Thanks to Pat, I attended two professional conferences this year - the Obesity conference in Atlanta, and the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) conference in Denver. The first, which convened in November, was only a sampler of what was to come in March - but valuable lessons were gleaned from each.
The Obesity conference attracts a large cross-section of folks, much larger than the chummy AHCJ get-together. And far more commercial, too - surgeons, health food retailers, consultants, nutrition experts, anyone that could profit from the promise of skinniness were there, lined up and ready to pitch at ya in the cavernous exhibit hall. However, there were also researchers of every ilk and interest in the hall, too. Me, I had my sights on a lecture later in the day - and was frankly intimidated by all the folks - so I flitted between the poster exhibits and looked for studies that could relate to my story on child nutrition in schools. I may have lingered there longer than I should have. But I did corner at least three researchers and interrogated them on the spot, recorder in hand. That was a thrill.
What and I didn't and should have done was talk to other attendees. Perhaps I was just too cowardly at the time to even think about networking. Most likely. I'd more than make up for it in Denver, where the conference convened in a cozy hotel instead of warehouse-style convention quarters. Also, we stayed for all four days of the conference, so interaction was clearly inevitable.
There, my biggest regret was that I didn't bring my still camera. Part of me doubts that I would've been gutsy enough to use it during the sessions, though. But that would've helped my story a bunch (and any other stories that I wanted to write).
One conundrum which irked me to no end was my classmates' annoying tendency to gang together for just about every social outing. I wanted to meet new people, folks who had achieved some small successes at least, not hang around with the same ol' losers I was already familiar with. (OK, our entire class isn't losers. But you understand what I mean.) This perturbed me the most when we gathered in the lobby for lunch on Friday, nine or so of us, with a barely-thought out plan that led us to a tiny take-away place. I ditched at the earliest possibility and met a group of freelancers. Maybe next year, when the rising first-years are with us, I won't mind the intermingling.
This time around, I attended far more sessions, because I had printed out a color-coded schedule ahead of time and bolded the lecture names that I wanted to attend. What I should've done, though, was type out the names of the lecturers at each session. I excluded them when I made the list, because I didn't think that'd influence me in my choice; however, by Thursday I had gathered more than a few "must-see" names. A future schedule, methinks, would at least include the top journalists giving the lectures - or, at the very least, names which I recognize and would like to talk to.
Lastly, I wish I had recorded more talks. The sports medicine and research lecture was waaaaaay more awesome than I thought it'd be, and all three presenters dropped some very practical info on us. This conference has shifted my gears from passive student journalist to active story-seeking journalist. "Grades" seem too irrelevant and abstract by now (though they have been growing more ephemeral for some time) - I aim to publish, not earn an A!
One thing that I did correctly in both conferences was live-Tweeting. I skipped the session on it completely because, sheesh, just three tweets into the first session I'd already attracted the eyes of at least four other attendees in the room. You tell ME how to tweet? Ha! The key to tweeting an event is to remember that your report is going out to people OUTSIDE the room, so what you say needs to be a) interesting, b) coherent, and c) should represent one or more elements of the discussion clearly for someone who isn't at the session. If you're really a sucker for attention - follow the Twitter conversation, favorite the Tweets you like or agree with, and retweet the ones who point out something you missed. That'll let those folks know that you exist, at the very least. They won't follow you back, though, unless you've adhered to the first three tips, and one other - use YOUR voice.
Now, for the next and last post in this series, I'll reprint the "Tips for covering senior care" post that I wrote for Reporting on Health.
The Obesity conference attracts a large cross-section of folks, much larger than the chummy AHCJ get-together. And far more commercial, too - surgeons, health food retailers, consultants, nutrition experts, anyone that could profit from the promise of skinniness were there, lined up and ready to pitch at ya in the cavernous exhibit hall. However, there were also researchers of every ilk and interest in the hall, too. Me, I had my sights on a lecture later in the day - and was frankly intimidated by all the folks - so I flitted between the poster exhibits and looked for studies that could relate to my story on child nutrition in schools. I may have lingered there longer than I should have. But I did corner at least three researchers and interrogated them on the spot, recorder in hand. That was a thrill.
What and I didn't and should have done was talk to other attendees. Perhaps I was just too cowardly at the time to even think about networking. Most likely. I'd more than make up for it in Denver, where the conference convened in a cozy hotel instead of warehouse-style convention quarters. Also, we stayed for all four days of the conference, so interaction was clearly inevitable.
There, my biggest regret was that I didn't bring my still camera. Part of me doubts that I would've been gutsy enough to use it during the sessions, though. But that would've helped my story a bunch (and any other stories that I wanted to write).
One conundrum which irked me to no end was my classmates' annoying tendency to gang together for just about every social outing. I wanted to meet new people, folks who had achieved some small successes at least, not hang around with the same ol' losers I was already familiar with. (OK, our entire class isn't losers. But you understand what I mean.) This perturbed me the most when we gathered in the lobby for lunch on Friday, nine or so of us, with a barely-thought out plan that led us to a tiny take-away place. I ditched at the earliest possibility and met a group of freelancers. Maybe next year, when the rising first-years are with us, I won't mind the intermingling.
This time around, I attended far more sessions, because I had printed out a color-coded schedule ahead of time and bolded the lecture names that I wanted to attend. What I should've done, though, was type out the names of the lecturers at each session. I excluded them when I made the list, because I didn't think that'd influence me in my choice; however, by Thursday I had gathered more than a few "must-see" names. A future schedule, methinks, would at least include the top journalists giving the lectures - or, at the very least, names which I recognize and would like to talk to.
Lastly, I wish I had recorded more talks. The sports medicine and research lecture was waaaaaay more awesome than I thought it'd be, and all three presenters dropped some very practical info on us. This conference has shifted my gears from passive student journalist to active story-seeking journalist. "Grades" seem too irrelevant and abstract by now (though they have been growing more ephemeral for some time) - I aim to publish, not earn an A!
One thing that I did correctly in both conferences was live-Tweeting. I skipped the session on it completely because, sheesh, just three tweets into the first session I'd already attracted the eyes of at least four other attendees in the room. You tell ME how to tweet? Ha! The key to tweeting an event is to remember that your report is going out to people OUTSIDE the room, so what you say needs to be a) interesting, b) coherent, and c) should represent one or more elements of the discussion clearly for someone who isn't at the session. If you're really a sucker for attention - follow the Twitter conversation, favorite the Tweets you like or agree with, and retweet the ones who point out something you missed. That'll let those folks know that you exist, at the very least. They won't follow you back, though, unless you've adhered to the first three tips, and one other - use YOUR voice.
Now, for the next and last post in this series, I'll reprint the "Tips for covering senior care" post that I wrote for Reporting on Health.