Apparently Matthew and his buddies feel the same was I do about conference tote bags...they are a vital indicator of the quality of the conference:

When you walk up to the registration desk/table and get your extremely heavy bag of swag, do one thing first: take all the stuff out of the bag and examine the bag itself.

Is it well made? Does it feel solid? Does it have a clasp to keep it relatively closed? How is the printing of the logo? Take a long look. We have a running theory: You can tell how good a conference is going to be based on the bag they give you.

Sure the notebook with the Made in Taiwan sticker is nice. The session materials are helpful too. But what sets apart a good conference from a great conference is the choice of vessel for this great swag. Do the conference organizers care enough about the material and you to give you a strong bag to carry around all the crap?

Looking back on different conferences I've been to (with the clarity provided by hindsight), it's dead on. From the plastic bags with those handles that are supposed to snap together but never do, to the gorgeous backpack/tote hybrids they gave out at BlogHer, you can tell whether or not the organizers "get it." Or even give a shit, for that matter. And I'm dying to know if this holds true for other conferences that I haven't attended...your comments encouraged!

I think the BlogHer bag is a perfect representation of the conference itself...a gorgeous, functional, and very well made bag...BUT IT COULD NOT HOLD THE CONFERENCE BINDER! DOH! I picked up on that right away, and it became obvious throughout the day that the other attendees (ok, the other female attendees) were struggling a bit. Purses, totes, laptop bags, this bag, plus a binder. It was all a bit too much.

The conference, like the bag, was gorgeous on the surface...but the fact that you couldn't get the most vital part of the conference stuff in there was a reflection of how quickly that conference came together. And I'm not faulting the organizers...they did an amazing job with very limited time. But it's with that limited time frame that this kind of detail gets lost.

I just got a note this week about BlogHer 2006. I'll be interested to see what kind of bag they give us there, now that they will have had a year to plan and the experience from this year's conference.

As for this year's bag, I have found a great use for it. It's Roscoe's travel bag...it's a perfect size to hold his "stuff": paper towels, wet wipes (vital when you have a drooling basset hound!), extra plastic bags, and his treats. We've put it on his leash hook to grab on our way at the door. Since Katrina, we've make it an emergency bag, should we need to leave the house suddenly (earthquake, fire...you know), adding a copy of his rabies certificate and his vaccine records, and the famous Crazy Paws Fun Ball. So the bag has served me well outside of the conference...inspite of the initial (seemingly impractical) shortcoming, it's perfect!

 blogher