Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin Conference 2011 NYC

EDIT:  We have announced that it WILL be August 19-21, here in NYC, at the OnlyOneTV Studios.   And the BIGGEST DAY of the event will be Saturday August 20. ...and that will be at the Roosevelt Hotel, in Vanderbilt Hall.  

See http://bitcoinconference.com



______

We're happy to host the event at our new OnlyOneTV Studios here on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.   We have the entire 5th floor, lots of room, lots of internet, etc.  ....and restaurants deliver free.  :-)

I'm envisioning presentations.... even "booths" or tables...  and hackathons with specific objectives.   We can even go into the wee hours if we want to.

What could be more fun?

( We just registered http://bitcoinconference.com )

Reply with a cc to me via email to be certain I get it:  bruce@onlyonetv.com

I might take a road trip, if it seems like there will be something interesting to do.

I have a feeling there will be LOTS of interesting things and people...

Some of the biggest players in the Bitcoin world are on my mailing list and I'm coordinating the dates with... so they can fly in.

There are some shockingly amazing projects in the works --- a few of which I've been sworn to secrecy about ---  which plan to make major announcements, revelations, and demonstrations!     :-)

Exciting times we live in....

You and your exaggeration!

Ha ha!

No, I'm not exaggerating!   :D

People tell me things in confidence.

Big development projects are in the works.  Money is being spent on them.   Expect big things. 

And, of course, many very exciting projects are happening that are not secrets at all...  We highlight some of them on this week's, The Bitcoin Show.

But getting together in person ....  Meeting all these key players....  and seeing these new technologies demonstrated ... and being able to play with them first, hands on...

That's gonna be Awesome!

That is absolutely the WRONG weekend to do it. (http://www.porcfest.com/)

Really?   Ok.

What about June 30 - July 3....?

Does anyone have any major conflicts with those dates?

Unless you hold it there :)

That's right before the 4th of July. Though it doesn't conflict directly, I'm sure some people may already have plans for those dates.

I'm coming, I'll do whatever it takes to get there.

I just might attend this if I can swing it. I'm close enough to bus in, and I have some interesting ideas myself.

Ok.......

We're gonna call it Bitcoin Conference & World Expo 2011 NYC....  or BitCon 2011 for short.  I'll put all the details on http://bitcoinconference.com later today.

Gavin = not available June 13 - 14 nor July 7 - Aug 4
Eric & Company = best is late June or mid July, not available July 23 - 26
Independence Day = July 4 weekend
PorcFest = June 20 - 26
Andy = not available June 25 - July 10
Darrell = not available end of Aug - beginning of Sept

What else did I forget!?

 If we want Gavin to be here, it looks like june or august.

 Thats either 2 months out or 4 months out.

 Ed and I think four months out would be the best choice.  That would give everyone more time to plan a trip... and plan presentations and product demonstrations et cetera.
 
So....

 What about August 18th through August 21...?

Time to get a visa!

So far...  replied  "YES!"  to August 18th through August 21:

• Eric & Company
• Jed

If you're Irish you don't need one. They have a visa waiver program, you just need to register online or something.

August 18-21 looks good.

Fine for me.

18-21 August works for me.  New York City in August: ah, I can smell it now....

Is it really that bad?

Not that I'm a big name or anything, but June is much better than August for me. I can make time for either one, but I'll be bringing my wife, and if it's in August I'll be bringing my very pregnant wife.

@SunAvatar,  Bring her in a wheelchair...  Your son or daughter could be born a New Yorker...  and talk funny forever.  ;)    We do have lots of great hospitals very very nearby.

@Nefario, I say it's not that bad.  People talk about how hot it is in the summer, but come on...  I grew up in Ohio, and it never seems any hotter here than there.  Shorts, t-shirts, and sandals is a worst case scenario.   We lived in Palm Beach before moving here, and I can tell you that South Florida in the Summer makes New York seem like a Spring day.

Depends if there's another garbage strike.

@brucewagner, did you get the pm or email I sent you? Havn't heard back.

I want to present on the Bitcoin stock market(coming soon) and about companies organised entirely around bitcoin.

I'll be flying in from China, so I'll need somewhere to stay, is there any chance of camping it out on the office floor?

If not, anyone here want some bitcoin for providing me with a sofa in the NewYork area?

August 18-21 is going to be really difficult for me. We'll see what happens.

Curious: Is anyone interested in selling or buying wares for bitcoin at this event? This factors into my own nefarious scheme useful idea.

the end of june sounded really nice. i was planing to come from europe. i think we should get this started sooner than august. why wait? this is a good idea and there is enough out there to talk about.

