I have generally found tradeshows and conferences to be only marginally worth it, or a waste of time. The most recent events I felt I got my money's worth out

I have generally found tradeshows and conferences to be only marginally worth it, or a waste of time. The most recent events I felt I got my money's worth out of were the Austin Game Developer's Conference several years ago, and Defcon last year. The Game Developer's conference was only worth it because it was free for me, I would not have paid for the badge (somone I knew bought a badge but could only attend two of the three days, I went on the third). I went to Defcon at the last minute because a friend was going and could get me cheap tickets on his airline miles; Defcon exceeded my expectations, I will definitely attend again.