I think the key connection that you and the author are missing, is that conferences are also about networking. Yes, there is certainly promotion going on, but

I think the key connection that you and the author are missing, is that conferences are also about networking. Yes, there is certainly promotion going on, but more than that or additionally to that, people who go to conferences want to network. While I certainly agree on some of the points the author makes, part of the reason why the question asker is specific and uses common lingo (in the case of uncommon I agree with the author) is to give himself credibility. Which is important if you are going to pull aside the speaker afterword and talk to him, possibly exchange business cards, maybe ask him to lunch, and ultimately find him on LinkedIn. As during the final step of networking, Question Asker A, wants Speaker B to remember who he was and add him to his virtual network. Which is ultimately a hell of a lot more useful then pretending as OP said to be there solely for "education" or "sharing ideas." Not trying to discount what OP said, but point to something valuable being overlooked.