I'd probably come if it is in June, very early July or August. In late July I am taking the bar.

We have announced that it WILL be August 18-21, here in NYC, at the OnlyOneTV Studios.

Apologies to anyone who can't make those dates.    More than likely, we WILL be doing it on a regular basis.

Check later today, at http://BitcoinConference.com for more details, to register, etc.

June 30 to July 3 would work for me.

oh well won't work for me but one year plan on the West Coast!  San Fran or LA?

You're planning to livestream presentations, right?

Too bad it's not until Oct. I'll be in NYC then for http://contactcon.com

Perhaps there will be a meetup around that time (hint, hint ;-)

ContactCon looks great.  So glad to see that Douglas Rushkoff will be speaking there.
We'll definitely want to have a Bitcoin Meetup at this event, I am hoping I can go to this.

Sorry won't be coming, can't afford it at the moment.

next year, it will be Bitopia Island.

@Nefario: Don't you think it's too early to say "can't afford it"?

Not really, I'm in China, a return ticket would cost 3 months of my pay. I did have enough money but had to lend it to a family member who's gotten sick, medical bills. So short of someone else funding the ticket it's not going to happen.

Just put it in my calendar - I'll Amtrak down from Vermont. Is there going to be a couch board so out-of-towners can crash with willing city folk?

So sorry to hear about your family member, etc.

We will be streaming live via uStream, etc...   And I have a feeling that everyone with a laptop will be walking around with someone on Skype web cam touring too.

Perhaps, anyone who cannot make it in person could be matched up to someone with a laptop+cam+skype for a "virtual tour" attendance...  :)

Of course, if you can make it in person....  That experience will be 10000 times better.

I'll see what I can do for creating both:

---  a couch matchup board
---  a skype matchup board

Hi Bruce,
I could not get the final date for the Conference, its nowhere on your site, http://bitcoinme.com/
please can you write the final date and location,
many thanks,
G

Hello, Everybody.   The site has been updated now.... http://bitcoinconference.com

MAAAAN. I'll be back in AZ by then.

Otherwise, yours truly, the one who figured out how to do loans on #bitcoin-otc would love to attend.

Making plans to be here. I haven't seen my dad in a few years, he lives in Manhattan, so perfect opportunity ! :D What is your aim here exactly? Do you want publicity? Or do you want this to be a closed meeting? I have advanced experience in social marketing, and we can make this event epic if we try hard enough..

I bet its going to be a huge turnout. I will be there for sure!

Yes, the final date was set.

Check out:  BitcoinConference.com  (http://BitcoinConference.com)

This is a great idea, I'm hoping to attend... will know better closer to the date.

Is there an agenda yet?

Interesting. I'll try to get there too.

fyi - The site says TrafeHill.com not TradeHill.com

it's weird to me that it sounds more like a sales pitch for a motivational speaker conference than an open source con/camp.

eh, whatever, maybe just personal tastes. Hope that lots of productive meetups and codesprints occur!

No, it's not weird at all. No offense to Mr. Wagner, I'm sure he really believes in the Bitcoin idea, but after I watched some of his videos on YouTube I got a similar impression. It made me question that I had an interest in the same thing this guy seemed to be trying to sell so hard. He comes off like a confidence man. The vibe I get from him is that if he were trying to convince me to enter into business with him or conduct a transaction with him, I would not trust him and would spend the entire conversation trying to figure out how he was trying to con me.

I don't mean to insult him and I have nothing personal against him, and I'm not insinuating that he is doing anything underhanded. I'm just saying that public perception is important and at the subconscious levels, with things like body language, and the way he talks, he does not instill confidence. You get the sense that he's trying to gas you up and that in turn makes you suspicious. It could be that he's just really excited about the idea and simply lacks charisma. I'm not going to pretend to know why he gives the impression that he does. Lemonginger and I both separately came to the same conclusion so I'm sure that there are others who get the same impression from Bruce Wagner.

As the so called face of Bitcoin, the PR man for Bitcoin, he is not going to be convincing any outsiders to join up.

BitCon is a poor naming choince, given the accusations of Bitcoin being a ponzi scheme. And the website doesn't give much info. How much will it coat to attend?n how many exhibitors?  Have hotel discounts been negotiated?  There's a lot of work to a conference, and I'm not seeing the basics listed on the site...

lol. "There's a lot of work to a conference". buddy, there can be as much or as little work to a conference as the person taking the time to make the conference want to do. Just b/c this is not going to be the kind of conference run out of a big fancy vegas hotel with discounts and entry fees and whatever else is no reason to not hold a conference. it is a meeting of minds, you sure do have a depressing, pessimistic attitude and that is probably why you just sit at home on your computer and nag and bitch about people who live their lives in a way that makes things happen. i hope this answers your question.

