On the subject of conferences, it seems that the DI this year is not offering one day and two day conference passes - you have to go for the full 3 days. Apart from the fact that this seems like a big moneymaking push, it seems completely unfair! The Indaba is sposed to be accessible for locals too - as a small agency there's no way we can afford to send all our creatives for 3 days, either in terms of time or money... So it looks like the five people in my studio won't be going at all... Or wait, do I send a junior to the simulcast? I'm sorry, but I think it shows the Indaba is now only for International people and big agencies - and that sucks.

yes, there seem to be hundreds of conferences happening and most about topics you think are done to death and all cost money, but think of it this way; a conference includes networking with topically related individuals, skilled/experienced information transfer, pre & post followup & access to material, and the un-missable opportunity of speaking with folks who most of the time, know what they're doing in their respective fields. All of this costs the conference host money, and lots of it. that is also only what you see on the surface. The food, venue, AV, web-time, admin time, etc etc etc ALSO cost money and without all of this in the background, there would not be a conference in the first place.
Some organisers, yes, are greedy and charge way more than they should. But think about it... they wouldn't if folks hadn't already shown willing by buying their ticket. I'm one of the folks who service conferences and am often caught between the rock and the hard place - organiser charges a mint, but squeezes the downline to boost their margins. My suggestion is this - if you dont value the one-on-one of a meeting, do video / web conferencing. If the organiser want to make you fork for 3 days when you are only interested in one, DONT GO AT ALL. But, before you cry that it's a ripoff, think about those folks who are really being ripped off.