Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's dominant contender for President, took one step closer to making the news official.

"I am thinking about it," Clinton told an audience of geeks and techies at a conference sponsored by marketing automation software company Marketo.

"The hard questions aren't do you want to be president, or can you win," said Clinton. "The hard question is why. Why would you want to do this and what would you offer that could make a difference?"

Some 6,000 people registered for the conference and media reports said most of them showed up to hear her. Latecomers were ushered into an adjacent overflow room.

The former First Lady and US Secretary of State has not publicly declared her interest in running for President but is widely considered a cinch for the Democratic nomination if she does decide to run. Early polls show her beating all anticipated Republican Party contenders for President.

"I would be the first to say that we're having a political period of dysfunction. I was remembering seeing it from afar as Secretary of State," she said. "You had to ask what kind of country did they really want?"

Clinton, however, said she does not plan "to make a decision for a while." She noted she is "actually enjoying my life...seeing my friends and going on long walks and playing with my dog."

"I danced around that pretty well, didn't I," she said, drawing laughter from the audience.

And if there is a future run for the presidency, Clinton talked about the technology themes which might feature in a campaign. Clinton mentioned the need to promote clean power, cloud computing, and reform immigration, which she said would work to America's advantage if more people with special talents are allowed in.