I realize I've been a little presumptuous. Maybe you are taking the initiative to create a conference somewhere the likes of which you have described?

Wow.  I don't even know what to say to that. I'd be inclined to return the name calling volley, but that wouldn't be productive.

I'm just saying that there's a difference between a meetup and a conference or expo. There's also a difference between constructive criticism and name calling. Apparently, not everyone knows the difference.


I may or may not be planning something, but I'm relatively certain now that this is not the place to announce such a thing.

there is a difference between name calling and observations. are you under the impression that your post  was not portraying an attitude which was depressing or pessimistic or nagging? http://dictionary.reference.com/ (http://dictionary.reference.com/) here is a link incase you are not a native english speaker.

btw, 'bitch' in that sentence was used as verb, not a noun. for the verb definition of it you will need to use an urban dictionary probably. I agree that name calling is petty, however to me, words that are used to describe an action that are accompanied with proof(my quoting your post) is not petty name calling. it would be like if there was proof of someone murdering someone else, calling that individual a murderer is not mere 'name calling' but a description of something that has occured. if you wish not to have your actions/yourself labeled a certain way, then the easy solution is not to act/be a certain way.

if, as you claim your intentions really were to point out that this upcoming event did not fall into your definition of a conference but rather a 'meet-up', then there were more tactful ways of doing so. here is one such example for future reference:

"In what ways will this event be differing from the meet-ups that regularly occur in the same venue?"

see, it is clear, concise, not attacking, and it requests the information that you claim to be after. I hope my post has been easy to understand and will help you reevaluate how you approach others whom you share a planet with. I do admit that my reason for typing this out for you is selfish, as I prefer to live in a world where dialogue centers around productivity, and uplifting dialogue.

Can you make a video tour of the conference? That would be great!

Hah, I work two blocks away from the location - will be there.

I'd love to go.  Unfortunately this year I may not be able to. But I will try.

(An FX Riot booth sounds just too cool)

Actually,  there will be international television news camera crews there, from what they tell me....   not to mention that it's hosted by The Bitcoin Show and OnlyOneTV.... so I have a feeling there will be a LOT of video being shot there.... live streaming and otherwise.   :)

The http://bitcoinconference.com page has been updated, and Registration is now open.   The Agenda is there as well.

More speakers will be inserted as they confirm.

No.  Definitely not like any Meetup ever....  People are flying in from China, London, Australia, Central and South America, Europe, you name it.   Rumor has it that one group may even be chartering a private jet to fly in.

All the biggest names, brightest minds, and most exciting new ventures.... will be converging on Gotham to come together and make magic here.  

This is going to be one event --- The World's First --- not to miss!

Bruce you have already sold 5 vendor tables.  How many more can you fit?  these are selling out fast.

by the way, check out our new logo  ;D  designed by evoorhees

Looks like the prices doubled in the last day or 2?  Was 1 bitcoin admission now 2? 10 bitcoins for a table instead of 5?

Thank you for organizing the conference Bruce - Camp BX will be there!
   - Keyur

Well, we were thinking seriously of going, but I guess we waited too long.  The price for a vendor table jumped from 5 to 10 and is now at 75.  I guess that means there's a lot of demand.

What could be more fun?

75 BTC? Isn't that a little bit too much, Bruce?

so seriously this is 100% legit? dates are for sure? this isn't going to be lame, cheesy and thrown together at the last moment will it? were about to buy plane tickets and just hoping this isn't going to be 8 guys standing around staring at each other. I'm bringing a multimillion dollar investor and possibly someone who runs a London hedge firm. are there going to be decent speakers talking about relevant topics?

anyone care to comment on my last please?

I think it will be a little cheesy and it seems it has been thrown together at the last minute.  That said, I've heard from enough people that are going to think it's not just going to be a dozen dudes.  Well planned or not, Bruce is still hosting the first large international meetup.  This is not being run by people who seem to have a lot of experience running conferences, but people are rallying around it just the same.  I'm going with low expectations for the planned events and high expectations for the conversations and networking.

On a related note, I'm sad to announce I will not be selling SquareWear shirts at the conference as I previously announced.  I don't think I'd be able to sell anywhere near the number of shirts necessary to cover the 75 bitcoin vendor table fee.

75 bitcoins can't be real, I think its a mistype.

thanks for the info Gabriel. see you there I guess. just hope I don't look like an asshole bringing some very important investors to this thing. Im hoping for the best! bring some t's regardless. I'll ninja buy some. lol

bruce can you give an update on how many vendors have signed?

