I had a wonderful experience learning, sharing and networking with other experts and practitioners. Made some new friends along the way and met some Facebook connections for the first time.
Conferences like this are a great place to get some real 'gold'. Something that may not be available through trainings alone. Sometimes we may know what the subject is. But the way a speaker presents an idea, gives us a new dimension of thinking and confidence to embark on a new plan.
No matter how much e-learning or TED Talks we watch... there will always be that special magic that only happens at a live event.