Conferences, Conventions, and Trade Shows -- What's the Big Deal?

I've been to conferences, conventions, and trade shows for many, many years--and I've always come back from them with a renewed sense of what I'm interested in. I've been to teachers' conferences, technical documentation conferences, food & beverages conferences, writers' conferences, and pharmaceutical and biotech conferences, small business and direct marketing conferences, insurance and financial services conferences, and hazardous waste control conferences. Each one of them featured seminars, break-out sessions, round-table discussions, panel discussions, trade show exhibitions, continental breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, keynote speakers, and extra-curriculum/off-hour and pre-session/post-session tours and activities.

Each time, I was able to visit with fellow enthusiasts, attend a wide variety of specialized seminars and break-out sessions, enjoy interesting areas, and learn a bunch of new things.

For some conferences and conventions and trade shows that were job related, I usually wasn't able to bring my wife and kids (always, that is). It was WORK related, right? Some folks brought their families--especially if they came to the conference on their own dime. But for me, my company usually paid for my trip, hotel stay, and conference fees, so bringing extra people wasn't something I could easily do.

A day or two before the event I'd fly in from where I lived and take the shuttle to the conference hotel, check in, then explore the surroundings a little. Maybe I'd walk around the general neighborhood and scout for restaurants or scenic areas. Or, if it was a long flight, I'd explore just the hotel (for the inhouse amenities) and then get some rest in my room before the following day's sessions.

Most of these conferences were the Society for Technical Communication (STC) International Technical Communication Conferences (ITCC). But a few were also conferences for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Professional Communications Society (PCS). Some of the ITCCs I've been to were in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Denver, Colorado; and Santa Clara, California. An IEEE-PCS Conference I attended was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've also attended regional conferences for both the STC and IEEE-PCS. Most of these were in the states I happened to be living in at the time--California and New Mexico.

Another conference venue that I always enjoyed attending were the annual Seybold Conferences--my colleagues and I usually attended the ones close by us--the West Coast Seybold Conference at the San Francisco Moscone Conference Center. This conference has since been discontinued--but it involved printing technologies, software, printers, inks, photography, and other methods of producing images for publication.

There were a few conferences that I attended just for kicks and giggles--because I was interested in the topic of the event --and because they might have some pertinence to future career moves. These were always local (meaning, within a few hours driving distance) and included a few HAZMACONs (Hazardous Materials Conference/Conventions) and some BioPhex (Biotech and Pharmaceutical) Conferences/Conventions. Hey, I was a biology major and chemistry minor in college--these topics have always interested me and if I could get a job as a technical writer in those industries, it would fulfill some of my dreams. So, attending and participating in these conferences gives me more experience--and even better, it gives me contacts to add to my network of possible future colleagues.

I attended a Travel Writing Conference put on by the American Writers and Artists Institute in San Francisco -- and had a great time learning from working travel writers, publication editors, and fellow enthusiasts some of the tricks and techniques of the profession. In addition to having wonderful breaks that allowed us to explore the streets (and piers) of San Francisco, but we had pleasant breakfasts, lunches, and keynote-speaker dinners and receptions during which we had a chance to meet new friends and contacts. The break-out sessions, workshops, and seminars were all well-worth what I paid for the conference!

My wife was considering switching careers and becoming a floral designer or florist--and we found a Florist and Floral Design Conference coming to San Francisco. Yes, we again signed up to attend the conference. Well, actually, my wife signed up for the conference--I just came along for the ride (and stay in the hotel and enjoy a little "down-time" with my wife). While my wife was attending the workshops and seminars, I was out and about exploring in San Francisco. I'd return to the conference hotel for the lunches and dinners. And now my wife has started her sideline floral design business.

Along the same lines, my son was tentatively interested in becoming a chef or cook .... (he showed a lot of aptitude in the kitchen) -- so, when we found out that there would be a Food and Beverage Conference and Convention coming to San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center, we decided to take our son there as a "field trip". For paying $30 per person exhibit-only fee, we were able to explore the huge rooms full of exhibitor booths featuring all sorts of culinary goodies (and enabling us to sample as many of the goodies as our tummies would allow). The conference was sponsored mostly by the Food and Beverage Institute (FBI) and Culinary Institute of America (CIA) (probably a reason for a lot of jokes). It was a great "crash-course" for our son --he had a chance to talk with working chefs and other food workers. He met chefs who owned their own restaurants and also chefs who worked for corporations. He met specialists who worked with food and ingredients manufacturing and shipping. And, he met folks who were kitchen design and architecture specialists. A great way to condense education. If we had spent a few hundred dollars more, we could have attended special certification classes in food preparation, kitchen sanitation, and other interesting topics. This type of education is available with most specialized industry conferences and conventions.

Whether you are interested in Star Trek (and want to go to a Star Trek Convention) or you are a comic book fan (and want to go to a ComicCon, you have a lot of things you can do for these events. Some folks go all out and dress up as characters from their favorite Star Trek episodes or comic books. So, if you want to dress up as a Klingon or Farengi or Vulcan or Romulan... or if you want to dress as a cousin of Spiderman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Thor, Kato, or a throng of other characters -- and you don't want to wait until the annual Halloween party, then these conferences and conventions are your chance!

You can have local (within a few hours drive) sports-card conferences and conventions, automotive conferences and conventions, reptiles and amphibians conferences and exhibits, or conferences for bird-owners, tatoo enthusiasts, and a myriad of others to enjoy.

Squid graphic courtesy of Squidoo Squid Graphics For Your Lenses! by GreekGeek.