Ditto if I came.  I would estimate breaking even at 25 BTC table cost if there were 500 attendees and no competition.  Of course no one can tell how much one could sell, but factoring in what I would be able to bring is a start.  10 btc  would allow me some profit.

We're in the same boat, 75 BTC is going to price a lot of small, but possibly important startups out of the game.  I was about to sign up and went to the site only to see the 75 BTC price...  As a small business owner, I just can't justify nearly $1,000.00 in addition to the travel cost for an unproven event.

  I suppose this all depends on the exchange rate at the time you sign up, but given the price change since the conference was announced I would expect the price in BTC to be going down...

  The date is fast approaching, but if there were to be a steep reduction in the cost in the next few days, we would still entertain the idea of attending.

Explain it to them this way: if it was already a large, formal conference, it would already be too late to invest.  Think of it like being invited to the garage where Google started their operations.  That would have been the greatest time to invest in Google, even it would have just looked like a couple of teenagers playing around on a computer.

+1 to you.

Why not just pay the 2 bitcoins and attend?  The "vendor table" expo is only for 2 hours of the 2 days anyway.

Wow only 2 hours :( That's not good :(

If you replace teenagers with PHD students and garage with Stanford computer lab, then yeah you are exactly right.

It was Apple (Computer) that started in a garage, not Google. :)

They lied to me!!!  (I stand corrected)

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/smallbusiness/1103/gallery.business_creation_myths/4.html

I would agree with the comments here.

We have zero experience organizing a large formal conference.   If you're expecting the Grand Ballroom, and a dozen large conference rooms for breakout sessions, at the Marriott Marque.....you are going to be disappointed.

If impressing your investor suits with a lavish hotel conference is what you expect,  please do not even come to New York.

This is the WORLD'S FIRST International Conference.  And yes, it will look much more like a garage than a Grand Ballroom.    

However, as has been pointed out here....  The tremendous value -- the priceless value -- is the networking and the face-time you will have with all the key movers and shakers in the Bitcoin World globally.

Mind you, admission is currently 2 Bitcoin.  At the current price of $12.76... that's about $25.52

In case you were not aware, you cannot buy a cheeseburger and coke for two people, plus tax and tip...... for $25.52 in Manhattan.  

So don't come expecting a $900 conference, professionally organized and sponsored by the unlimited budgets of global corporations.    This conference is spondered ONLY by Bruce and Ed of OnlyOneTV....  

If you are going to complain about the professionalism.... or the lack of austerity... please don't come.   Instead, organize your own bitcoin conference please.

So you know, we originally had planned to actually use  hotel conference facilities out in Queens, near LaGuardia.    However, almost 100% of the feedback we received said, "No. Please! We want to be in Manhattan.  We want to see and be near OnlyOneTV, Meze Grill, Hudson Eatery, MetroPCS (all in Manhattan), and  O-Crepes (Brooklyn)...

We totally understood that sentiment.  However, after a couple teams of people searched for spaces in Manhattan....  We found that:

Most hotels in Manhattan either have no conference facilities,  or meeting space for 16 people maximum.

We found one non-hotel venue nearby, but they wanted $3550 per day... plus Meze Grill catering (any outside catering) is not permitted.

Finally we determined that, in spite of the fact that it will be "cozy, Manhattan style"....  The best solution would be to actually use our OnlyOneTV Studios themselves... in effect, opening our home to you.  

We have the entire 5th floor of a 5th Ave office building.   Of course, several of the rooms will have to be locked off...  However, we will convert the largest room, Studio 1, into a space for the vendor tables displayed...  and reuse (again, Manhattan style) that same space filling it with folding chairs for the keynote speakers.

We have two decent sized conference rooms which we will clear out for breakouts.   There are also several large dining rooms at adjacent locations next door and across the street, which we can also use for breakout sessions and as overflow for private conversations, etc.

The main value will be the people you will get to meet face-to-face, and the conversations that will be "history in the making".....    And we will all be able to say that "We were there."

So, again, if you expect lavish, please don't come.  

Also, as to the cost of the Vendor Tables, I panicked when people began buying two at a time...  and we seemed to be selling 1 vendor table for every 2 attendees.  

I don't know exactly how many tables we can accommodate, and the exact size.  Ed is working on renting or buying the actual tables.  Then we can more accurately gauge how many we can sell.  

So far, I'm pretty sure no one has paid 75 btc for a table yet.  So I effectively just stopped selling tables temporarily.... until I know for sure how many I can fairly sell (have space for).  

