[Nursie]

So what exactly are these conferences for?

I was slightly supicious anyway - information about most tech is only a few clicks away these days so I'm not convinced they're a necessary part of an engineer's ongoing education. But now there are dance performances? And people get sent to these things on work time/money?

[MehdiEG]

There are two main reasons why people attend conferences.

For some people (typically execs, sales people, recruiters, PR people, consultants, freelance professionals, etc), conferences are mostly or entirely about networking. They don't attend the sessions or, when they do, it's because it's the only place in the venue where they can sit down and catch up on emails.

At larger events like Mobile World Congress, those who know how networking works don't even waste their time attending the main event. They have pre-arranged meetings with all the key people they want to meet. And when they're not in a pre-arranged meeting, they are at one of the unofficial fringe events or parties, which is where the real networking happens (and they have, of course, arranged to get an invitation to the key fringe events as the best networking events are often invite-only).

For others, and most software developers would fall in that category I guess, conferences are mostly about personal development. No, you won't hear anything at a conference that you wouldn't have been able to find online. But a good speaker will instill a sense of energy and enthusiasm that you would never get from reading an article or even watching a YouTube video.

Because you're away from your daily grind and because of the way the content is delivered (you have to sit through an entire session and listen - unlike an article, a book or a video, you can't stop half way through or skim it), you also think very differently and tend to be a lot more open-minded and receptive to new ideas. So you almost always end up learning things that wouldn't normally have bothered to even read about otherwise or that you wouldn't have properly understood.

Not to mention the fact that you're surrounded with people coming from very difference backgrounds and industries than those at your workplace. You'll often pick up very different ways of thinking that might very well change your approach to your work.

Personally, in the good old days when I was "just" a software developer and didn't care much about networking, I loved attending conferences. I would leave a good conference bursting with energy and enthusiasm. My best work would always happen after a conference. That's when you feel the most ready to tackle hard problems and don't mind powering through the statu-quo to make things better.

Try it - if you're passionate about your craft, chances are good conferences will make you a better craftsman.

[simonw]

This is a really great answer.

I'll add one thing: don't be put off by the term "networking". It's about having interesting conversations, finding out what's going on in your industry and sometimes making new friends. If you go to "network" it can feel a bit contrived, but if you go to learn from other people and teach people yourself you can do excellent networking without even realising you are doing it.

[elamadej]

It's a performance for all developers who will be in Krakow (where both conferences takes place) around that time. It's an additional thing for those who want to experience art and boraden their perspective. Read the post, it explains it all, thanks!

[Nursie]

Hi, you may have misunderstood. I wasn't asking why there is a dance performance, though that does feed into it. I was asking what the conferences themselves are for. Why would I go to one or pay for an employee to go to one?

[ndr]

Meet people, talk and learn from them directly. Sit with them and do hack sprints. Conferences are awesome and you should try more apparently.

[Nursie]

So it's mostly about networking?

I'm not disputing that conferencea could be fun, there are lots of fun things in the world. I was just wondering what they were actually useful for.

[ndr]

From the personal point of view is fun, and you learn too. From the professional point of view you meet potential employers, employees or partner, and you learn too.

Sometimes you go to tech talk that you would never watch at home because you "have other stuff to do", just because is between two other interesting talks... and it often happens that also that one is awesome and you are glad you didn't miss it at the end of the day.

[jonathanwallace]

I go to conferences for professional development.

Typically, conferences are for professional development. Here's how a conference is superior to me clicking my way to professional development.

1. I'm not distracted by the demands of my day job. When I go to a conference I leave my day to day concerns behind. I can completely focus on learning and networking.

2. The biggest benefit for a conference for me personally is that I'm inspired by speakers, by what they're doing and working on, and by what my fellow attendees are doing and working on. This temporary reprieve from my day to day in #1 in conjunction with #2 has me itching to get back to my keyboard to code.

When I attempt to skip a conference and just watch the videos, I rarely watch them because of all the other things that are competing for my time and attention.