> Ever notice how the speakers always have private speaker-only lunch rooms [...] Most speakers are people too, you know. :) It may depend a lot on the kind o

> Ever notice how the speakers always have private speaker-only lunch rooms [...] Most speakers are people too, you know. :) It may depend a lot on the kind of event to which you're going--but certainly within the Free/Open Source conference world (from community- to corporate-organised events) my experience* is that most speakers don't see themselves as "above and separate" from attendees. While events might have a speaker room it's generally used to grab a quick snack, stash some gear, find an organiser, make last minute presentation changes or as a quiet spot to get some work done in the middle of the madness. :) And generally a speaker-only dinner or bar event is created by the event organisers as a token of appreciation for the speakers. > the speakers want to network with other speakers. In general the speakers want to network with anyone interesting/useful, speaker or not. Two recommendations: 1) If you enjoy or don't enjoy a presentation please give concrete feedback. Either in person or via a conference feedback mechanism. It really helps to know what's working and what needs further improvement. And it's a good first point of contact for networking. 2) Apply to become a speaker! Start from somewhere small (or not) and go from there. It's too easy to convince yourself you've got nothing people want to hear. A few years I started with speaking at a local evening event in a town in New Zealand--this year I'll be speaking and running an extremely well received workshop at OSCON for the third year in a row. * Blatant plug: If you are going to be at OSCON (the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, Oregon) in July and want to learn how to get started with the Arduino consider attending my "Get Started with the Arduino - A Hands-On Introductory Workshop" http://www.oscon.com/oscon2012/public/schedule/detail/23941 http://www.oscon.com/oscon2012/public/schedule/detail/23941. In the previous two years we've introduced about sixty people to the awesome & fun world of Arduino. It's also been one of the highest rated tutorials at the conference for both years which makes me think I must be doing something right. :) Also, if you're interested in creating Android accessories with the Arduino you should also check out my "Arduino & Handbag: Create Android Accessories Without Android Code" presentation: http://www.oscon.com/oscon2012/public/schedule/detail/23946 http://www.oscon.com/oscon2012/public/schedule/detail/23946 And apparently if you use this promotion code you'll get 20% of registration for the conference: OS12FOS /end blatant plug :)