Once Ed tells me how many will fit, I will reduce the price for tables again.. until we reach that maximum.    I will post here in this thread if and when the price for tables is reduced again.

Finally,  as for keynote speakers...

Of course, our buddy, Gavin Andresen will be giving a speech on the future direction of bitcoin development.  

But I need to act fast in nailing down commitments for a few others speakers.

Please help me out by quickly responding in this thread with YOUR top three choices for the very BEST people we could possibly have as keynote speakers. I'll get on the phone and book them immediately.   I'll also update the online PDF of the schedule then too.

Please reprint the latest version of the official schedule (PDF) again at the last minute, before you travel, just in case there are any majors changes or updates.

Does the recent mybitcoin service disruption have a significant impact on the operation or execution of this conference?

This all sounds reasonable and I can't wait for it to happen. Thanks for doing it!
I hope all speeches and presentations will be put on youtube for the rest of us who live too far away.

Thank you for the update bruce, very relevant information. I'm bringing a couple people and I wasn't worried about how much it looks as much as I was worried about what kind of speakers you were going to have. Thanks again for the update.

I can't promise the exact size of the tables, but assume they will likely be either 30" x 30" card tables.... Or half of a 5' x 2.5' banquet table... giving a table surface size of 2.5' x 2.5'.... which we are calling "one vendor table".  The entire 5' x 2.5' table being "two vendor tables".

I believe we will have room for approximately 20 "vendor tables" (as described above).

I'm going to reduce the price of vendor tables to 10 Bitcoin again within the next few hours.  I'll have to keep a very close eye on how many sell, and how fast.

The MyBitcoin mess wiped us out, but we're hoping the fees from this event cover it's own costs.   So, no.  It should have no effect on the event.

Yes, of course, it will all be taped for The Bitcoin Show, as well as many other media venues.

Hey bruce did Meze Grill have all their bitcoins in Mybitcoin? If so are they still bitcoin fans?

Yes, Meze Grill had all their Bitcoin in MyBitcoin. 

Yes, they are still Bitcoin evangelists.

For those of you attending the conference and in need of some USD the following thread might interest you:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=34435.0
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I'm glad to announce that I will be there!

I'm looking forward to brainstorming new Bitcoin ideas with all of you!


Roger Ver
Memorydealers KK
(A Division of MemoryDealers.com, Inc.)
8F Kudan minami green building,
3-7-7 Kudan minami, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
roger@memorydealers.com

TEL +81-3-6280-8666
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For all your Memory needs please visit
http://www.memorydealers.com

shucks, i would love to meet The Legend.

BTW, i haven't seen Synaptic since i tried unsuccessfully to bet him 100 BTC a few weeks ago.  so you're not the first to ask these chumps to put their money where their mouth is. ;)

I'm sure our paths will cross one day soon.   I am looking forward to saying hello in person at that time.

Looking forward to meeting you in person Roger.

#Bitcoin World Conference :: I continue to hear from dozens of people who SAY they're coming but haven't Registered yet! PLEASE REGISTER NOW! Or call us for help! #Bitcoin World Conference & Expo 2011 http://bit.ly/o4UOo2 PLEASE RE-TWEET, RE-POST, & RE-MAIL THIS MESSAGE ASAP. :-)  +1 646-580-0022

are there any plans to organize such a conference in Europe ?

Amsterdam would be more fun.

I though about attending to the NYC conference, but i just cannot afford it.
I'd gladly attend to any event a bit closer tho. London / Amsterdam is both fine.

London might be more appropriate though...strike that. I guess Amsterdam will do just fine ;)

From one who has sponsored many a small conference (20-200 attendees) welcome to the wonderful world of the last minute deciders.

Here's hoping you have a great turnout and I sincerely hope to make it next year.

MyBitcoin.com USERS HAD BITCOIN STOLEN. They are returning a portion 49% of them to you: Not sure where to send them? CALL ME. 646-580-0022

Why did the venue change, and why is there no update here or in the agenda (and why was this after I booked a hotel)?

Why is there no mention of the conference in bitcoin.org?

Bruce doesn't run bitcoin.org, and the conference although is ABOUT bitcoin it's not part of the bitcoin project so bitcoin.org can't really start advertising for anyones bitcoin related parties. Otherwise where do they stop?

so i hope this conference will come with a rally built-in  8)

Is that all this is? If this really is going to be a major event, Bruce should be able to get whoever does run bitcoin.org (Sirius?) to acknowledge it.

Bruce, some confirmation that everything you promised is indeed happening, and data on the number of participants, is in order.

