#1 Technology Industry Event
California/Vancouver
The insanely popular California gathering draws big names and big thinkers in its namesake categories technology, entertainment, and design, and it spawned a new event format with its 18-minute talks. The pricey event typically sells out a year in advance, and tickets will be even harder to come by next year, when it downsizes from 1,400 to 1,200 attendees. For the 30th anniversary in 2014, the TED conference moves from Long Beach, California, to Vancouver, with parallel event TEDActive meeting in Whistler, British Columbia. With a theme of “the Next Chapter,” the conference will debut other changes, including a custom theater that organizers envision as “designed to maximize the impact of talks, permitting multiple configurations for sitting, listening, and connecting with audience members, speakers, and performers.” Next: March 17-21, 2014
#2 Technology Industry Event
Las Vegas
Billed as the largest show in its more than 45-year history, the 2013 run took over 1.92 million square feet of exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing more than 3,250 exhibitors to showcase their wares. Next: January 7-10, 2014
#3 Technology Industry Event
San Francisco
Hosted by Salesforce, the cloud computing show offers more than 1,000 sessions, big-name speakers, and a gala/rock concert that this year will take place at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Next: November 18-21, 2013
#4 Technology Industry Event
Los Angeles
The Wall Street Journal's conference marked its second decade this year. The event brings high-level discussions with big names in media and technology such as Sheryl Sandburg, Barry Diller, and the C.E.O.s of Twitter and Pinterest. Next: Spring 2014
#6 Technology Industry Event
Los Angeles
The expo popularity known as E3 draws nearly 50,000 video game industry professionals, investor analysts, and retailers to the Los Angeles Convention Center. The show is hosted by Electronic Entertainment Association and produced by IDG World Expo. Next: June 2014
#7 Technology Industry Event
San Francisco
The search giant's developer conference offers product launches and innovations, as well as instantly viral stunts like 2012 demonstrations of Google Glass that saw skydivers jumping onto the conference venue's roof during the keynote address. Next: Spring 2014
#8 Technology Industry Event
New York/San Francisco
Hosted by popular technology news site TechCrunch, the technology showcase has quickly become a buzzy, bicoastal event with more than 100 start-up companies jostling for attention. Next: Spring 2014
#9 Technology Industry Event
San Francisco
One of the world's largest information technology events takes place in 14 venues and in 2012 drew 52,000 attendees. The event is noted for its commitment to environmental sustainability and offers carbon offsets, compost receptacles next to trash and recycling stations, and hotels within walking distance of the event. Next: September 22-26, 2013
#10 Technology Industry Event
Orlando
The conference attracts some 15,000 IT and communications professionals. The new Cisco Live 365 series offers a virtual meeting with a constant flow of content that helps drive attendance to the in-person events. Next: May 18-22, 2014
#11 Technology Industry Event
Orlando
The event from the German software company SAP AG set attendance records in 2013 with more than 20,000 people attending in person and nearly 80,000 online participants. Next: May 2014
