And you will also get a pamphlet with the schedule of events and sessions–keep it handy. Take the advice on picking one or two backup sessions seriously. Before the opening keynote they’ll usually make some announcements about new sessions and maybe even a few that had to be cancelled for various reasons. Then you’ll arrive at a session that sounded cool just to discover it wasn’t as cool as you thought.

And, I know it’s Vegas, but if you can enjoy yourself without it… skip the booze. Take it from the mouth of experience… it can get ugly. But if you can’t help yourself, at least eat heartily before-hand.

And take advantage of the networking opportunities. I did more of that at MIX09 than I had in previous years and it was well worth it. And like I said, don’t hang on the presenters all the time. They’re great… but you never know what product team members and start-up CEOs are already sitting right next to you who’d love to talk shop!!

And if you can’t find anyone else to talk to, give me a ring. I’ll have keys to one of the attendee lottery suites. Twitter: @stygz

Love the drinking vodka tip. It’s very money er or was that one of those Vegas sayings that’s off limits?
It’s always best to stick with one type of drink in a night. Just to add to it, drink your vodka with tonic, that way you can pace yourself with a plain club soda and lime without drawing attention to it, keep a nice buzz and make it to the morning sessions. Oh and saunas are a great way to prevent/cure hangovers (combined with plenty of water)

Joe Davis: Amen to closing the damned laptop! Stop playing minesweeper and engage yourself!

And after reading this, just out of spite, I’m wearing my kilt. No telling what’s underneath! That’s just not gentlemanly.

1. Rembemer that you’re with fellow geeks. We care about what you’ve built as much as who it was built. I’ve had lots of people drone about some boring “micro-site” they built for some fortune 500. Talk about the wierd side-projects you stay up until 3am coding.

2. Introduce yourself. Don’t stalk the hallways expecting somebody to spontaneously network with you. At lunch, don’t sit at an empty table in the corner, sit and the loud almost full tables in the middle.

3. Talk to speakers AFTER their session. It may seem like a good chance to say hi in the 10 minute downtime between sessions, but before the session, they’re probably trying remember what they were supposed to say about Slide 4.

4. MIX doesn’t stop at 5:00pm. If you go back to your hotel after the last session to play WoW, even your guild members will make fun of you. There isn’t an official event every night, but there are hundreds of geeks with nothing to do. Get a group together and do something dammit.

5. Wear a kilt. Preferably one with a touristy Vegas patch on it. If you don’t have a kilt, at least dress comfortably. Then you can laugh at the guy in the suit sweating his ass off when sitting in a session room with 200 other people.