Professional development, networking opportunities, free stuff and FUN. Those are just some of the benefits you’ll score when you scrape up some moolah and attend an annual event or two geared for other professionals in your field.

One morning over coffee and email, I discovered my invitation to BlogWorld Expo. For a moment I thought, “YES! I can go!? I can be there in 3 1/2 hours!”

But then my first actual moment clarity struck and I realized, “NO, I can’t; I have guests in town that week. Arrghhh.” Not “arrghh-ing” my family, but myself, because, if I had an annual calendar of events to refer to when planning other activities, I would have made it to BlogWorld that year.

Let’s build an event calendar together!
If you know of an annual conference of interest to virtual assistants, bloggers, working women, creative professionals, remote professionals, web developers, solopreneurs (whatever category you fall into) email me at ktcosmos-at-looseends-dot-net and I will add it to this list.

Tips on Attending Events

1. Huge conventions can quickly overwhelm your senses. To avoid that, just take a walk through the exhibit hall on your first day. Then you’ll be less gaga and more focused on the second pass.
2. Plan your packing carefully using this post elsewhere in Loosely Speaking, so you don’t end up taking too much stuff. You want to leave plenty of room in your bags for all the materials and freebies you’ll pick up.
3. Take some breaks. You don’t want to miss a thing, but if you don’t pace yourself, your brain will turn to mush. Some events have hospitality rooms, and others, like MacWorld, have nice lounges with comfy furniture and views where you can relax, chat with others, check your email, or just zone out for a bit.
4. Speaking of breaks, do yourself a favor and pass on the conference food. Google your location and then use Google Map’s “find nearby” feature to plot out restaurants close to the conference venue.
5. Arrive and check in the day before, so you give yourself a chance to get oriented.
6. Many vendors offer special event pricing, so come with a shopping list and check more than one vendor’s booth to find the best deals.
7. Notice that some of the events on the calendar are NOT necessarily held during the same month annually. Pay attention to that when planning.

Blog Your Event

Ethan Zuckerman at My Heart’s in Accra writes about the The 5-4-3 double play, or The Art of Conference Blogging., his approach to covering a conference blog style. Ethan explains that this love of documenting all the details in a baseball game (hence the title of his post) lead to his present day habit of obsessively blogging conferences. If you have never blogged a conference, read Ethan’s very thorough treatment of how to do it. Then, when you get where you’re going, look for some blogging lounges. Hauling your own laptop around all day is hard on the shoulders—the events that provide blogging lounges let you use their equipment to login to your own blog.

Loosely Speaking’s Annual Calendar of Professional Events

February

MacWorld Conference & Expo
2010: 2/9 – 2/, 13 in San Francisco.

Comments: all things Apple: exhibits, break out sessions, hands-on labs, special interest training lasting all day, many other presentations offered at individual exhibitors’ booths throughout the event. Unveiling of new products and the keynote by Steve Jobs.

In 2009, was 1/5 – 1/9, in San Francisco, and was the 25th anniversary, and the final year in which Apple was officially involved.

In 2008, was held 1/14 – 1/18, in San Francisco

March

South by Southwest Interactive (SxSW)
2010: March 12 – 16, in Austin,TX

Comments: The SXSW Interactive Festival features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.

In 2009, was held March 13 – 17, in Austin, TX

In 2008, was held: March 7 – 11, in Austin,TX

April

9th International Virtual Assistants Association Summit (IVAA)
2010: April 20 – 23, in Phoenix, AZ

Comments: Theme: “Blazing New Trails.” For current and aspiring virtual assistants. The non profit hosts one online summit and one in-person summit annually. More information here.

In 2009, was held April 21 – 25 in Montreal Canada

In 2008, was held April 23 – 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina

In 2007, was held 4/25 – 4/28, in San Francisco

SobCon
2010: April 30 – May 2, Chicago

Comments: described by organizers as part seminar, part conference, part deep networking. To keep it at the size and quality the organizers are aiming for, it is invitation only, so go soon to request your invite!

In 2009, was held May 1 – 3, in Chicago

In 2008, was held May 2 – May 4, Chicago

In 2007, was held May 11 & 12 in Chicago

May

OIVAC (Online International Virtual Assistants Convention)
2010: May 20 – 22, Online

Comments: “New Decade…New Way to Work? … Celebrating 5 Years of Educating and Showcasing Professional Virtual Assistants. With a stellar array of speakers and technology to match, this year’s Convention is designed to help you unlock potential you didn’t even know you had, and to take your virtual assistant business to the next level.

WordCamp San Francisco
2009: May 30, San Francisco, CA

Comments: Organized by the creators of WordPress, the purpose of this annual event is to get WordPress users together, learn from each other, figure out the future of publishing on the web, and have a good time.

