Preferred vs. General Seating:
Last year there were about 7,000 attendees. During the keynote speakers there is a front section (preferred) and the general section. If you're sitting in the preferred section, you can see the speaker on the stage pretty easily. If you're in the general section you'll be watching the big screens they have on the side.
My personal feeling is that unless the person speaking is someone to whom you really really want to see up close, that the general seating is just fine.
My exception to that is the Thursday night pre-conference speaker, Lisa Williams, who will be doing some readings in the audience. For an extra $25 you can sit in the front section and she may be more likely to select you for a reading. not sure how she works, I haven't seen her in person before.
But if money is an issue, i would skip the preferred seating.
Note that all of the breakout sessions are in individual banquet rooms that hold between 100 and 500 people. No preferred seating is in there so if you buy preferred seating you're only getting it for the keynote speakers. (1 each morning and 1 each evening)
This concludes my diatribe on the preferred vs general seating.
