How I am Preparing for an Industry Conference

Next week I am heading out to Austin to the Niche Magazine Conference for the second year in a row.  While spending two days out of the office worries me a bit, I think it is important to go to conferences for a couple of reasons.  First, you get to network with people in your industry (in my case, fellow publishers) going through similar challenges. Second, you get exposed to new ideas in an environment where you can actually think outside of the box because you aren't dealing with the daily fires (unless, of course, you are glued to your BlackBerry). One of the challenges of attending these conferences is choosing from simultaneous sessions. It seems like the ones you really want to go to are always at the same time. So this year I am making a very short list of the things that I want to learn about. Then when I get to the conference, I won't be swayed by my feelings during a particular moment and can instead stick to a game plan. This way, I can spend more time reading my BlackBerry instead of stressing over the conference agenda :)