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I go to conferences for two reasons: to meet people and learn stuff. And really, as I am generally poor at meeting people, the learning part is the bulk of it.

I go to conferences for two reasons: to meet people and learn stuff. And really, as I am generally poor at meeting people, the learning part is the bulk of it. So, really, I completely disagree with the foundation of your statement. Whether or not information is technically available, there are any number of reasons why conference presentations are useful. They provide synthesis of information from multiple sources. They provide use cases and experiences. They dive into things that are poorly documented. They present information in a different mode. They highlight things you might have missed. They share with you the presenter's thinking about thorny issues. After all, what publicly available resources on the Internet do you actually hunt down when you're researching something new? Chances are, posted conference decks and videos are a big part of them.

denzil_correa 7y ago
When you say “meet people” - what does it mean? Does it mean - you just have a 1-time conversation with people or do you hope your conversation goes beyond the conference? If it is the latter, you are not going to “meet people”. You are actually trying to foster collaborations. “Meet people” is a broad phrase which encapsulates that concept.
- ghaff 7y ago
  I meet new people who I may or may not stay in touch with over time. I put names to faces of people I’ve met online and may have social time with. I get to spend time with people I’ve worked with in the past, have met previously, etc. In my case they’re also the only chance I get to get together with a lot of co-workers F2F. So a lot of things. In a nutshell, a combination of casual (but sometimes illuminating) conversations, begin new relationships, and extend/deepen existing ones. And learning/new insights/stuff to look into as well.
ravenstine 7y ago
That's interesting and totally valid. My experience with conferences in multiple fields has been pretty lukewarm in terms of learning, but they're great for meeting people and networking.

denzil_correa 7y ago

When you say “meet people” - what does it mean? Does it mean - you just have a 1-time conversation with people or do you hope your conversation goes beyond the conference? If it is the latter, you are not going to “meet people”. You are actually trying to foster collaborations. “Meet people” is a broad phrase which encapsulates that concept.

ghaff 7y ago
I meet new people who I may or may not stay in touch with over time. I put names to faces of people I’ve met online and may have social time with. I get to spend time with people I’ve worked with in the past, have met previously, etc. In my case they’re also the only chance I get to get together with a lot of co-workers F2F. So a lot of things. In a nutshell, a combination of casual (but sometimes illuminating) conversations, begin new relationships, and extend/deepen existing ones. And learning/new insights/stuff to look into as well.

ravenstine 7y ago

That's interesting and totally valid. My experience with conferences in multiple fields has been pretty lukewarm in terms of learning, but they're great for meeting people and networking.