Meryl's Notes Blog
Things wordy, geeky, and webbyKlatsch: Choosing Conferences to Attend
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 11:08 AM |
- Image by Nick Sherman via Flickr
So many conferences, so little travel budget. How do you decide? The last few conferences I’ve attended are sxsw interactive and Texas PTA’s, both in Austin, of course. (The only place I’ve been go outside of the Dallas / Fort Worth area is Austin in almost 10 years. Sad, I know.) Flying or driving to Austin is cheap. My local PTA took care of the costs and I shared a hotel room.
With sxsw, I also shared a room with Christine Tremoulet one year and my husband and our unborn youngest child went the following year.
I almost went to a writer’s conference in Oklahoma City, which also has cheap flights and a great conference price. Plus, several people I know are speaking and it would be nice to meet them in person. But I opted not to due to crowded schedule.
It’s not that I’m cheap. Because of my deafness, I don’t quite get the full benefit of a conference especially one that’s full of panels that converse with the audience. It’s like watching a tennis match that happens all around you. This approach quickly turns well rested eyes into tired ones. I came this close to going to sxsw this year, but backed off when I saw how much attendance grew since my last visit in 2003.
So then… how do you decide which conference to attend with overwhelming options?
klatsch n. “A casual social gathering, usually for conversation.” Source: The Free Dictionary AKA a meryl.net blog post centered on a discussion topic.
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6 comments
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tin Hang Liu, Face to Facebook. Face to Facebook said: RT @merylkevans Klatsch: Choosing Conferences to Attend http://bit.ly/aBYYFR #SMM [...]
I let my industry decide for me. I specialize in those heart-pounding topics – risk management and commercial insurance. I’m more likely to go to conferences that are connected to that because of the work potential. I don’t go to “fun” ones. I should, shouldn’t I?
Waah. I love conferences. The combination of living in Alaska and high air fares has put the brakes on any conference attending. One day I hope to live again in the good ol’ USA and be able to drive places.
In my former life as a paramedic educator I went to most of the national conferences in the field. Either my employer paid me to attend or if I was presenting, the conference did. In fact, several of these landed me in the great state of Texas, where I fell in love with the likes of San Antonio, Austin and yes – even Houston!
George
.-= George Angus’s blog …Envelope, Please. And the Bee-YOU-T-Full Blogger Award Goes To… =-.
You post a great question, Meryl – and I thought I had it bad!
I find it really difficult to decide because for me (and many of us), I work for myself. So I need to justify my time and expense to go. And conferences are rarely cheap!
.-= Andy Hayes | Sharing Travel Experiences’s blog …Going Around the World with a Different “Approach” =-.
Meryl, your post made me take stock on why I select the conferences that I attend.
First off, I find myself attending conferences where I can get a free pass and/or speaking position because budgets are so tight these days and travel costs take enough of a toll on a budget even before adding the conference fees.
If I am going to pay for a conference, I’ll check out the speakers list to see how many I’m following on Twitter or reading their blogs. If they’re insightful online, the hope is that they will be just as compelling in real life.
I’ll also check out feedback from others in the specialty of the conference – for example, for affiliate conferences I check out affiliate forums like ABestWeb.com, AffSpot.com, etc. – and ask people in my network (friends, co-workers, vendors, etc.) about the conference before I register.
Hope my conference-buying logic helps!
Sharon
.-= Sharon Mostyn’s blog …Marketing and Web Analytics – #SMchat 4/21/10 =-.
@Lori, makes sense. Who says conferences shouldn’t be fun?
@George, that’s one downside to life in Alaska, eh? Oh, did you know Alaska is part of the US?
I know you meant the continental US.
@Andy, exactly. That’s another reason it’s hard for me to decide. Being you’re in Scotland — I don’t know the cost to go to conferences in your area and in neighboring countries.
@Sharon, you have a great process that would work well for many of us sole business owners and freelancers need to follow. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Meryl K Evans’s blog …Game du Jour: Week of 26 April 2010 =-.
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