. I plan to attend their organizational meeting.
  • Fast Company is a brand I need to learn more about. For instance, why do we need one more LinkedIn type social network?
  • intense debate is another cocomment and disqus challenger.
  • Kithbridge is someone who looks like it thinks about RSS the way I do. I’d like to talk to them.
  • Lijit is another brand I have been hearing about that I plan to investigate. I want to understand what these people are doing exactly and how it could overlap with HighCallingBlogs.com.
  • MarketLeverage is a group that also presents to the Direct Marketing Association, so I’m interested to talk to them about how they see DM applying to social media in the future.
  • mindtouch looks like an interesting wiki approach to project management, but I don’t see how it is necessarily better than google apps–other than the wildly raving endorsements from technology bigwigs.
  • Outbrain looks like it has developed a social widget. Not sure how it applies to us, but I’m curious.
  • PRWeb is something I’ve long admired since I read an incredible case study about it in Scott Meerman’s book The New Rules of Marketing and PR. (GREAT book by the way.)
  • Technorati. Sigh. I haven’t been actively researching there in some time. But I need to go see what’s new. So much to do. So little time.
That’s it. When I’m on the floor at any rate. I love conferences and trade shows, but they stress me out a little bit. I never know how many contacts are enough. How many leads to I follow? How do I decide which tools and sites are worth researching and which are deadends? All sandwiched between two days of great talks and presentations.
Man, I love stuff like this!
I also love the fact that my Frau is going with me. So evenings will be full of lots of Vegas fun from Mystere to the Munchen Hofbrau. (I’m really excited to relive some memories of Germany there.)
Here’s my question for readers. (Both of you.)
Do YOU have any tips for preparing for conferences and/or tradeshows?
How do YOU measure whether a trip has been successful?

Tagged as: blogworld08 b5media, buzzlogic, cocomment, crowd science, disqus, Fast Company, highcallingblogs, IBNMA, Kithbridge, Lijit, MarketLeverage, mindtouch, outbrain, PRWeb, Technorati, thehighcalling, Vegas

  • *sigh* I am so jealous. Perhaps this is something to put on my list to attend, especially since I'm considering starting a whole ezine related to this stuff. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on several of the times above. I've just started using Lijit, and so far I like it. I need to spend some time on it though. I'm also curious about Fast Company, too. I've long been a reader of the magazine, but haven't explored the site much.
    Have fun!
  • Kate
    Hi there! It's Kate from Outbrain. Be sure to stop by our booth and I'd be happy to show you what we're up to!
    See yah there!
    Kate
  • Mark,

    We'd love to talk about how Lijit can help you! Please stop by our booth (#330) and say hi.

    Also, although we're in a little different boat as exhibitors, we get ready for shows like this by stocking up on our sleep and trying to stay as healthy as possible.

    See you this weekend!
  • Kate and Tara, you win the secret contest I was running to see who was paying attention.

    Customer service is so important.

    Alas, the contest prize is nothing more than this little note of encouragement to you that you are doing a good job with making your customers/users feel valued.
  • While you're there, can you also find a comment proofreader? Evidently I need one, since I meant to say "items" instead of "times."
  • Hi. This is Adam of Yoono. We're going to learn more about the blogosphere and engaging our 1.+ million users via the blog.

    any events worth attending that I'm not already signed up for?
  • Marcus, that's funny about the secret contest.

    How do I measure conference success? People. And not necessarily the number of, or the "importance" of the connections. Case in point: the time before last, when I went to the Calvin Festival, I met Charity. Who knew she'd discover she had cancer just about 8 months later? Who knew she would touch my life so deeply with her honesty and vulnerability in the face of such difficulty?

    It's always fun to learn stuff. Widgets. Wodgets. Wudgets. But I can do that anywhere. People. That's how I measure conference success.
  • Oh, and I have to add this... regarding your little observation about "both" of your readers. Apparently, the two of us have multiple personalities. Or identities. And we live all over the United States. You attract an interesting set. : )
  • Publishers Union of Bloggers currently advise Publishers hold off installing any Lijit Software on their blogs pending both Lijit’s promised upcoming transparency from Lijit concerning revenue and Lijit's current 'terms of use' which gives Lijit free reign concerning use of your content once our Publishers install Lijit Software into their blog.

    Any thoughts on these critical issues for Pub's, pass it on, all appreciate it.

    Barney
    Founder, P.U.B.
  • Glad you liked my book. Unfortunately, I won't be at those to events, but enjoy!
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