I'm thinking of crashing conferences for networking.
A friend of mine once got himself into a big international conference by using his brother's ID tag.
I myself managed once to get myself in for free at a huge medical conference in a luxurious resort, almost by accident. At that time I wasn't into networking so it was a bit of a wasted opportunity.
My feelings on sneaking into conferences are the following :
- Dress well, just above par with most of the delegates. You don't want to look too important, you don't want to look like a slob either. Alternatively, dress uber-well as if you're a conference organiser. Walk slowly, confidently.
- Have something hanging around your neck, like an id card or something.
- Initially, a crowd of people at the conference entrance queue up to get their cards and tags. Either try to get in with the crowd, or wait for the crowd to disperse and security to become lax, then walk in through the front door as if you had just momentarily stepped out (then's how I managed it). Alternatively, find a back entrance.
- Hustle a tag. Keep it to make fake tags for future conferences. Although I noticed that once I was in, no one cared whether I had a conference tag or not.
- Have a bumbling idiot story ready if you are caught (unlikely, since no one checks on the people once you're inside). Say you just bumbled in, got handed a tag, and just hung around because everyone seemed so nice. At worst, you'll be escorted off the premises.
- Don't do anything stupid, don't be nervous (you're not doing anything profoundly immoral, you're just a friendly, charming guy meeting people).
Alternatively, simply contact and make friends with the organiser, and let him not only get you in for free, but let him introduce you to contacts.
The only info I found on this sort of thing :
http://mixergy.com/conferences-for-free/
There are some great comments below the article.
Has anyone on this forum perfected the art of sneaking into a conference?
A friend of mine once got himself into a big international conference by using his brother's ID tag.
I myself managed once to get myself in for free at a huge medical conference in a luxurious resort, almost by accident. At that time I wasn't into networking so it was a bit of a wasted opportunity.
My feelings on sneaking into conferences are the following :
- Dress well, just above par with most of the delegates. You don't want to look too important, you don't want to look like a slob either. Alternatively, dress uber-well as if you're a conference organiser. Walk slowly, confidently.
- Have something hanging around your neck, like an id card or something.
- Initially, a crowd of people at the conference entrance queue up to get their cards and tags. Either try to get in with the crowd, or wait for the crowd to disperse and security to become lax, then walk in through the front door as if you had just momentarily stepped out (then's how I managed it). Alternatively, find a back entrance.
- Hustle a tag. Keep it to make fake tags for future conferences. Although I noticed that once I was in, no one cared whether I had a conference tag or not.
- Have a bumbling idiot story ready if you are caught (unlikely, since no one checks on the people once you're inside). Say you just bumbled in, got handed a tag, and just hung around because everyone seemed so nice. At worst, you'll be escorted off the premises.
- Don't do anything stupid, don't be nervous (you're not doing anything profoundly immoral, you're just a friendly, charming guy meeting people).
Alternatively, simply contact and make friends with the organiser, and let him not only get you in for free, but let him introduce you to contacts.
The only info I found on this sort of thing :
http://mixergy.com/conferences-for-free/
There are some great comments below the article.
Has anyone on this forum perfected the art of sneaking into a conference?