proud n00b

Why do tickets to tech company conferences cost so much? (f8 - $400, WWDC- $1,599)

F8 was just announced, and the tickets are priced at $400 a pop. I don’t know about you guys, but for an individual developer (who would love to go), $400 is crazy money. Why do tech company conferences cost so much?!?

Facebook is charging the people who expand their ecosystem to attend an event which will result in Facebook growing further. This doesn’t make sense to me. I understand they want to cover their costs, but I have personally spent more than $400 of my time digging through their documentation & hacking on their APIs.

Tech events like this should be free. Facebook should want every developer to come to f8 for networking, learning more about the platform, and getting developers’ creative juices flowing. By charging so much, you limit who attends, and therefore directly hinder Facebook’s potential growth as a platform.

Yes this is a bit of ranting and raving, but I think the high costs of these events is a real problem. These events should be free for the people who create more value for these companies. Why don’t they understand that and reciprocate the favor? (Apple I’m also looking at you.)