Research intelligence: how to get more from academic conferences

Some great points there. On disregarding people that are not important, perhaps there is more to it. Conferences are great places for old friends and colleagues to rekindle long established relationships. Perhaps sometimes they just get so carried away catching up they forget that they are the experts and that perhaps somebody might want to speak to them. From the outside it could be seen as closed groups or cliques, perhaps sometimes it is, other times they might be oblivious.