"The least value comes from conferences heavy with panels run by market research firms with charts and bullet points that repeat the most obvious of trends: We're in a participatory culture; media is fragmenting; it's the age of user-generated blah blah blah," said Baratunde Thurston, web editor for The Onion and a multidiscinplinary comedian/pundit who attends about a dozen conferences each year.

"If conferences don't facilitate real-world value, they should disband and just post lectures on YouTube."

Because I'm a conference junkie, and I like the word "disband."