First year at SES NY

[ramurphy]

As mentioned above, this is my first year at SES NY. To add to this, I have only been working on SEO for a little over a year. Any seasoned veterans out there want to fill me on what to do or who to meet? Networking parties? Just looking for the inside scoop.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Elisabeth]

You must first read "A Newcomers Guide to SES", young padewan.

[ramurphy]

Ha! Thanks Elisabeth, this is a good start. I'm going to aim for "Newbie" status and will head straight for the hotel bar as soon as I get in Monday night with my "Search Conference Groupie" fieldguide in hand.

[AussieWebmaster]

Get someone to help you decide what sessions are best for what you what to get out of the conference - the bar on Monday night is a great place to get some help.

The events will be posted in this thread when they have been set up. Joe Morin usually let's everyone know. Just check back here a couple of weeks before the conference.

[The PR Guy]

There will be more than 75 sessions at SES New York -- and they are all worth attending. But, that's not possible -- since five are generally being held concurrently.

So, as a first time attendee, start with the Fundamentals Track. That's eight sessions over the first two days. Danny Sullivan has programmed the Fundamentals Track for people just like you.

Now, comes the hard part. What to see on Days 3 & 4?

Danny does a great job mixing "New" sessions (sessions not previously held at Search Engine Strategies or ones featuring substantially new content or changes from previous shows) with "4 Star Rated" sessions (ones that were evaluated as good or excellent by attendees at previous conferences).

Over the past five years, I've attended almost 20 SES conferences in Boston, New York, San Jose, Chicago, Toronto, London, and Stockholm. So, I've seen many of the 4 Star Rated sessions. But, even regular attendees haven't seen the "New" sessions before, so no one can give you advice on those.

So, all I can tell you is pick a track that seems to interest you, and drill deep. Or, sample sessions across different tracks to get an idea of all the new developments in search.

In fact, the best advice that I can give you is bring some friends -- or colleagues from work. Search is too big and complex a subject to learn all by yourself in just four days. Split up and cover multiple sessions -- and get together the following week to share notes.

One last suggestion: Check out the training classes on Monday, April 9, the day before SES opens. This is something new for New York -- although training classes have already been held in San Jose, Chicago and London. They cost extra, but the half-day classes can help you come up to speed more quickly on some key areas of search.

As for "networking" at SES, don't be shy. Virtually all of the speakers are very accessible -- and helpful. This industry changes early and often -- and networking is one of the ways to cope with the shifts -- even for the veterans of SES.

[AussieWebmaster]

I agree.... also make friends - we are a friendly lot...

Though I would suggest coming to this event and then maybe investing in the Elite Retreat when Aaron and crew do it again... very small hands on sessions.

[jimhedger]

Surviving SES

A first SES conference can be overwhelming but easily survivable with a few simple coping strategies.

Make a plan.
Read the session guide and figure out which of the sessions are the most important to you. As PR says, there is generally five great learning opportunities going on at the same time. If one considers the two bars at the Hilton to be primary event spaces (as I do), there are at least seven interesting rooms to be in.

Part of making your plan is deciding exactly what you want to get out of the experience. There are several levels to the conference. If possible, buddy up with a friend or colleague from your company, town or region. There is no way you are going to get to see or do everything. There simply are not enough minutes in the hour or hours in a day, even on the three-hour sleep schedule you are likely to adopt.

One level is learning.
Given the quality and quantity of speakers and attendees, learning goes without saying. There is actually too much to learn and, much like a trip to Disneyland, one needs to attend a few SES conferences to begin to take it all in.

This is a place where the buddy system works well. I always have the problem of wanting to be in two sessions at the same time. My first way of coping is to lean on the notes of other journalists and attendees. My second way is to rely on the team RustyBrick pulls together to cover specific sessions.

Another is networking.
OMG the folks you get to meet... Putting faces and personalities to names is a great experience. I have met some of the best (and by far the brightest) people I know through SES conferences. Let's face it, even though many of us work in populated offices, the work we do is often difficult for non-tech friends and family to fully understand. Imagine the intellectual luxury of being around thousands of interesting people who speak your professional language. It's liberating. You will almost certainly make good friends.

A third is doing real business, developing partnerships and making better websites.
You are about to meet thousands of the keenest potential partners. Some will be worth your time, others won't. You have to figure out what you need and, (if applicable), closely examine the trade show exhibitor list and a layout of the trade show floorplan. The NYHilton conference center is large and covers more than one floor but it is often not large enough to comfortably handle the number of people drawn to a search marketing event. Anyone who was at ad|Tech in November will attest to how the sardine effect adds painful minutes to travel time between point A and point B. Knowing exactly where point B is supposed to be helps. (quick tip -- Ever wonder how waiters and cleaners get through those busy public hallways so quickly? Learn the layout of the service hallways.)

