It wasn’t that long ago that Los Angeles didn’t have much of a tech scene. Now, it feels like every night is jam-packed with networking events and panels. This is LA, after all. If we can’t commercialize it and make a party out of it, then what the hell’s the point, right?
This bodes well for people who use these events to their advantage by actively seeking out new contacts in their industries, but what about the organizers of the events? In the past week, I’ve seen a couple of events moved to avoid overlapping—often to no avail.
I contacted the executive director and head of the LA Chapter of Girls In Tech, Robyn Cohen about the issue.
“This month was tough,” she confessed in an e-mail. “There was a lot going on and a lot of overlap. The best thing I can do is reach out to the people I know: Kevin Winston who does Digital LA, Jackie Peters who heads up the Social Media Club LA, etc, to make sure when [Girls In Tech] are planning our events, they don’t have anything going on. This way everyone has a chance to shine, if you will, promote their event, and get as many attendees as possible.”
She had a positive perspective on the occasional overlaps, saying that this forced event promoters to seek out new blood in the industries to which they cater, which is great for attendees. After all, how much help is a networking event where you already know most of the people in attendance?
Not much help at all.
Here’s how you can maximize your event-attending potential:
- Constantly seek out new groups and organizations that are beneficial to your endeavors. Check publications in your industry as well as Twitter. Of course, the king of event scheduling is Facebook. Connecting with relevant groups and organizations on Facebook is a great way to get notifications about upcoming events. Maintaining your social calendar has never been easier.
- Check the event descriptions. What’s being talked about? An organization may be relevant to your industry, but the scope is always wide. It’s one thing to wish to branch out and constantly learn new things, but there’s no reason to make yourself sit through a panel about something that’s going to bore you to tears. Of course, there is also the opposite danger of settling into a pattern of familiar topics. If all you’re doing is going to Using Twitter For Marketing events, are you really advancing yourself? Your time is valuable, treat it that way. Always ask: “what do I get out of this?”
- Keep an eye on the attendee list. No, I don’t mean checking to see if your friends are going to be there. Following your friends around is the easiest way to fail to get anything done. Stake out the territory on your own, look for people who are making strides in the industry. Who is speaking? Who has RSVPd? How many new faces do you see? What are their networks? Fun is important, yes, and there are plenty of events for that, but when it comes to networking, it’s all about who you don’t know yet.
What’s the biggest determining factor for you in choosing which events to attend?
