This article made the rounds of our office recently. It discusses how Twitter has changed the experience of attending professional conferences in recent years. It can have both positive effects (fostering discussion among attendees, letting those unable to attend in on the action), but also negative (privacy concerns, distraction from speakers).

From April 19-21, approximately 3,000 Drupalers descended upon San Francisco for DrupalCon. My attending was a semi- last-minute decision since I was already committed to SXSW and Educause this year. As luck would have it, talking to fellow Drupal developers at SXSW convinced me I should really be at DrupalCon the following month.