
Ask HN: What value has going to tech conferences provided for you? - rblion
I&#x27;ve been wondering if I should start going to more in my city or not.<p>I&#x27;ve tried going before and I felt like it was mostly a lot of people there who just wanted to feel part of the industry and network. I did not meet a lot of people working on interesting projects or attempting new things. This is fine, this is good for inclusivity. I&#x27;m just not sure if being there was a good use of hard-earned money and limited time when I have work to do and projects I want to work on.<p>I&#x27;ve met a girl recently who graduated from General Assembly said &#x27;yeah, he&#x27;s so and so from Google and he follows me on Twitter&#x27; after they briefly met at a conference. She was bothered that I didn&#x27;t find it a big deal, that I wasn&#x27;t impressed by it. Is this really a big deal if a person follows you on social media anymore? Especially if you are not building stuff and&#x2F;or posting interesting content?<p>I&#x27;m not Elon Musk or Steve Jobs or _____ myself. I&#x27;m pretty ordinary compared to them, i&#x27;m a n00b in the HN world too. I&#x27;m not ashamed of that, I&#x27;m trying to learn more all the time from people a lot more experienced than me.<p>I&#x27;m rambling. Please enlighten me if I am missing out on big opportunities for learning and expansion.
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core-questions
> I'm just not sure if being there was a good use of hard-earned money and
> limited time when I have work to do and projects I want to work on.

If you already know what you want/need to do, and how, and have a customer for
it (or an employer), then there's not much value. It's more if you want to
find new solutions, consulting services, or hawk such things; or to look for
new employment.

~~~
rblion
> It's more if you want to find new solutions, consulting services, or hawk
> such things; or to look for new employment.

Consulting services - what do you mean by that? To build connections for your
business?

I can understand the employment part for sure. Also, seeing lectures/talks but
I can watch things on YouTube and discuss it with friends in the industry or
here.

I think going to a MeetUp would be best since it's free, about learning by
doing, there is networking, free food sometimes. Would meet my 'tribe' there
more than anywhere else I think.

~~~
core-questions
> Consulting services - what do you mean by that? To build connections for
> your business?

More like to find local consultants in your area to hire, if that's something
you want.

