Seven Scary Things About Attending Conferences
By now, kids are preparing for a well-timed Friday Halloween, ready to hit the road (or mall, as seems to be the case these days) cloaked in costume and carrying soon-to-be-filled candy bags. As for the rest of us, we're in the midst of another busy conference and tradeshow season--and perhaps already looking ahead to 2015.
But while conferences are often extremely valuable, there are certain elements that send ripples down the spines of even the most brazen individuals. Here are seven scary things you probably fear when attending conferences:
- You are immediately greeted by a carnival of vendor booths where the only thing people want is your contact info.
- Sitting down and realizing you're the only practitioner at a table full of consultants and vendors.
- Listening to session after session where the speakers drone on about things that don't help you deliver true business impact.
- You go to the bathroom and find a person wearing a Freddy Kreuger mask washing his "hands."
- You turn the corner in a hotel corridor to discover a crowd of children running at you wearing mouse ears or waving wands in their hands.
- You wake up in your hotel room to the sound of a bachelor's party that just started at 2am. In the next room over.
- Not signing up for the i4cp 2015 Conference early and missing your chance to experience what many call "the best conference they attend each year."
Register this Halloween to save $400, and remember--all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
As vice president of marketing at i4cp, Erik is currently responsible for all marketing efforts for the company and works alongside several departments to execute organizational initiatives. He also oversees web development projects. Located in Seattle, WA, he brings over 15 years of Internet marketing experience, most of which are in the research industry.
Prior to i4cp, Erik worked as Internet Marketing Director at market research panel company GMI, where he was responsible for global online marketing and panel growth in several countries. He also managed the graphic design team and worked extensively with other departments on process improvements and plan development. GMI experienced exceptional revenue growth - several hundred percent - during his tenure. Prior to GMI, Erik founded FilmJabber.com, a movie review and information website that continues to grow in popularity and traffic.
Erik received a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Western Washington University.