Remember this post
http://blogoscoped.com/forum/107347.html

This is the end result several months later (it was not their Webmaster help group – it was this forum)
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/11/bringing-conference-to-you.html

We're fortunate to meet many of you at conferences, where we can chat about web search and Webmaster Tools. We receive a lot of good feedback at these events: insight into the questions you're asking and issues you're facing. However, as several of our Webmaster Help Group friends have pointed out, not everyone can afford the time or expense of a conference; and many of you live in regions where webmaster-related conferences are rare.

So, we're bringing the conference to you.