As far as web conferences go, French LeWeb is the biggest happening in Europe so far. With an average ticket price hovering around 1700 EUR, it attracted 3000 participants this year. The guests ranged from Google, Facebook and Twittter executives to latest start-ups from around the world to investors to students and loads of press. Apart from hosting presentations and discussions with dot.com gurus, the conference is known for being a great place to network. How to justify this exquisite but costly experience for a Nordic or Baltic start-up? Depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s publicity you’re after but you’re not part of the Startup Competition, I’d recommend against going to Le Web. The size of the conference is so big that chances of being noticed are quite low. Not impossible but low.

If you’re looking for connections, it might be worth it. Make sure you dedicate enough time beforehand to go through the list of participants and get in touch with those people who are relevant for you. Bear in mind the list is reeeeally long!

Since there are loads of big companies and investors at Le Web, it might be worth going there to just meet those. Again, check them out beforehand and make sure you talk to as many as possible during the conference.

If you want to attract more users to your service you’d probably want to talk with organizers to make sure you get a chance to hand out your flyers or freebies during the conference. If you’re a clever bootstrapping start-up, though, you’d never do that simply because it might cost you an arm and a leg. In which case, you’re better off concentrating your efforts on something else.

All that said, Le Web does offer a great experience so if you can get in with cheaper student prices or cheap/free press pass (for bloggers and free-lancers) go for it. But make sure you have a have a crystal clear idea of what you want out of the conference, make a well thought-out plan and come with an aggressive determination to put the plan to action. Otherwise, your money would go to waste.

Below are a few videos from the region that ought to be covered:

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed's fireside chat.

Marko Ahtisaari's presentation. Read our post on it.