2. You can try those. Don't let it get weird, and don't stalk.
7. You could try that. Don't let it get weird, and don't stalk.

I dunno Tom. The OP has a pretty gender agnostic username; let's not rule out the possibility that he/she could be a hot chick :-p

@OP: Don't rule out austin so quickly. It's supposed to be a very California feeling city without the ludicrous amounts of money you'd spend on the west coast for bare minimum living, and it's growing pretty rapidly. If you're caught up in the, "Oh it's texas... rednecks," mentality, it really doesn't hold so true for Austin. It isn't as big a problem as Texas is often stereotyped for. The vast majority of texans everywhere are actually some of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting.

[quote name='Tom Sloper' timestamp='1303157926' post='4800047']
2. You can try those. Don't let it get weird, and don't stalk.
7. You could try that. Don't let it get weird, and don't stalk.

I dunno Tom. The OP has a pretty gender agnostic username; let's not rule out the possibility that he/she could be a hot chick :-p

@OP: Don't rule out austin so quickly. It's supposed to be a very California feeling city without the ludicrous amounts of money you'd spend on the west coast for bare minimum living, and it's growing pretty rapidly. If you're caught up in the, "Oh it's texas... rednecks," mentality, it really doesn't hold so true for Austin. It isn't as big a problem as Texas is often stereotyped for. The vast majority of texans everywhere are actually some of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting.
[/quote]

Naw I'm a dude, but I know how not to be a total creeper so I should be good.

Two of the big things that turn me off of Texas are

1) Weather: The weather here in Atlanta sucks. A lot. Austin seems hotter and sunnier, Blegh!
2) Surrounding area: I like the surrounding countryside of the Bay Area, and am quite curious about the Pacific Northwest, but Texas not so much.

However, I keep hearing about how cool Austin is,and I'm not 100% opposed to it. I'll see if I can work it into my trip and check things out.

But yeah, you can talk to folks and exchange cards.

@OP: This is the main thing to do at the conference as far as career networking goes. You go there and exchange the cards and BRIEFLY meet with the people.

Start with your own business cards, which are conference currency. You give them your card (which they will likely throw out) and in exchange they give you their card (which you keep).

Then when you get back you email them, say "we talked briefly at the conference, tell me about ...."

Many companies will include an HR person in their booth and most are hoping to get some good new hires when they host the booth. The conference isn't about hiring the people on the spot, instead it is about making the connections to interview and hire them after. That is part of the reason that it is free to industry insiders, because the many sponsors of the conference want to encourage job-hopping of experienced people.

I agree that it probably isn't worth the $400 as an outsider, so you should do something to become an insider. Read their rules and requirements to be verified. For people who are likely to be posting on gd.net it is less difficult to get free tickets than you might initially suspect.

Oh man thanks for reminding me about business cards! I should place an order for some really soon.

Two of the big things that turn me off of Texas are

1) Weather: The weather here in Atlanta sucks. A lot. Austin seems hotter and sunnier, Blegh!

perhaps you have not lived anywhere where the weather ACTUALLY sucks. I have seen the sun 5 times in the past 3 months.

2) Surrounding area: I like the surrounding countryside of the Bay Area, and am quite curious about the Pacific Northwest, but Texas not so much.
[/quote]
Do you know what the surrounding area of austin is like? I will admit that the bay area has a pretty nice surrounding area, but I think you are selling the austin area a little short.

You should also keep in mind that there's a lot more to a city than the surrounding area and weather. I've been to SF, and it definitely meets pretty much all of the needs I'd want in a city, but having been there it wouldn't be at the top of my list for places to live. You might enjoy it none the less, but there is the "just not for me" factor. On the west coast in general, don't make the mistake of lumping in the entire west coast into something that fits all your needs. LA has weather at least as bad as atlanta, and I don't think anybody could really quantify Seattle's weather as good. Not to say I don't love seattle.

Just be wary not to oversell yourself on a city based on what you hear about it before you've been there and likewise don't rule out a city based off of what you think it might be like.

[quote name='PropheticEdge' timestamp='1303453653' post='4801507']
Two of the big things that turn me off of Texas are

1) Weather: The weather here in Atlanta sucks. A lot. Austin seems hotter and sunnier, Blegh!

perhaps you have not lived anywhere where the weather ACTUALLY sucks. I have seen the sun 5 times in the past 3 months.

2) Surrounding area: I like the surrounding countryside of the Bay Area, and am quite curious about the Pacific Northwest, but Texas not so much.
[/quote]
Do you know what the surrounding area of austin is like? I will admit that the bay area has a pretty nice surrounding area, but I think you are selling the austin area a little short.

You should also keep in mind that there's a lot more to a city than the surrounding area and weather. I've been to SF, and it definitely meets pretty much all of the needs I'd want in a city, but having been there it wouldn't be at the top of my list for places to live. You might enjoy it none the less, but there is the "just not for me" factor. On the west coast in general, don't make the mistake of lumping in the entire west coast into something that fits all your needs. LA has weather at least as bad as atlanta, and I don't think anybody could really quantify Seattle's weather as good. Not to say I don't love seattle.

Just be wary not to oversell yourself on a city based on what you hear about it before you've been there and likewise don't rule out a city based off of what you think it might be like.


[/quote]

Actually, the weather is one of the things about Seattle that appeals to me the most. I love rainy weather a ton. Not 100% sure if the allure wouldn't fade after months and months of it, though.

Don't worry, I'm going to be giving Austin a fair chance. I'm doing this exploratory trip for myself, and I'm on the hunt for the best place I want to live for the foreseeable future. If I fall in love with Austin and all the things it brings, then I'll absolutely move there. I certainly won't refuse to live somewhere on principle. I mentioned the west coast in particular since it is an area of the country that I do like from what I've seen (been to San Francisco and LA a couple times), but want to investigate more. Plus, from what I understand it has the best concentration of video game development opportunities. I would also love to check out parts of Canada, Montreal and Vancouver in particular, but I doubt I could stretch my funds that far.