Small talk and the like is tiring, but getting to talk about your pet project with others who grasp it's depth is a rare and exciting thing, and there is no denying that in person communication flows the best.

Speak for yourself. I'm not so much an introvert as a near-total loner. I find in-person conferences incredibly interesting and valuable for the ability to spend a week nerding out on technical topics with new people. Online conferences do absolutely nothing for me.

I've described them as a geek spa or fantasy nerd camp. It doesn't have much to do with the act of delivering talks in-person on online; that's the the mechanism for a very special type of social interaction that is hard (or impossible) to replicate online.

Another socially anxious introvert here. I miss in person events so much, digital conventions don’t compare even remotely (please don’t talk to me though).