Whoa there, sorry you seem to have missunderstood me. I was paraphrasing, possibly being more dramatic than is really needed. I am at no point saying this is going to be small, it could be huge. It could be like... the meeting of the waters, I was just saying that bitcoin.org is neutral or at least the people who are running bitcoin.org are not involved in this conference.

And that being neutral means that they can't favor one over the other, put a link for one conference then they'll have everyone in the bitcoin world looking for what is essentially free advertising.

Also, although I'm a mod I don't speak for the admins and the ultimate owner/runner of bitcoin.org (or anyone else for that matter).

Nefario.

I got that, kind of, but I'm not buying the slippery slope argument. There's a fairly clear line between a global, annual (presumably) event, and other stuff.

I'm excited to see how this will turn out. Sounds like a LAN party to me. But hopefully something useful comes out of this. Not sure what bringing folks who already chat on the forum together will achieve idea-wise, but perhaps some friendships will be made.

If I were going to come for only one day, which day would be the best?



I want to meet bruce and the tradehill gang. Hope magicaltux can make it out, too.

Funny how the first ever bitcoin conference thats been hyped to shit doesnt even sell tickets by bitcoin amount. Instead equivalent to the amount in USD.

Yeah thats wierd cause on the show when bruce was making the buttons he said we don't think in dollars we think in bitcoins. lol.  Guess thats before the price tanked a bit.

So bitcoin is basically just a trading platform to maximize your gains in USD now, eh? That whole new currency unhinged from the dollar went out the window quick

well, he did mention the fees were to cover the expenses of the conference, and the expenses are likely fixed in USD, therefore the need to price in USD to maintain a 1:1 costs:fee ratio.

I had a chance to see OnlyOneTV first hand, and all I can say is I was impressed through and through.  I will definitely be attending the Bitcoin Conference. :)

Wait, are you trying to say that he could not actually USE bitcoins to buy anything useful for the conference and therefor has to immediately convert them to USD before he can actually DO something?

Bruce is a charlatan and snake oil salesman, plain and simple.

What's worse is that I used to like the guy, even though he's flighty as hell and absent minded, he sold himself as the lovable Mr. BitCoin guy. Then with his network being the disaster that it is (does he ever start on time or on the day he promised?) and his throwing BitCoin under the bus in his actions related to this conference, I can't see how anyone can trust a thing this man says.

He might as well come out and say, "Do as I say, not as I do - look over here at the shiny pony! pay no attention to me not using BitCoins to put my money where my mouth is".

That is a very bad sign, if the organizer of the supposed global BitCon won't deal in BitCoins. We've had people make it all the way across the country only on BitCoins and they made it just fine! Organizing a conference around it should at the very least speak to the strength of BitCoin, not the supposed obstacles the promoter is having to endure.

I won't accept any other explanation than Bruce is just a speculator and hypes the BitCoin masses while not having the passion to back it up when words meet action.

Wow.  Where is all of this anger coming from?  The guy is putting on a conference, and has done a ton to help bitcoin.  He puts in more 'actions' every day then you have put in so far.  His show is a service to the bitcoin community.

A seller has the right to price items or services ANY WAY THEY WANT.  With the price of bitcoin changing so much it is not unreasonable to price things in USD converted to bitcoin as payment. 

Respectfully, you have no idea what I do for BitCoin, so speculation that someone may have done more than I have is just that - speculation. I'm totally fine with you taking that stance though, as the free market will prove the truth in the end.

I know Bruce has his fans and that's fine too, I used to be one of them as well. He has indeed helped spread the word about BitCoin, but I differ in my interpretation of exactly how much this has helped. A lot of very misleading information has been put out there and endorsements for products/services were given without any due diligence. He's promised a lot but hasn't delivered in terms of the network and the show, which amounts to not much more than a man with a laptop giggling at himself on camera anymore. This conference is just being handled terribly and I think that his insistence that everything be handled in USD equivalents is just a sign of his true intentions in the BitCoin market - and that is speculation.  That, on the surface, is acceptable but when you run a network around BitCoins and build up BitCoins as the best thing ever, shouldn't you practice what you preach? I just find that very unprofessional.

Plus, changing the venue without a word and without any input from the community was a pretty low class thing to do as well. Yes, venues do change, but the way it was done was very misleading and unprofessional.

What do you do for bitcoin?

Wish I could make it, I'll be on vacation though.

I share that question.

"
BlockHash
Whitelisted
Jr. Member
Posts: 12
"

Ok so I am doing the math and checking the finances to see if i can go.  I checked everywhere I can think of and i don't see anything about the location changing. (as you said above)

How do you know it was changed? Did you get a email since you were registered or something?  I have not registered and now i don't want to register till I know where it is.