A fourth is flat-out partying.
There are a lot of extra-curricular activities to enjoy. Sponsored by major search engines or search related vendors, the parties tend to be lavishisly delicious. Watch the time carefully though as the last-call for free drinks is often drowned out by loud voices in the crowd.

Get a lot of sleep in the week before SES. You are going to need it. Now, if you are a younger webmaster, this tip might not apply to you. If, however, you are approaching your thirties or (gasp) forties, you gotta learn to pace yourself. This is a tip I always forget five or ten minutes after entering the environment but it is one worth keeping in mind if one wants to have half a mind left by the end of the week.

Getting a good breakfast every day is absolutely necessary however a good breakfast requires getting up around 7:00ish in order to get to the actual sessions on time. Expect the hotel restaurant to be crowded as of 7:15 with an ever lengthening line-up thereafter. Use this line-up to meet new people.

What is always most surprising to me is how everyone seems able to push their bodies to the limit every day and every night and still appear fresh and brilliant (though quietly hungover) the next day.

As AWM points out, Joe Morin tends to present a rigorous party schedule for each conference.

- Have fun. Make plans with friends to meet at one of the two Hilton lobby bars on Monday night, plant yourself and talk to any and everyone you can. Within twenty minutes, you should have a good idea of what you are going to be doing that night.

-- I am looking for SES newbie stories if you want to share during or after the event.

[AussieWebmaster]

Nice first post jim.... wlecome to the forums...

[sportsguy]

I'll add to the excellent advice already posted above by saying not to forget one important item:

As a paid attendee, you have access to all of the session notes and powerpoint presentations. Either in the conference book, or after the conference via downloads.

So, if, like me when I first attended an SES show, you're struggling to decide between two sessions at the same time, pick the one that'll give you the most benefits up front, and request the info on the other session later on.

As mentioned, the speakers are pretty accessible. So even dropping a speaker an e-mail after the conference to clarify a point in their presentation is reasonable. It might take the speaker a bit to respond, but let's face it - we wouldn't be up in front of the crowd if we were afraid to meet new people.

My rule of thumb was always:

Which sessions will benefit my company the most, in the shortest time frame?

Then I started circling sessions.

...and if it wasn't mentioned in the article Elisabeth linked you to, plan for some time to get a feel for the layout of the conference area. Nothing worse than realizing you're running late for a session and not knowing where it is...

I'm not sure what you do, but my name is Duane Forrester. I'm speaking in the In-House track on day 1. If you are in-house yourself, track me down - always happy to swap cards with folks.

[Mel66]

Great advice all. Jim, good to see you here.

SES is far and away one of the best networking conferences out there. Everyone is approachable and willing to share ideas. Like Jim said, you can almost literally go 24/7 if you're up for the challenge. I always come away wishing I had the stamina I had when I was 20!

Melissa

[AussieWebmaster]

Originally Posted by Mel66

Great advice all. Jim, good to see you here.

SES is far and away one of the best networking conferences out there. Everyone is approachable and willing to share ideas. Like Jim said, you can almost literally go 24/7 if you're up for the challenge. I always come away wishing I had the stamina I had when I was 20!

Melissa

LOL... like the additional 5 years makes that big of a difference.

[Mel66]

Flattery will get you everywhere!

You just made my day! LOL!

Melissa

[Joseph Morin]

Hey Ramurphy,

Welcome to the forums! As Aussie and Jim mentioned, make sure to check back here, not just for the party schedule (ok - for the party schedule) because we tend to discuss a lot of pre conference prep stuff such as hotel accomodations, best ways into NYC from airports, best limo services to use, I've even posted hotel coupon codes in here before.

A lot of the speakers drop by and make recommedations on which session to attend or others such as Mike Grehan, warn you to steer clear if youve already seen them a half dozen times and then he promptly invites you to join the group at the Lobby Bar near Hilton registration.

To give you an example, here is the official party guide from last year:

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/...ead.php?t=9912

Look me up and say 'hi' - if you want to know where to find me, just stop and ask just about anyone if theyve seen me about, I think I know just about everyone from the regular conference circuit.

Joe

[AussieWebmaster]

Originally Posted by Joseph Morin

Hey Ramurphy,

Welcome to the forums! As Aussie and Jim mentioned, make sure to check back here, not just for the party schedule (ok - for the party schedule) because we tend to discuss a lot of pre conference prep stuff such as hotel accomodations, best ways into NYC from airports, best limo services to use, I've even posted hotel coupon codes in here before.

A lot of the speakers drop by and make recommedations on which session to attend or others such as Mike Grehan, warn you to steer clear if youve already seen them a half dozen times and then he promptly invites you to join the group at the Lobby Bar near Hilton registration.

To give you an example, here is the official party guide from last year:

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/...ead.php?t=9912

Look me up and say 'hi' - if you want to know where to find me, just stop and ask just about anyone if theyve seen me about, I think I know just about everyone from the regular conference circuit.

Joe

LOL... you are the myth, the man, the legend....