IT conferences

There are a bunch of things that are great about some of the different IT conferences, and then there are the challenges that you have to deal with when you attend them. The networking at the various conferences can be great, and it also means that you have to be willing to spend some of your time just talking to people and not going to all the different sessions.

Sessions

The various sessions can be very educational and some of them may not meet your expectations and that is something that you need to understand when you are attending the various events. At one conference we were recently at the person that was doing the presentation started to talk, and then other people started to come in after the session started, she stopped and wanted them to get seated. There are times that once a session has started, the person should just keep talking and not stop just because someone else walked into the room. This same person got upset when people left the session early and had to make a point of mentioning that people were leaving early. It was a conference with a bunch of IT people and there are times when you have to talk a call or emails need to be answered, so leaving a session is something that you have to do.

Networking

The networking at the IT conferences can be something that can be very helpful to a career and it is also something that you have to understand and manage. For someone that knows a lot of people that attend these events, it means that there are times that we just don’t have the chance to talk with everyone all the time. It can be a challenge to make sure that you have talked to everyone that you want to talk to and also not miss some of the things that you want to see and do.

SWAG

How this is something that can be very frustrating because there are some people that only attend the events to get the free stuff. There are so many things that the vendors are handing out that I look at and can’t figure out what I would do with them, but some people seem to really like them. Some of the items are the little giveaway such as balls that light up and then the little men that wave their arms after you wind them up. Some of these are get for people that have kids, but they can get a little much when you see them at every event and the only difference is the vendor that is handing them out.

Benefits

There are a lot of benefits from attending the different IT conferences and some of them are being visible and some of them are getting your own company name out there. You will never know that can happen by attending these events. You may get some business out of attending these conferences, or you may not, but at least making sure that you are seen can help a lot. Participating in the various sessions can also show you are comfortable talking to others, so that is something else that you have to think about. Asking questions and getting into the various discussions will help you be remembered not just by the vendors, but also by some of the other attendees.

IT conferences can be a lot of fun, and they can also be tiring, and how you handle them will make a big difference. Remember that going to an IT conference isn’t a day off work because you are still working as you are doing the promoting of your business and of yourself.