Can you tell me where the new location is?


update ------
after posting this the only spot i could find that mentions the change is this website. (using google)
http://www.betabeat.com/2011/08/09/bitcoin-conference-and-world-expo-moved-to-roosevelt-hotel/

it is not listed anywhere else  (what is the new location a secret?)... wonder how many people will show up at the wrong venue and just go home when they don't see anything going on ...

like a week to go .. .kinda handy to know where i am trying to go to.

haven't seen the latest bitcoin shows maybe it was mentioned there?

Solarpower 

How in the world do you expect a person to run a conference while just accepting fees at a set bitcoin price?  They could potentially lose a lot of money doing that.  Basing the fee on bitcoins valued in USD is not speculation - it's anti-speculation.  Speculation would be setting a rigid, unchanging fee in bitcoins right at the start, in the hope that the price won't drop.

What would happen if a conference holder were to set a rigid ticket price in BTC that was just enough to cover the expenses, while Bitcoins were worth $30/each?  Suddenly, they're only worth $10 each, people are still buying tickets, and the conference holder has no way to cover the expenses except from his own pocket.  And you think this is the right way to go about things?

You could say that the conference holder should only be buying from people who sell products/services in bitcoins, so that he doesn't ever need to convert them to USD, but guess what?  Those vendors usually convert straight to USD, which means their prices will change according to the current USD/BTC rate.  Which means the conference holder would STILL be in the exact same position (of being screwed) if he set the prices according to an earlier valuation, and then the price drops.

The only way for him to hedge a potential loss if he was to set rigid prices is to set a ridiculously high price to start with, just in case the price drops.  But I'm sure people would rather pay prices that are reasonable, and based on the USD valuation of a BTC at the time of the payment, than pay 10x as much as the conference is worth.

Sheesh man, use your head!

It says it right there in the info page of the conference - http://bitcoinme.com/index.php/bitcon-2011/ . "Check out the NEW VENUE"

Good catch. This story says it's a venue "upgrade", but I think they're just extrapolating as Bruce has been keeping radio silence lately. I really hope this is indeed an upgrade, due perhaps to high turnout (Bruce did say something about a plan B for the best case) and not something else.

Well thats odd i kept the webpage open for weeks and just kept refreshing it.  When i went to a new page off your link up popped the new venue link you mentioned ...

silly me ...  for just refreshing and not going to a new page

thanks ...

solarpower

I know I do not post much on here but I wanted to bring you all with an update on what's going on with the conference.

First and foremost always check http://bitcoinconference.com (http://bitcoinconference.com)

In order to keep up with demand we have upgraded the venue to the Roosevelt Hotel! You may check it out here (http://theroosevelthotel.com/)

We have capacity for 200 attendees AND 20 vendor tables! The vendor tables are going fast, don't wait until its too late.

Yes, prices are weighted against USD, its the only way we can make sure that we do not go broke hosting the event. Thank you for the response thus far! Look forward to meeting everyone.




Just in case my identity must be verified here is my signed GPG key.
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So pumped about going! We just booked our rooms and flights! Woop Woop!

Also can anyone tell me which is closer/better to fly into? JFK or LaGuardia? We choose JFK but I think I can change it in time if JFK sucks or something.

LaGuardia is a little closer to the venue, but you should be fine either way.

Pro Tip: Use hopstop.com or the Hop Stop mobile app to find your way around the city. Especially if you have an Android phone (I also use Google Maps, Hop Stop provides static maps only). I'm not a New Yorker and its vital anytime I'm traveling to a new part of the city!

Just because someone doesn't have many posts doesn't discount their input or the validity of their opinions.

REALLY wish we could make it out.  We will be there next year for sure.

Manny, I e-mailed Bruce to discuss pricing of being an event sponsor since we aren't able to attend in person, still haven't heard back from him.  Please PM me or send me a note via the website to discuss.

I'm still curious to know what you think you have done *for* bitcoin as you are the one who threw it out there.

It's not that BitCoin is unreliable, it's that it is still a currency in its infancy.  It cannot be used to value things on its own, yet.  No matter how much Bruce would like to have a set price in BTC that stays from the start of ticket sales to the end, it won't change the fact that there is still a good deal of volatility in the value of bitcoins.  Volatility = a huge amount of risk when you are talking about playing with money you are borrowing (which is essentially what is happening when you accept payments up front for expenses in the future).