In 2008, held in San Francisco on August 16

In 2007, was also held in San Francisco on July 21

June

Forum on Virtual Assistance (FoVA),
2009: June 3 – 7 in Niagara Falls, Canada

Comments: this is the second year for this event and it is being organized by Barb Lang, nominee for this year’s BOD and owner of Virtually Anything. It is described as a “unique and private gathering of new Virtual Assistants and seasoned VA industry leaders, from all over North America. It is a mutual exchange of ideas and sharing of business expertise and qualified acumen, within a stimulating brainstorming, networking and workshop based 3 day program. “

July

BlogHer Conference
In 2009, July 23 – 25, in Chicago, again!

Comments from the organizers: Building on the momentum of four consecutive sold-out annual conferences, BlogHer ’09 will bring bloggers from every corner of the blogosphere together for hands-on learning, rich discussions, opportunities to meet with the brands that support them and plentiful networking opportunities. BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. 2009′s theme: “In Real Life.”

In 2008, was held April 3 & 4 in New York City

In 2007, was held 7/27 – 7/29 in Chicago

Netroots Nation (formerly known as YearlyKos)
2010: July 22 – 25, Las Vegas, NV

Comments: Beginning in 2008, this event was renamed “Netroots Nation.” Initially as a politically liberal blog event, but organizers say they now wish to attract all bloggers. However, the event’s website features frequent sprinklings of the word “progressive,” so…. you decide!

In 2009, was held August 13 – 16  in Pittsburgh, PA

In 2008, was held July 17 – 20, Austin, Texas

In 2007, was held 9/2 – 9/5 in Chicago

August

AZVAs Fall Retreat
2009: August 28 – 30, Phoenix, AZ

Comments: Free event brings together Virtual Assistants from all over Arizona. Networking, break out sessions, Luncheon (on your own) and brainstorming ideas for the IVAA Annual Live Summit. Help publicize this event and when you Tweet it, please use #AZVAs.

September

BlogOrlando
2009: Cancelled for this year. Unclear whether the event will take place in 2010. We’ll keep you posted.

Comments: From the organizer’s website, a FREE “unconference.” “We bring together a good cross-section of folks to discuss blogging, podcasting, public relations, social media, citizen’s journalism and other related topics..”

In 2oo8, was held 9/25 – 9/27 in Orlando, FL

In 2007, was held 9/27 – 9/29 in Orlando, Florida

October

OIVAC (Online International Virtual Assistants Convention)
2009: (note was originally set for May 14 – 16, Online, 8:00a.m. – Midnight, daily, NOW changed to October 1 – 3, 2009)

Comments: described by organizers: This is the 4th of these annual events, and 2009′s theme is “Everything Old is New Again: How to Enhance Your VA Practice Using the Latest in Technology and Communication.” Loaded with more products and services than ever before, it’s 3 days of incredible and informative seminars, workshops, networking, exhibits, and so much more. You’ll need a mic and headphones, a snack or two to combat the hungries, and a cool, refreshing something to drink. Here’s the schedule and the blog for this event.

IDEA2009
2009: September 15 & 16 in Toronto, Canada (pre-conference workshop is September 14)

Comments: ” IDEA  brings together leading interaction design thinkers from across the globe, and challenges them: to share beyond the concepts that inspire them most, and deliver practical guidance for attendees to begin making an immediate difference in the networked world of today and tomorrow.” Visit site to read how you can enter a T-Shirt design contest to win a free admission to the event.

In 2008, was held 10/7 & 8 in Chicago

In 2007, was held 10/4 & 10/5 in New York City

In 2006, was held in Seattle

BlogWorldExpo
2009: 10/15 – 10/17, in Las Vegas

Comments: An event for bloggers of all levels and genres. There are lots of blogger sites containing discounts. All you do is find such a site and then enter that code when you go to register to attend.

In 2008, was held Nov. 20- 21 in Las Vegas

In 2007, was held Nov 8 & 9 in Las Vegas

November

4th Annual IVAA Online Summit
2009: November 6

Comments: This year’s theme is “Your Link to Success.” This 12-HOUR EVENT (8:00 am to 8:00 pm EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME) is specifically designed for all Virtual Assistants, with 3 sessions per hour, covering topics for new and veteran Virtual Assistants and those wishing to learn more about becoming a VA!

In 2008, was held 10/24 (online)

PubCon
2009: November 10 – 13, Las Vegas

Comments: for Search and Internet Marketing Specialists

In 2007, was held 12/4 – 12/7, in Las Vegas

Ongoing

(These events do recur, but not on a predictable annual basis)

PodCamp, the new media community unconference

Comments: A PodCamp, founded by Chris Penn and Chris Brogan, is “a usually free BarCamp-style community UnConference for new media enthusiasts and professionals, including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, social networkers and anyone curious about new media. The first PodCamp was held in 2006; they are now being held world wide.” You plan your own event and post it at the PodCamp wiki, which is managed by Chris Penn. (For more info, contact Chris at cspenn-at-gmail-dot-com.)

In 2006, the first ever PodCamp was held September 8-10, in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more events, check out the Conference Guru’s website for listings of additional conferences by month and some tips on where to get discounts. Many of these are outside my topic list, but you might find something there of interest.

Help Grow the List!

Send me info on events you know about, to ktcosmos-at-LooseEnds-dot-net.

Updated: 3/5/08, 8/4/08, 9/4/08