Post Conference Depression

I never went to summer camp, but I can only imagine what it was like when it was time to go home. Saying goodbye to old and new friends and leaving an environment full of laughter, learning, and games... complete with mini-dramas and life transformative moments.

In my mind, the end of a conference is like that...it's the end of adult camp and we all go back to our businesses and lives as different people. Maybe a little different - maybe a lot different. And then there's the crash.

At least for me it's that way. Maybe it's a little extreme to say it, but I'd even call it a sort of Post Conference Depression.

Post Conference Depression Symptoms:

• Obsession with reliving your session's glories and failures
• Irritability, restlessness...a need to keep checking the conference hashtag for updatesFatigue and decreased energy
• Feelings of guilt, envy, or a sense of lost opportunity
• Feelings of overwhelm as you read through notes and business cards collected
• Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
• A sense of loneliness
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and finding taxi receipts

Anyone else go through this? I'm already missing my friends from ASAE Tech 2011 and looking forward to next week's Association Forum Holiday Showcase in Chicago. I wonder if I'll get my conference badge this year ? (Or whatever it is you do in summer camp...)

Everyone's a Champ at EventCamp

I never went camping when I was a child. I never really wanted to because of all the bugs. Aside from the allure of fireside s'mores, I had a great appreciation early on for the comfort of a nice bed. My friends could keep their My Little Pony sleeping bags, I'd take 600 ct sheets or higher, thank you very much.

Making the rubber chicken drink coffee at EventCamp. Don't ask.

They didn't make me sleep in a sleeping bag. My first evening was spent at bar in Chicago throwing out song lyrics to an award-winning songwriter and rubbing elbows with all-stars in the social media world, like Liz Strauss and Chris Brogan (who politely asked if he could hang my coat when I got there). The rest were mostly all-stars in the events world, including many dear friends. The best of the best in the events industry from all over North America came to Chicago for an EventCamp experience that I will never forget.

 If you would have told me when I was 12-years-old that I would be at something called an EventCamp sharing a room with a brain & learning expert and spending the weekend at a place with a special room called "The Sausage Room", and with an American Gladiator Champion, several award winning authors, and a host of wildly creative people; I wouldn't have thought you were a liar...but I would have been very interested in finding out what I was doing as a career. My point is this: EventCamp National Conference deepened my already strong commitment to the online events community.

A special thanks to: Christina Coster (holla!), Michael McCurry, Jeff Hurt, Dave Lutz, Jessica Levin (hello doll!), and Mike McCallen for putting on a great show! Additional thanks goes to all of the speakers who inspired me...Brandt Krueger, Hank Wasiak, Erika St Angel, Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Lindy Dreyer, and everyone else who knocked it out of the park.