If you've ever wanted to go to a technology conference (there's several PHP ones out there!) but have talked yourself away from them with excuses, you might want to check this new post from Lorna Mitchell to see if any of them match up. She dispels some of the common misconceptions about attending conferences - five, to be exact.

I can quite appreciate that different people come to conferences for different reasons, but I cannot accept that people actively avoid conferences because they think its not for them - and the reasons for this, from people who have never been to a conference, are wild and varied. Most are based on misconceptions and I'd like to take the time to examine some of these.

She looks at some of the most common:

• I won't know anyone
• It's too expensive
• My employer won't pay
• I might have to talk to people/strangers
• I haven't been to a conference

These along with a few other recommendations can rid you of some of the worries you might have over attending and maybe give you something new to talk to your manager about when the next conference rolls around.