Great post Rachel – I particularly agree about talking at smaller, niche meetups and groups, and this shouldn’t be seen as just a stepping stone to speaking at well-known web conferences. Over the last decade i’ve spoken at numerous small events – Bristol Skillswap, Javascript meetups, BarCamps and other niche technology-specific groups and conferences and found it to be fun and satisfying. It’s helped me learn more about the subjects i’m talking about, as the smaller events have more fluid conversation and audience participation. It also means that I get more out the event, because people want to talk afterwards, so there are none of those awkward “so what do you do?” type conversations you can have at bigger conferences. I’m not looking to talk at bigger conferences – partly because i’m not sure what I can offer at a more “generic” web conference, my strengths are in technical-focused sessions, but also because I enjoy the smaller, more informal gatherings.