ACCESS DENIED: At RSA Conference

This morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. to get to the RSA Conference. I was excited. I wanted to hear Bill Gates speak. Not for any other reason but to say that I was in the same room as he was. Who knows, maybe he had something inspirational that I could use for a proactive pitch for a client. I didn't even take a bag because I knew I could get one for free at the conference and didn't want to carry two. So I arrived at 7 a.m. and registered but was denied a bag because I wasn't a paid attendee. But they did say that I can still go to the keynote. So I walked down to the Keynote area in Moscone North and started walking in until I was abruptly stopped by the staff and was told I couldn't see the keynote with my "expo only" pass. Okay, so that's my fault. I should of read my privileges more carefully. I was then told to go to 103 where I could watch it live on the monitor. But once I arrived to 103, I was abruptly denied again. Now I understand making a bit of money and priority for paid attendees, press and analysts. However, denying someone from watching a keynote from even a screen, that's going overboard.

I did manage to enjoy the free continental breakfast that I probably wasn't suppose to have with my "expo only" pass.

Maybe next time, Bill!