Are Conferences a Waste of Time?

Summary:

PG said during YC to not waste time on conferences and trade shows, but he went to two and got a lot of value out of them, so how to reconcile the advice?

* they're a waste of time if you don't have a finished product yet. "A year ago, before we even launched our site, we though it would be a great idea to attend the NAB conference in Las Vegas. 4 hours into the conference we realized we would be more productive sipping White Russians and playing Black Jack."

* they're beneficial if your product's shipped. "A conference, or a trade show, is beneficial only if your business is mature enough"

It depends on why you go.

If you expect to learn really high-level stuff, you're going to be disappointed.

If you expect to learn the basics for something you never thought about or heard of, it's a gold mine.

If you expect to meet lots of people who are interesting, well, you'll get out of it what you put into it. You have to put yourself forward, or you won't meet anyone. But if you do, there are some awesome people there.

I think the only thing I learned from a conference was that if you try and carry your own stuff from your van to your stand in the Moscone Center then interesting gentlemen appear and suggest that this really isn't a good idea.

[Edit: this was during one of the first JavaOne conferences - don't know what it is like now]

90% of time spent at conferences is wasted, but you never know which 90%.