A wave of #MeToo stories about abusive behavior at professional conferences has swept across LinkedIn.

The accusations center around a legal tech conference, and began with an alarming incident that took place in January at Legalweek in NYC, per NPR.

What happened?

Shimmy Messing, co-founder of SaaS company Altorney, posted on LinkedIn about how he had been at a bar near the conference hotel with friends, including Stefanie Bier, director of security platform experience at Microsoft.

Messing said a man began aggressively hitting on Bier, wouldn’t listen when she told him to stop, and threatened Messing with a knife when he intervened.

The man, Robert Cruz, was later arrested and fired from Reveal, the tech company he worked at. Reveal also noted he was not an official attendee of the conference.

Then…

… several other legal tech employees began detailing harassment and assault they’d also endured during Legalweek and other legal tech conferences, both at official and outside events.

And then there came other stories from other conferences. Deeanna Fleener, a VP at Deloitte, shared several.

But it’s not just legal tech…

… nor is it new.

Other women have been talking about conference harassment for years, spanning industries including financial services, science, and tech — where 39% of women keynote speakers reported some kind of harassment.

Another woman noted it didn’t just happen surrounding conferences, but at business meals, meetings, and even over social media.

What can be done?

Apart from everyone just behaving? Some have suggested limiting alcohol, increasing security, and revamping behavior policies.

Legalweek’s organizers, ALM, have since issued a statement saying they condemn such behavior and will take steps to prevent it, including building an app where attendees can anonymously report incidents.

And if you see something, don’t be shy. In an interview with Harvard Business Review, employment attorney Asha Santos, who specializes in bystander training, said research shows a “helping effect” occurs when one person speaks out, prompting others to join in.

We’re exactly one month out from the total solar eclipse on April 8 that will blanket North America — the last of its kind until 2044.

And the sun is taking a page out of Taylor Swift’s book, causing big economic ripples in small towns. The 10 cities along the path of totality (i.e., where you can see a total eclipse) are experiencing tourism surges.

This happened back in 2017 during the last total eclipse: South Carolina saw 793k out-of-state visitors spend $269m, and Wyoming welcomed 473k tourists who spent $167m.

April’s planetary event is shaping up to be even bigger:

• Between 931k and 3.72m people could travel to the path of totality on eclipse day, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com’s data model.
• All those travelers could mean total spending between $321m and $1.28B.
• Kayak has seen hotel searches increase 15x for the dates around April 8 compared to the year prior, and flight searches are up 304%.

In Mazatlan, Mexico — one of the cities along the path of totality that is most likely to have favorable viewing conditions — demand for flights is up 950%+ YoY.

Delta even added a second special eclipse flight from Dallas to Detroit after its Austin-to-Detroit flight sold out.

Eclipse economy

While visitors spending money and stimulating the local economy is certainly a good thing, the sudden rush of tourists is new for some small US cities.

Little Rock, Arkansas, has a population of just ~200k+, but is expecting 100k+ eclipse visitors. In Preble County, Ohio, local businesses are introducing eclipse-themed products for the expected ~40k+ visitors — 2x the county’s population.

If you’re in the path of totality, don’t forget to wear your protective glasses. And if you can’t stomach the price of a plane ticket, maybe some eclipse merch can soften the blow?

• This Singapore hotel tries to guarantee your vacation won’t get rained out. Guests who lose two whole daylight hours to rain while visiting the InterContinental Singapore may be able to get reimbursed for that night’s stay. The good weather guarantee is something the hotel’s general manager described as “the next level of ultimate luxury travel,” but they aren’t running a charity here: The deal only applies to guests who’ve booked suites, which range from $633 to $3.3k+ per night, and the reimbursement comes in the form of a one-night voucher for the hotel that expires after six months. BTW: It rains 171 days per year, on average, in Singapore.
• A German man turned himself into a walking science experiment — deliberately getting 217 covid shots over 29 months — for seemingly no reason. At one point, he was flagged by the German Red Cross and detained by police under suspicion of selling vaccination credentials, though that ultimately wasn’t the case; why he did it is still unclear. Researchers, who reached out to study the 62-year-old after reading about him in the news, say he could’ve stopped after the recommended three doses, finding no evidence that the additional shots made him more or less immune to the virus. Meanwhile, less than 25% of US adults have gotten even a single dose of the most recently recommended vaccine.
• Weddings are expensive affairs, but this one will probably take the cake. The son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani — CEO of Reliance Industries and the world’s 11th-richest person — celebrated his wedding with three days of pre-wedding festivities. We dove into the absurdity of the lavish event on Monday, but some details that have trickled out since are juicy: The party’s catering contract was worth $25m+ and involved 65 chefs; Rihanna’s follow-up act was none other than magician David Blaine; and then there’s party guest Mark Zuckerberg, who wore a ~$2k sequined shirt with a tiger embroidered on it, outshining the world’s most basic green polo worn by fellow guest Bill Gates. The Ambanis’ celebrations have already cost $150m+, and the actual wedding isn’t until July. (World hunger, who?)