Here are some quick tips for before, during, and after to maximize your conference experience.

Before

Even before you pack your bag, make sure you have checked out the conference program. Read through the session abstracts and identify the must-see sessions and speakers. You want to optimize your time by only going to sessions that are relevant to you. Doing this ahead of time allows you to schedule meetings in confidence knowing you are not going to miss out on important sessions.

Also, take some time to develop questions you might have about the sessions; if there is a Q&A opportunity, you’ll be ready with well thought out questions. Consider whether there are certain media or analysts you would like to connect with. (I know a great PR team that can help with that!)

Lastly, don’t forget to follow the conference and speakers on Twitter, and find out the official conference hashtag – this is a great way to join the conversation about the conference on social media.

During

With your schedule in-hand, you are ready for a valuable conference experience. Apart from attending the sessions, taking notes, and asking thought-provoking questions, conferences are also about networking. You’ll want to engage both in person and on social media.

You know those speakers you followed on Twitter before you arrived? Well, you are now listening to them give their presentations live and in person. Share session highlights and mention the speakers in your tweets. Don’t forget to use the conference hashtag to ensure the broadest exposure for your tweets, as well as taking the opportunity to engage with others by liking and retweeting other tweets – you’ll be surprised the extra interactions you can have during the conference on social media.

Now, engaging on social media is great during the conference, but don’t forsake the traditional meet-and-greet. Introduce yourself, share business cards, and engage in a little networking, because there is nothing quite like meeting and making a connection in person.

After

The conference has come to an end; you are back to your daily grind. But, there are still a few things you’ll want to do related to the conference. Make sure to connect with your new contacts on social media and shoot them a quick follow-up email to continue the conversations you were having at the conference.

Summarize your key takeaways – what did you learn, who did you meet. Taking a few minutes to process and gather these takeaways will allow you to create more value by identifying key applications and taking action on them – whether it be adopting a new process for your business or closing a sale.

You may even choose to write a blog – this is a great way to share comments about what you learned at the show with a broader audience. And now with LinkedIn Pulse, you don’t have to have an established company or personal blog to share your thoughts with your network.

A few days out of the office, cool destinations, opportunities to learn and socialize…conferences can be a lot of fun. However, you don’t want to lose sight of your end goal – bringing value to your business or organization. So remember: check out the agenda beforehand, join the social media conversation, follow up with your new contacts, and identify and apply key takeaways. With these quick tips, you can make the most of your conference.

Are you a conference rockstar? If not, check these tips on becoming a conference pro:
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As we draw closer to kickoff, we can expect to see the volume of announcements increase around hot topics on tap for #OFC2015 (official live tweets are available by following @ofcconference on Twitter). According to show organizers, the buzz this year is crystallizing around several important themes including the monetization of optical networks; SDN and virtualization; 100G/200G/400G network design; interoperability and optimization; terabit and beyond optical networking; integrated photonics; and cloud and data center networking/interconnect.

For the first-time ever, Tuesday’s Plenary Session will be offered as a free live-stream, online event. Featured speakers include Juniper Networks’ Pradeep Sindhu, TE Connectivity SubCom’s Neal S. Bergano, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kevin Slavin. Expect speakers to offer interesting and important discussions focused on the latest developments in optical networking, including the future of transport networks, a very cool talk on undersea fiber optic cables enabling a connected world (did you know the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable connected North America to Europe in 1866?), and an equally cool discussion of algorithms’ impact on networking and the ‘physics of culture at-large’. At home viewers will need to pre-register to receive the live-stream link.

It’s no surprise that SDN is a hot topic at OFC 2015. A quick Google search shows that just about everyone is talking about it…new alliances are being formed, SDN conferences are coming online, and a slew of vendors are making SDN-related announcements. At OFC, SDN will be featured in the Service Provider Summit, a half-day event from the show floor on Wednesday, March 25 in Expo Theater I. Specifically designed for the service provider and carrier sector, the Summit includes panel discussions, a keynote presentation, exhibit time, and networking opportunities.

SDN will also be featured in a track of sessions in the Expo Theaters II and III, also located on the show floor. These sessions, and a dozen or so others focused on business, networks and FTTX, and datacom, enable attendees to take advantage of a host of educational programs without having to leave the exhibition.

Market Watch, yet another feature open to attendees from Expo Theater I on the exhibit floor, is an exhibition-long series of panel discussions exploring the latest application topics and business issues in optical communications. Speakers from industry, research, and the investment community will cover a range of topics like the state of the industry, network convergence verses equipment divergence, monetization of optical networks, and integrated photonics technologies, among others.

OFC 2015 is an important show for Interprose clients ADVA Optical Networking, booth #1449, and the Ethernet Alliance, booth #2531. ADVA will highlight its new NFV strategy, while the Ethernet Alliance hosts a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration showcasing the latest in 10, 40, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet technology from an array of its member companies. In addition to the great things happening in their booths, both organizations will participate in several speaking panels. Be sure to stop by and check them out!

Presented by The Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (IEEE ComSoc), and IEEE Photonics Society, the OFC 2015 technical conference is March 22-26, with the exhibition taking place March 24-26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California.

The full list of programming and special events happening throughout the conference and exhibition is available on the OFC 2015 website. Check it out and let us know what you’re most looking forward to at this year’s OFC.