Conference talks are 90% worthless to me. Many popular conference speakers argue that the job of a talk is to introduce you to a subject. I agree with the autho

Conference talks are 90% worthless to me. Many popular conference speakers argue that the job of a talk is to introduce you to a subject. I agree with the author, that I would rather watch that online than pay to attend a conference. Being a really good speaker, is also a rare talent that most speakers (even a lot of the popular ones) don't have. Way to often, talks are created as annoying sales pitches as well. A popular trend that is much more valuable, are the "Open Sessions" where a large room has a bunch of chairs in circles. Anyone can create a "talk" that others can join. Everyone gets in a circle & discusses ideas around a topic. I've found these much more valuable. The "Open Sessions", random discussions in the hallways or during events, & having lunch with a bunch of strangers talking about anything & everything are the most valuable activities in my opinion.