I thought the author was sincere after the first read. I read it after reading your comment and respectfully disagree about the author's ego. I have never been a conference speaker so perhaps I am not the best judge.
Having self-respect and deciding not to keep uselessly abasing yourself to a clique that's never going to anoint you is perfectly reasonable. As the previous poster said the article author seems over-blessed with ego thinking he knows enough to hand out blanket advice putting the fault on others.