Two different ways of planning to attend a conference

Here is a post https://datacenterfrontier.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-data-center-conferences/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare by Bill Kleyman on “How to get the most out of a Data Center Conference”

There is some good advice in it - check out the schedule, plan logistics, know the schedule, etc.  Out of the long post here is the closing.

”Finally, just make sure you enjoy yourself and make some new friends. Honestly, that’s the best part of the conference – learning something new and meeting up with dear friends and industry colleagues.” 

After reading the post I found that there is different way I use.

The perspective I use when attending a conference is a networking exercise. Most of you think of networking like social networking. I am referring to networking like it is an engineering exercise. As an engineer what is the current state of my network and how can I use the conference to improve my network.  

#1 is network with the conference staff. They can help you find people and get insight that is hard to get without a face-to-face conversation.  I always do this at DCD and 7x24 Exchange.

#2 are any of my friends going to the conference and what are their plans. Friends expand your ability to network at an event. 

#3 identify the particular people you are looking for at the conference. Those connections you want to reinforce and the new ones you want to make.

At the end of the conference if you have improved your network then it is a success.