I've been to way too many events and conferences over the past year. Actually, it was a little over a year ago that I first flew out to see San Francisco! Since then, I've been a frequent at many meetups and dozens of tech/business related conferences. Here's my list of the top events I've been to and why they were so great:
1) South by Southwest 2008: Best Overall Conference
Words cannot describe how amazing the South by Southwest conference was. So many of you readers and friends of readers contacted me in order to convince me to go. I was skeptical, but after speaking to dozens of you, I was convinced to go. I only made it for the last three days, but I feel drained mentally and physically from the amazing experience. What made it so great?
First and foremost, the people were smart, courteous, and fun. They came to SxSW with an enthusiastic attitude. There were plenty of fun geeks and few "marketing" people. At the web 2.0 conference, there were way too many self serving biz dev people who were out to pitch and promote their companies. At SxSW, the geeks were there to have fun. Some people call SxSW the spring break for geeks. I'll have to agree.
Even when the day's conference is over, the day has just begun! There are sooo many parties to choose from. Each night, there were at least ten events to choose from. If the popular events had long lines, just start your own party! I'm definitely planning on returning next year. In a few months, maybe I'll gather a few friends and reserve the Presidential Suite in the Hilton. We'll throw our own parties :)
2) GeekSessions 1.1: Best Tech Meetup
This was definitely the best informal cocktail event I've been to for many reasons. Before going, I had envisioned it as being a high-caliber meet-up for super smart and super cool techies. My guess was completely spot on. Firstly, it was invite only. Like all good conferences, you primarily go for the people. If the people are good, the experience is good. Since then, Geeksessions has opened up registration for all and I've met fewer people since. Maybe it's just the fact that I know so many people who go there already!
Secondly, the conference organizers were able to manage the work-play balance that all events need. There's usually both an educational and a networking component to these events. The trick is not having too little or too much of either, and GeekSessions did that amazingly well. Strict 5-10 minute deadlines per speaker helps the situation.
3) Supernova 2007: Best Professional Cocktail Gathering:
The Supernova cocktail party, like every other event I endorse, had high caliber people socializing with each other. The conference was open to all. That is, to anyone who could afford the $2800 price tag. What's better than being in a room filled with free drinks, great appetizers, and seasoned entrepreneurs? The event attracted an older crowd, but most people knew what they were talking about.
Worst Event: PowerShift
I felt reserved about writing about the worst event I've been to, but I decided that it would be ok given that I remained objective with my reasoning.
PowerShift was basically a conference to combat global climate change. I'm all for fixing this problem, but the conference itself was despicable in relation to the dozens I've been to. I can probably predict why: The attendees were of low caliber. There were 6,000 attendees, none of them paid more than $25 for their conference badge, and most had very little background in global climate change and activism. I know this because I asked many attendees the following questions:
- how do you know global climate change is happening?
- what do we do to fix it?
- why should conservative money-obsessed republicans worry about this issue?
Most people came off as being ignorant and self-absorbed "activists." And yes, there is a negative stereotype for activists, and yes, most people at this conference fit into that stereotype. If anything, I left that conference learning why politicians feel reserved when dealing with teenage activists. I'm a liberal democrat, I believe that we need to fix global climate change, and I believe that rallying against the "rich republican capitalists" is the wrong route to take.
One may counter-argue my reasoning by saying, "isn't the point of a conference for people to learn?" Sure, but half of the learning happens in the networking with your knowledgeable peers! And if most of them aren't, you're at a loss.
But to the people who organized my top three rated events: Good job! I've since decided to cut back on my event-going to do REAL work, but I'll forever be loyal to the select few events that are able to attract brilliant minds. I'm quite confident that we can already add the
TED conference to the 2009 list. :)
Plenty more to come!
Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college. She's currently the founder of a startup, managing editor at Startupism.com, and Jessicamah.com.
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