One thing that would be ideal for pulling the trigger on going to a conference is knowing that a guy is going there to meet a few known contacts who are going to be there. I had visions of going to Calgary by myself, watching a few panels, walking the floor and ultimately having to rely on luck to really connect with a few people to hang with away from the conference. I can imagine there’s a definite stratification between average conference goers and the cool kids/OG’s on the panels. Guess I’ll find out this summer.