I’d guess that the value of casual conversations at conferences mainly comes from making connections with people who you can later reach out to for some purpose (information, advice, collaboration, careers, friendship, longer conversations, etc.). Basically the classic “growing your network”. Conferences often offer the unique opportunity to be in close proximity to many people from your field / area of interest, so it’s a particularly effective way to quickly increase your network size.
I’d guess that the value of casual conversations at conferences mainly comes from making connections with people who you can later reach out to for some purpose (information, advice, collaboration, careers, friendship, longer conversations, etc.). Basically the classic “growing your network”. Conferences often offer the unique opportunity to be in close proximity to many people from your field / area of interest, so it’s a particularly effective way to quickly increase your network size.