It seems that there are people who are able to follow this model and make money by throwing "Nerd Conferences".<p>In my mind, the key differentiator between mediocre events and great events is who the target audience for the event is:<p><pre><code> - A great even is designed for the benefit of the audience.
- Mediocre events are designed for the benefit of the sponsors or the organizers.</code></pre>
Is it wrong that I've been to these sort of conferences and actually enjoyed myself?<p>Webstock (<a href="http://www.webstock.org.nz/" rel="nofollow">http://www.webstock.org.nz/</a>) in particular is great if you're ever in my part of the world. Great signal-to-noise ratio, fantastic speakers, very little of the standard tech conference douche baggery ("10 tips to monetize your blog"; any panel comprised of commentators rather than people who make stuff; etc.) and an upbeat sort of atmosphere that's difficult to articulate.
The JPG is still there: <a href="http://www.televisionsky.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/nerdcon.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.televisionsky.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/nerd...</a>