For first-time attendees, Dreamforce, the flagship conference of tech giant Salesforce, can be anxiety-inducing as a stream of people flock to the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco for a barrage of celebrities, music, AI and corporate paraphernalia — and a few seminars – to experience and workshops as an encore.
As concerns about San Francisco’s public safety and the possibility of a media “casualty cycle” peak this year, there may be another concern for Salesforce and San Francisco in general.
In the weeks leading up to the conference, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, a long-time San Francisco advocate, threatened to move the event out of the city in the future if this year’s edition was “impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use.” It is estimated that about 40,000 visitors will attend this year – about a fifth of the event’s attendance a decade ago.
To the chagrin of other members of the tech elite, Benioff has long been a proponent of San Francisco, pouring money into University of California San Francisco hospitals and public schools and in 2018 supporting Proposition C, which would allow the city’s largest companies to fund Programs taxed for the homeless. He crowned last year’s Dreamforce boasted that there were no “security incidents” related to the event.
Benioff’s public concern about the dangers of San Francisco is something of a transition for the prominent executive. On Tuesday, he urged attendees to “have a safe time” at Dreamforce. remarked one reporter.
On Wednesday, the CEO of San Francisco’s largest private employer described pressuring City Hall to clean up the streets before the megaconference.
“If the city of San Francisco wants to look good and be shiny and clean and safe, it knows how to do it,” Benioff said. “If they can do it for Dreamforce, why can’t they do it every day?”
He didn’t say whether it would be the last Dreamforce in town.
First-time Dreamforce participants — some of whom consider this visit to San Francisco their first, while others are Bay Area locals wandering downtown — had mixed feelings about Benioff’s safety concerns.
Stephanie Molina, who works for Santa Ana-based collectibles authentication company Collectors, was at Dreamforce on Tuesday. | Source: Joshua Bote/The Standard
Stephanie Molina, who works for the Santa Ana-based collectibles authentication company Collectors, lamented the state of downtown.
“I haven’t been to San Francisco in years, probably a good ten years,” Molina said, “and it’s sad to see how many homeless people there are – and a little scary.” Molina was unaware of Benioff’s safety concerns, before she arrived at Dreamforce. She lives in a hotel not far from the Moscone Center, she said, expressing relief that she doesn’t have to walk more than a few blocks.
Jill Woodard had concerns about her safety at Dreamforce upon her arrival. As a Michigan-based systems infrastructure manager at baby food giant Gerber, she first caught wind of Benioff’s warning when she came to San Francisco to work for Dreamforce. She said she was “a little worried about safety” when she arrived downtown but still believes San Francisco is “a good city, a good city.” (She lives in Brisbane, south of San Francisco.)
“I know what it’s like,” said Andrew Nerney, a senior solutions engineer at Titan who has been to Dreamforce a few times and took an Uber to the conference with his colleagues from Daly City. “We saw open drug use on the way here.”
However, Nerney attributed the road conditions to a lack of progress in housing construction in the city.
“I know it’s a 7×7 peninsula, but if you can’t build nice houses right next to each other, you have to build higher,” Nerney said.
Dreamforce is performed primarily at the Moscone Center, with some remnants at Yerba Buena Gardens and Moscone West. All border SoMa and the Financial District, which in recent years have consistently seen higher rates of violent crime, property crime and aggravated assault than the city as a whole.
However, some Bay Area residents in attendance appeared less concerned about public safety and expressed frustration with Benioff’s recent moves.
Corinne Rydman, an Oakland-based data manager and avid Salesforce enthusiast — she wore one of Salesforce’s groundbreaking T-shirts at the event — called Benioff’s recent $1 million donation to the Salvation Army small peanuts.
“If he’s serious about doing something about drug use and homelessness,” Rydman said, “a million dollars isn’t going to be enough. Salesforce boasts on its website that it has donated $620 million in grants and 8 million hours of volunteer work since its founding.
Sean Galvin, legal counsel for a cochlear implant company and a Dreamforce first-time participant, was at Dreamforce on Tuesday. | Source: Joshua Bote/The Standard
“I don’t think the roads are dangerous,” said Sean Galvin, legal counsel for an Australian cochlear implant manufacturer. Galvin, a newcomer who currently lives in San Mateo, compared walking through San Francisco to walking through New York City, where he previously lived. Instead, he denounced what he believed was Benioff using his power to negatively influence San Francisco.
“It’s interesting that he’s instead threatening the city with shutting down its economic engine,” he said.
As Galvin spoke, Benioff stood on stage at the Moscone Center, shook hands with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and asked the crowd for applause.
The next few days could show whether Benioff’s flagship event will last in the long run.
Business reporter Kevin Truong contributed to this report.