Natural Products Expo West: Press Approvals

Natural Products Expo West instituted some new procedures for press credentials this year.

I’m not sure whether it made it easier or more difficult for scammers to get in.

Previously scammers Rosie Pearson and Jody Baram have gotten in. For a big show, it’s very difficult to check on the authenticity of the application. And with several people working on credentialing, some scammers slip through unfortunately. Both these scammers have awful home pages with old article links—some not even articles. Baram and her husband David Sternlight are con artists—Sternlight is associated with the group that ran EST. Baram uses fake link titles (2015 Conference Coverage) which link back to old “articles.”

Social Media Influencers/Bloggers

This year, Expo West introduced a category for those on social media to apply as journalists. Their followers had to be substantial. For instance, 5000 followers on Twitter. Bloggers also had to have followers.

I was confused what would constitute a blog or traditional web site, as they made a differentiation to them. It made me anxious whether or not I would get approved. I did get approval yesterday.

But I hope they are indeed clamping down on scammers getting in. There’s a whole cadre of scammers and cons who go from show to show posing as journalists. The thing is they feel an entitlement to be there—Hiram Ash and Rosier Pearson yell at the people at the desk unless they get their way. Then they laugh, lounging around like their VIPs.

Siggraph does a great job of weeding people out. They bring people to a computer and basically say, “Show me or Shut up.”

Wish all events would do that.