So far we’ve enjoyed a truly exciting start to 2013, which has included the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and BlackBerry 10 launches, the BlackBerry Experience Forum events, and partnerships with businesses that are upgrading to BlackBerry 10. We can’t wait to bring this excitement with us to this year’s BlackBerry Live conference kicking off in Orlando, Florida on May 14, which is less than 8 weeks from today! (Can you believe it?)

To help you save on registration fees, we’re offering an Early Bird Rate which includes $150 USD in savings on a Full Conference Pass. This pass gives access to both BlackBerry Live and BlackBerry Jam Americas and includes:

• BlackBerry Live 2013 Keynotes
• BlackBerry Jam Americas Keynotes
• Breakout Sessions and Hands-on Labs
• Admission to the Monday evening Welcome Reception in the sponsor showcase
• Admission to the BlackBerry Appreciation Event
• Admission to the sponsor showcase during open hours, Tuesday – Thursday
• Breakfast, breaks and lunch, Tuesday – Thursday
• Access to the Jam Space in the conference area
• Complimentary access to Wi-Fi internet in the conference center
• Access to BlackBerry Live On-Demand, the online portal for conference content, until the start of the 2014 conference
• Registration gift upon check-in onsite

You’ll want to act fast to take advantage of this offer before it expires on Friday, March 22. In addition, if you’ve attended some of our past BlackBerry events you may be eligible to save an additional $150 USD through the Alumni Discount.

We’re also pleased to announce that a session catalog preview is now available! Start preparing your trip by using the BlackBerry Live Budget Planner, submit your nominations for the BlackBerry Achievement Awards, and convince your boss to let you experience BlackBerry Live 2013!

Did you attend last year’s conference? What tips or advice would you share with a first-time BlackBerry Live attendee? Share in the comments below.

Having attended BlackBerry World since the inaugural event (back in the days when it was WES!), I often take for granted that customers (and their bosses) inherently understand the value of the conference. After all, once you’ve attended, you just get it. In fact, based on our BlackBerry World 2011 Survey:

• 96% of attendees stated that “attending BlackBerry World was important to their organization”
• 99% of attendees “would recommend BlackBerry World to a colleague”, and
• 98% of attendees “plan to attend BlackBerry World again” (hopefully taking advantage of the alumni discount!)

But if you’ve never attended BlackBerry World, you wouldn’t know the experience for yourself. So, in addition to my apology, I’ve pulled together some reasons for attending BlackBerry World that you should consider.

Have a look at this presentation for the details: “Roger’s Top 5 BlackBerry World 2012 Attendance Justification Conversations To Have With Your Boss At The Water Cooler”.

Also, the BlackBerry World Conference catalogue covers a broad range of topics — you just might find exactly what you’re looking for. In fact, 84% of the attendees surveyed at BlackBerry World 2011 reported that “the breakout session catalog covered the topics they wanted to hear about.”

But beyond my “BlackBerry World 2012 Attendance Justification Conversations” – and in addition to all the work that goes into scheduling, preparing, promoting, learning from, and implementing various sessions – deep down, I think the single most valuable part of BlackBerry World is the people. I can’t put a price on this, or explain how it happens, but BlackBerry World simply brings so many of the right people together and creates the right environment that ‘magic’ is bound to happen. I’ve personally experienced it every year I’ve attended. You just might sit down to lunch and within minutes realize you’re seated with the one developer that has the exact application you’re after, an industry analyst who consulted on a similar business issue in Europe last year, a manufacturing customer who faced similar implementation challenges, and a system integrator that’s based near your office, but you’ve never run into before! Getting this brain trust together could take months of voicemail-tag and email trails. This fortuitous meeting of the minds can be invaluable. In fact, 88% of last year’s surveyed attendees claimed “BlackBerry World helped them meet colleagues (with whom) they would collaborate with in the future.”

So whether you base your attendance on the content or the networking, there’s something for everyone at BlackBerry World. So consider registering for BlackBerry World today…and if my “BlackBerry World 2012 Justification Conversations” do the trick, your boss might even come along, and maybe your team might then be able to take advantage of the group discount! Of course, you’ll have to be on your best behavior if the boss is beside you – but having them see firsthand the potential positive impact mobile technology can have on your company’s business could be worth the effort!

How do you justify conference attendance? Do you have a budget for the year? Per Person? Per topic? What do you say to convince your boss to approve BlackBerry World attendance? I’m sure your peers could benefit from your experience!