I remember years ago (many I suppose), the Information Security conference calendar was quite empty. You’d struggle to get anything at times and options were to wait a long time or head off overseas on a junket.

How things have changed. It seems there’s some sort of conference or seminar held daily or at least weekly. Most aren’t worth the time and effort. They’re either a vendor driven marketing day, (hey, if you’re into that vendor and a free lunch, go for it), or a conference created by non-industry people to make a buck (riding on the coat tails of hot topics of the day). The latter really gets my goat most times. They’re nothing more than random topics within the larger “hot” topic, random speakers (whether of any note or not), in and out, and pay your 3K. You know the ones – the marketing looks great, they look like they are doing the industry a service, but you walk out of there deflated and thinking you’ve been stung.

On the flip side, we are blessed with some great events and people should really get behind these and support them. They’re the ones usually run by industry people for the industry.

I’d be keen to hear about some conferences you’ve been to, and your thoughts on them. I am sure others would appreciate the tips also.