Tell HN: Why I attend conferences

Yesterday I went to a conference (around mobile marketing) and despite having been to many of these and listening to talks that can be repetitious and include things you know and hear over and over, I'm very glad I went. I won't make this into a blog-post entry so I'll be succinct on the reasons: 1. I go for the epiphanies. Sure I've heard the same stuff over and over but sometimes a particular string of words cracks the creativity crack and you get a solid, validated idea or improvement. 2. I go for the inspiration - the case studies are enough to make you want to do shit better. 3. I go for the people - My online persona (esp Twitter) is that of an asshole and I'm very much misanthropic but the interaction at these events and the forced friendliness leads to genuine connections sometimes. I was offered a job after meeting someone for the first time IRL that I've been following and have been followed on Twitter. 4. You never know who you'll meet and where conversations will lead. I was offered pitching time and genuine interest (in me and not a single one of my ideas, which weren't even discussed) by a VC. Do you attend conferences? Why?