As many of you know, every Monday I try to focus on social media events.   I cannot say enough about the importance to attend conferences and events.  The earlier you plan your attendance, the easier it will be to find a good sponsorship deal (for businesses) or a sponsor (for consultants). So start planning your 2010 event participation now.

Since this is the first Monday of the year, I would like to point you the Big Four. Yes, by the Big Four I mean the top social media events that happen throughout the year.  If you are serious about investing on an event for sponsorship, learning or speaking opportunity, you will want to consider one of these:

South By South West: This is the largest web conference in the US.  They have three sections: Music, Film and Interactive. This year, the Interactive will take place from March 12 to 16 in Austin, TX

Where 2.0: If you want to be on the edge of social media, this is The Conference to attend.  Most of the new ideas, concepts and technologies are first introduced here, then to the world.  This year, it will take place from March 30 to April 1 in San Jose, CA

BlogHer: This annual conference brings together the most influential women of the nation.  It is also a fantastic opportunity to make great connections and bond with bloggers and brand managers in your niche.  This year BlogHer will come to New York City from August 6 to 7.

BlogWorld: The name here doesn’t describe the essence of this conference.  It has evolved beyond blogging to pod-casting, vlogging, mobile technologies and everything related to empowering the individual to own and manage his or her space.  It provides an amazing learning opportunity and guaranteed fun. They haven’t announced the 2010 dates, but it usually happens in October in Las Vegas.  I’ll keep you posted.

Once you select among your Big Four, don’t forget about the smaller conferences throughout the year.  Again, I try my best to keep a comprehensive list here.  If you know of any, please share the information.  You can add the event yourself and indicate if you are looking for speakers.  I also encourage you to become active in your local social media clubs, local blogging communities, and meetups.  The best way to be efficient online is when we combine our relationship building capacity with off-line activities.

Did I miss any big event? Would you recommend any other?