When it comes to attending conferences on Social Media, I, my friends, am a bona fide expert. I’ve been to conferences that were over 1,000 people strong. I’ve led intimate social media get-togethers. I’ve spoken at tech-heavy seminars. I’ve been to conferences on blogging, on tweeting, on Facebooking. I’ve been to Web 2.0 conferences for techies, for women, and even for techie women of color. So when I tell you that this weekend, one of the best social media conferences in the country is coming to town, boy howdy, you can rest assured that I know what I’m talking about.

The Mom 2.0 Summit at the Four Seasons Hotel is, quite possibly, the perfect social media conference. This is the second year the conference has been held, and as its name implies, it’s geared to mothers (and really, everyone else) who have an online presence. Bloggers, entrepreneurs, marketers or even other professionals with Web sites to promote their companies and skills will find something here to help take their online game to the next level.

Mom 2.0 is hosted by Kirtsy.com and The Tasteful Life, and this year’s theme is “Defining a Movement,” celebrating the accomplishments of women online.

“Leaders in this dynamic space are defining the medium as they create it. We are getting together to discuss trends, tools and tactics to better the overall endeavor and growing industry,” said Laura Mayes, one of the founders of the conference and of kirtsy.com. “Social media is based on conversation, and the conference is designed to create just that. With the platforms and personalities growing at astonishing rates, it’s more important than ever to create dialogue and ideas about best practices.”

Judging from the agenda, this year really is all about best practices; the conference will have three “tracks.”

• The professional track is all about developing your business online, including advice on writing a business plan, developing strategies for your online presence, and even information on how FTC regulations can affect what you put on the Web.
• There’s a product track, which among other subjects, includes information on “user experience,” or how viewers of your website will perceive and experience your product or services.
• And finally there’s a personal track, which discusses the impact of social media on our day-to-day lives, both as users and as consumers of the Internet.

Note well, however: lest you think the conference is all about work and not about play, ample opportunities exist for attendees to celebrate each other after hours, as well. Mom 2.0 first kicks off with a cocktail party Thursday night around a Mad Men theme – conference-goers will trip the light fandango at the Four Seasons Lounge, sipping martinis and soaking in the 60’s cocktail vibe.

And on Friday evening, the festivities move to the stunning FotoFest gallery, where attendees will find themselves surrounded by the artistic works of some of the best-known photographers on the Internet, curated by the Shutter Sisters. Better still, the images on display will be available for sale via online auction after the exhibit, and proceeds will go toward the benefit of earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.

So, I hate to say I told you so, but really, the Mom 2.0 Summit promises to be the best social media conference of 2010. Tickets are sold out; however, for your viewing pleasure, over the next few days I’ll be photographing and issuing dispatches from Mom 2.0 so that you can experience the seminar first-hand. If you’re a mom with any interest at all in the Internet, I guarantee that by the end, you’ll already start preparing for next year’s events.

Karen Walrond is a writer, photographer and the creative mind behind Chookooloonks.com. Her book, The Beauty of Different, will be published this fall by Bright Sky Press.