Something I didn't fully realize until starting to put together @FounderSummit is just how incredibly strong opinions many people have around particular instantiation of the idea of "speakers" at conferences 
I think it is less downstream from professional speakers, who most tech people have a) not met and b) not interacted with materially at conferences, and instead it is upstream of people who believe that speaking is professional-opportunity-enhancing.
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In this reading, not paying a speaker is not only not compensating someone for professional work, it is "hoarding opportunity" among the set of people who can fund their own conference attendance/tolerate the opportunity cost/etc.
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(I think this is largely because people overestimate the necessity and absolute economic impact of social capital among the set of people who attend the conference circuit, and because conferences are *highly visible and legible* social capital.)
End of conversation
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