I thought it was a great show!
I prefer the shows with no booths. It allows us all to walk around and talk to each other, without all the bells and whistles that do nothing but distract us from the real purpose of being there. That's nothing against booths, but let's keep the booths to two big shows a year.
JFK: Actually, he's correct about the company names. I know my company wasn't on my badge. But no big deal... I didn't think to write it, but I did tell everybody I spoke to my company name, and gave them my card. That fixed that problem.
As for the drinks, surely we can all afford a few drinks. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the opportunity to buy a few people drinks. It means more when you pay for it. Maybe that's just me.
Seminars: Wow. I've never really gotten a whole lot out of seminars... not to say they've been useless, but I've just personally never gotten much out of them. This time I thought they were excellent. I left every seminar with a ton of ideas, and I've been in about every sector of this industry over my seven years in the business. They may have been presented in a form that newbies could follow, but they definitely weren't exclusively for newbies.
Networking: As said above, you get out of it what you put in. I'm actually a very introverted person (luckily not shy, but definitely a thinker more than a talker). But when I go to shows, I'm sure to introduce myself to every person who comes within three feet of me. Nobody is going to come near me and walk away without knowing who I work for. If you make that a rule, you'll never leave a show empty-handed. People in this industry are some of the nicest people in the world when you see them in person, and once you meet one, they'll introduce you to others.
And as for distributing letters... man, what a way to lose friends. I'm really sorry you did that. Personally, I think an apology is in order. Another little insight about this industry - we're all suckers for a good apology.
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