Get in line early: From what I remembered about Pubcon, there was always a chair to sit in and lunch was fast and easy. Well times have changed.
First, when I walked into Landing Page Optimization (5 minutes early), every seat was filled and people standing against the wall, from front to back of the room.
On the first day, the lunch line was ridiculous, people actually waited in line so long they missed the seminar following lunch. In Pubcon’s defense they made changes to resolve this… sort of.
Finally, the Matt Cutts supersession was standing room only. Once he said that he would post most of what he was talking about on his blog, I left.
Know why you are there: You are there to learn, right? Or is it to network? Or is it to get work done? Or is it to party? Either way you go; be honest with yourself and you will complete your goals. This way you are not wasting time at a networking social or a seminar that you really don’t want to be at.
Knowing this will also determine which hotel you stay at, will it be the sponsored hotel or the hotel closest to the convention center.
More listening, less typing: Don’t write out the speakers slides at Pubcon, they will send them too you later. Rather, write down items that are real insights and lessons learned that are not in their notes.
Final Warning: Don’t do important tasks the night before or the morning you leave, while you still have to pack. The mistakes made will sit with you through the entire plane ride to the conference. Trust me, I know.