Ask HN: How do you promote yourself?

I know that maintaining a developer blog and speaking in conferences buy you a lot of recognition. Is there an alternative way to gain that lime light?

Not many people are fond of speaking or are simply not designed to speak effectively, is there a hope for them (myself included)?

I had this really random idea to teach a small batch of people something new; once in a while, but I'm not really sure that it will help as much. What are your thoughts and experiences?