Making Time for Conferences

Finding the time to attend a conference is difficult. Then there is the "Is it worth my time" factor. I think that largely depends on the conference but is more determined by the individual.

Are you the type of person who learns by seeing or by doing? Sometimes a conference will allow for both those people to have a great experience. However, if you are more of a trial by fire person it may be better to monitor twitter and grab the nuggets that other people find interesting.

So how do you find those nuggets from these conferences? Here are my suggestions:

1. Follow the conference hashtag. They developed it for a reason, use it.
2. Follow people in the industry. These can be the head honchos or just the people you know that are going.
3. Don't try to get it all in one sitting. Many people and many different sessions will more than likely be going at once. Divide your time appropriately. Find the sessions you will be interested in and look for that info, then go back and find the nuggets that escaped your first round.

Attending conferences can be both engaging, invigorating and informative but it isn't always available or doesn't fit every personality. Choose wisely but continue your education/knowledge through networking.