Y'know, I go to a fair number of cons. I've been cutting back, though, largely because so many are rinse and repeat.
Selfishly, I want to learn something new – my 3 Gold Nuggets – wherever I choose to spend my time and energy.
CYBR.SEC.CON. 2026, my first, exceeded all of my expectations. The talks I saw were enlightening; I measure that by the number of notes I take and the novel thoughts they precipitate.
The right number of and the right kind of attendees. No offense to 20,000-person cons, but here, there was space and opportunity to have chats, meaningful, more than a quick wave in an overcrowded hall. I sincerely appreciated the layout, the tables to talk over, and the show-and-tell on a laptop. (And the espresso was the bomb...)
The low-key but content-rich interactions with both attendees and vendors were a pleasant surprise.
Only one criticism... not at the con, but at the vendors' marketing departments: ALL OF YOUR SIGNS AND WORDS AND CLAIMS ARE BLINDINGLY IDENTICAL. One booth was fancifully immersive and I had a great chat with them, even though I was not a buyer. Their marketing folks GET IT.
For your own sake, vendors, BE CLEAR IN YOUR TLD - THE TOP OF YOUR SIGNS! If I have to read a paragraph, all echoing the same acronyms of every other booth (AI.... hmmmm), you're either wasting my time, or your own time having to explain something I don't care about.
CYBR.SEC.CON. is the kind of event that invites creativity, novelty, and originality in the maelstrom of messaging. Take advantage of being different, not just another weak flavor of vanilla. (No offense.)
I got my 3 Gold Nuggets. In fact, I probably got 1o! I'm still counting.
The CYBR.SEC.CON. crew deserves massive kudos for this event. It's what a con should be, can be, and indeed, was. I just hope I passed the audition. 😄
