Part of keeping abreast with what's going on at the intersection of your organization and connective technologies can be conference-hopping. I see conferences as a necessary, enjoyable evil that are often like magazines in that they feature 40% topical, tangental content and 60% advertising (but unlike magazines, the advertisers/sponsors at a conference often get you drunk). While a conference is often a nice place to hang out and hook up with like-minded folks, all of the "we're so cutting edge" self-congradulation can get a little daunting and stale after a few days.