I'm going to be attending Search Engine Strategies NYC - here's the Sessions I plan to attend.

This will be my fourth or fifth SES I've attended, always in NYC - I don't travel to the others because the content is usually identical and so are the speakers. 

I found the content that's new is what to go after and that's what I've been focusing on more often.  Sometimes, there's a pull to go to the session a friend is in but lately I'll go to the sessions I feel I can learn the most and talk with friends after the session.

Hopefully, there's parties that I'll be invited to beyond the basic ones that everyone can go to.  I recall last year I went with Mike Moran to one of them (Yesterday's exclusive SES Party Photos) which featured a full three course dinner and most of the more well known speakers at SES.  It was at that party I spoke to someone about data-mining Search Query logs and found that is where some serious bucks are going - that kind of "insider" information is what I find the most valuable.

In fact, I usually find I learn more about what's going on at the parties than at the sessions - mostly because much of the good content in sessions are edited out by the speakers. It's still very valuable to attend conferences like SES and report on them, but most of the good stuff is actually in between and after the sessions, not in them.

There's always been an inherit conflict of interest between speakers pedaling their insights and the fear they have to giving to much away for free (they'd have nothing left to charge for). 

On the other side of the equation are people who attend conferences to learn something worthwhile - and it's up to the organizers, in this case, Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC, to make sure there's a balance of good, new information with the speakers needs for a certain amount of privacy and holding back.