Ben Ramsey has a post to his site sharing a few tips for those attending the php[tek] conference this year (though most of them could apply to just about any technology-related conference out there.

This week, I’m attending php[tek]. This is my seventh php[tek], and the first I’ve attended not as a speaker. It’s one of my favorite conferences, and I didn’t want to miss its first year in a new city: St. Louis. As we gear up for the eleventh php[tek] conference, I thought I’d list my seven tips for getting the most out of your php[tek] experience.

His suggestions cover things to help you get the most enjoyment from the conference, and not just from the sessions:

• Hang out in the evenings, after the conference sessions.
• After the conference events, follow folks to the bar.
• Take advantage of the “hallway track,” and don’t forget the regular sessions.
• Attend the morning keynote sessions.
• Join the conference IRC backchannel: #phptek on Freenode.
• Use the official hashtag: #phptek
• Take lots of pictures and upload them to Flickr.

Each of the suggestions comes with a bit of description and photos from previous years. If you're attending this year's conference, I'd definitely recommend talking a look over the full post and getting prepared for a great week of learning and community at this year's conference.