Nice post, but all these points go beyond just conferences, but to the importance of “professional” social network in general. The “Leading Technology in Libraries Session” at CiL this year touched on the importance of the. I recently touch on this issue as well: http://librarygoon.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/the-state-of-my-web-20-social-network/

Also, several people have told me privately that they enjoyed the “Ronco Spray-On Professional Development” line. I should mention that I stole that from Daring Fireball’s great post Ronco Spray-On Usability, prompted by Dorothea’s “single spray” metaphor.

I also think it is easy to forget that those of us who deal with the various aspects of tech in our jobs are more likely to come back from a conference like CiL feeling that we may have received less NEW information, but received more variations and approaches to what we already know or are doing.

CiL is the high point of my professional networking year, since I’m not in ALA and can only afford one conference like that plus an ILS user group. The contacts and friendships that develop benefit my place of work all year long because I am constantly sharing information with my network, bouncing ideas off the hive-mind, and hopefully giving back what info, tips, and support that I have to contribute.

In some ways, I am closer to the librarian network of friends, than I am my friends locally & from my college years.

The networks and relationships we share enhance how we do our jobs. Conferences cement those online networking relationships.