The Tech Convention Survival Kit

Tim Conneally is headed to CTIA Wireless, March 21-24. What's in his bag and what should be in yours, other than the obligatory computer and camera?

This time of year is packed with tech industry trade shows. DEMO, GDC, CeBIT, PAX East, SXSWi, and CTIA all butt up against one another and stimulate activity and interest across many different tech sectors. These events may not exactly be the lifeblood of our high-tech economy, but they're serious business and they generate...well, serious business.

Developers, company representatives, and PR executives show up in force to promote their products and services, while buyers, analysts, speakers, and general businesspeople show up to stay closer in touch with their industry.

For the last couple of years, AOL tech blog Engadget has done rundowns of the tools they bring along to CES; which invariably consists of dozens of Mac notebooks and an array of Nikon D-80s.

While it's interesting to see what they use to get their content up so quickly, that's just a media toolkit, and it doesn't do much for the thousands of people who go to tech trade shows to conduct business.

There are much more general needs to be addressed for this broad spectrum of tech conventiongoers.

Since a lot of our readers are traveling back and forth between these industry get-togethers, I've put together a survival kit that has gotten me through my first six years of conventioneering without fail.

So when you're packing this week for your next convention trip, here are some essential elements to consider:

SILENCE

Good trade shows are noisy and hectic, it means there's excitement and activity going on. But this means there is often no place where you can retreat to read and respond to emails, or to simply relax for a second. Earplugs have come in handy so many times for me when I needed to write an article hunkered down in the corner of a convention hall. They come in additionally handy for flights to and from the show, or with the snoring co-worker you have to share a hotel room with.

GOOD BREATH

Trade shows, above all else, are about meeting people. You've got to woo new contacts, customers, and investors. Since eye contact is absolutely mandatory, good breath is too. When you spend the previous night drinking and the whole morning downing coffee and talking your face off, your breath tends to get pretty foul. If you want to leave a good impression on the people you meet, it's best to not have your words smell like a garbage disposal.

CLEAR HEAD AND STOMACH

Bad food, high stress, high noise, low rest, and probably heavy drinking will all add up to headaches and intestinal trauma. Every single trade show I've gone to, I have ended up needing these for myself or someone I know. That's the business.

CLEAN HANDS AND SURFACES

For the media, we take a lot of pictures, and for consumer tech media, this means a lot of taking pictures of screens. Screen cleaners are super important for media, but for other conventioneers, you've got monitors, phones, and other products that need to be shiny and appealing; and failing that, your glasses can look nice and shiny. Also, after shaking hands, patting backs, trading business cards and touching sketchy bathroom door handles, your hands should be kept clean.

BOOSTERS

Caffeine is mandatory. You will have early morning strategy meetings and action plan setups, as well as long hours between periods of rest. Factor in jet lag for international shows, and standard cups of coffee won't cut it. The items pictured above are caffeine supplements in time-release pill form (left) and instant jolt liquid form (right). Only the one on the right actually tastes like coffee.

EXTRA MEMORY

Though it always helps to bring extra memory cards, that's not what I'm talking about. There will be something important going on that you won't immediately recognize as being important, and you will regret missing it. So take notes. It could be a simple notepad, but I personally use an IR recorder because it also helps to record presentations and interviews for transcription. Observe your competition. Observe potential trends and prospective clients. Record it. Write it down.

THROWAWAY JUICE

Even though most high-end electronic devices use rechargable batteries, the one device you carry that takes disposable batteries will always run out when you need it the most. Carrying around a single 9-volt, two AA's, and two AAA's takes up very little space and could prove to be someone's last minute savior. Even if you don't exactly need them, it's a good Karma booster to have on hand.

RELIABLE POWER SOURCE

Scheduling foul-ups and commitments to long days mess with your dining schedule. To make matters worse, convention centers and hotels always have hugely long lines for food, and their prices are disproportionately high. You should have food on your person at all times at a convention to keep you from wasting time when you could be making connections.

OFF DUTY GEAR

When you get out of your work gear, you need some crucial decompression time. Unfortunately, hotels aren't your house, and if you have to leave your room to get something or meet someone, walking barefooted is a terrible idea. In fact, walking ANYWHERE in a hotel with no shoes is a bad idea. I wear heinously ugly but incredibly comfortable leather soft-sole moccasins. They're casual, but more shoe-like than slippers. When paired with a hotel robe and pipe, you can also pretend to be Hugh Hefner.

All of this stuff (with the exception of the shoes) can be tucked into the various pockets of your computer bag and forgotten about. Now go do business.

Editor's Note: Originally posted on March 3, 2011 at 11:06 a.m. ET.