The PHP community makes a big deal about user groups, and for a good reason. Meeting up with local peers and creating a network of people can be beneficial. Many user groups will have a talk most months which makes a nice talking point and a good opportunity to learn something new. The many PHP conferences, too, prove their worth time and time again. Different ticket price ranges, different types of conferences, unconferences, camps, and conventions exist. Again, many have talks and tutorials which are the perfect opportunity to broaden your skill set. And, like user groups, you can expand the reaches of your professional network. What about when you are too far from these? Or can’t afford to attend a conference?