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>44. Conferences are generally a waste of time What is the community's take on this? I kind of agree, but sometimes I feel that I feel so because I haven't lea

• simonw 16y ago
  As the co-founder of a conference related startup ( http://lanyrd.com/ http://lanyrd.com/ ) I'm very obviously biased here, but I've found conferences incredibly valuable in my career to date. What you get out of them depends very much on how you approach them. Unless you live in the bay area, conferences are going to be the highest concentration of smart, informed peers you'll be exposed to for the whole year. Talk to people! Don't think of it as "networking" - think of it as an opportunity to learn from others (and to share your own knowledge). At most conferences, the hallway track is by far the most valuable. And if you really want to get the most out of conferences, speak at them. Preparing a talk forces you to learn a great deal more about your subject, and presenting guarantees you some excellent conversations afterwards.