As someone who has gone to his share of large conferences, I have to say the experience is growing a bit stale. I've thought for a long time the true value of attending conferences occurs in the hallways between sessions, over a meal, and in the networking suites at the end of the day. Travelling halfway across the continent to attend what I suppose are meant to be rousing keynotes speeches and two dozen 90-minute concurrent sessions on every topic under the sun, just doesn't have the pull it once did.

One answer may be Open Space Technology and Unconferences.