You keep saying how Bruce has malicious intentions to mislead and speculate, when that simply isn't true.  Now, you seem to have backed down to a statement regarding the volatility of Bitcoins, which I think everyone here can agree with.  Just don't blame Bruce for Bitcoin's volatility.

And yes, I agree, the media probably will latch on to the fact that most things for the conference are being paid for in USD.  So?  Is there anything that could be done about that?  Not really...

Please, people. This person is just a troll from over there: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3413928&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

I find it quite funny and sympathize with some of their views. Do you all have Asperger or why can’t you understand humor? I’ll highlight some clues.

Risk can be kept at a low level while denominating price in BTC with some combination of selling bitcoins in advance, taking loans and buying options. These markets aren't very mature which is a problem, but Bruce could have found a creative solution if he wanted. I think denominating the price in USD is a strong negative signal and he should have spent the effort to avoid it. Even if it means making the price a bit higher - for many people the registration is about 1% of the cost of attendance so this pales in comparison to the signal.

Another problem is the bait-and-switch of listing the price in BTC, but then the order form is based on USD. Later he changed the listing to USD.

I again implore Bruce to update the agenda and the list of high-profile attendees.

PS. The reason I'm saying all this is that I really want to attend the "Bitcoin Conference & Worldwide Expo 2011 NYC", and went to some length to do so. But I don't want it to end up something else (a "meetup" or "LAN party" as some naysayers put it) due to poor organization and foresight, and this includes lack of attendance due to perception of said organization and foresight. Manny's comment that demand is strong is encouraging, but we need more.

^^^^ Completely agree with Meni. Meni put it together in a way that was a lot less confrontational than mine, so kudos for that.




Well detective, I'm glad you've spent time perusing the thread "over there" looking for clues. What difference does it make where I came from? And your supposed evidence citing "the free market" is actually my belief, rather than some less than subtle trolling.

As for the "very misleading" evidence, guilty as charged, but not because of that thread.

Can we get this thread back on topic?  I'm trying to get information regarding an event, not looking to read what should have been a private exchange or a new thread somewhere else.

Frankly I find the direction this topic has been taken to be very disrespectful not only to those who have been posting the off-topic messages, but to all of it's participants, readers, and the OP.

Mods, any way you can step in here?

+1

JFK.  It also allows you access to Airtrain to connect to the subway system/Jamaica station if you want to do other things in NY besides the conference.

But, either are good.

That would have been practical if demand was a certainty.  But with a first-time conference like this, it would be very difficult to know how many people would be attending, thus, you couldn't anticipate the right number of coins to borrow and sell.

As SgtSpike has said, this is the first large scale Bitcoin Conference attempted and a lot of things are uncertain. What if Bruce posted a list of attendees and some of them experienced the same problems Nefario did? What if all prices were in BTC and the value skyrockets in a week? Then everyone would be upset due to the fact that Bruce and his associates made money off of it.

I wish I could attend but I won't be able to. Bruce has been in contact with me and has even provided some numbers, but has also asked me not to share them, which only makes sense since they could change dramatically up or down over the next few days.

I believe I can safely say that the more I learn about it, the more envious I am of those who are going.

Mods??

1.   The venue changed because we had more people coming than we could accommodate at the original venue ( for Saturday ).

2.   This does not affect the agenda.   The schedule does now reflect "The Roosevelt Hotel" for Saturday.    ( which is only a few blocks away from the original venue, OnlyOneTV Studios ).

3.   Yes.  And many more than I originally said.  However, as for specific people --- like TradeHill --- you must ASK THEM.   Obviously, I cannot guarantee that anyone will come just because they said they would.

4.   That is what they told me.  Yes.   But I cannot guarantee any specific news agency's attendance either.

5.   As of this moment, many people have either registered online and paid by bitcoin, or paid in advance using other means.   However, the bitcoin community is a group of very very busy people.  Just as many more have told me they are coming... but have NOT yet registered.  We are expecting most people to register within the last 4 days.  The new venue will seat up to 200 people in the main seating auditorium, and accommodate about 20 vendor tables (6 ft by 2.5 ft) for vendor displays of products and services.

We are encouraging everyone to PLEASE go register right now... at http://bitcoinconference.com (http://bitcoinconference.com)

I want to go but I can only spend 1 day there. Can you please take an educated guess when the best day will be?

Also, is anyone kind enough to lend a room for the night?

Saturday is the BIGGEST day, for sure.  :)

Thursday evening pre-conference festivities will begin.

 The conference will start on friday. 

 Sunday morning will be very busy too.   

 And sunday afternoon and evening will be post conference parties.

 Some key people have said that they will remain in town all week.

me but you would have to crash on the floor and not be weird. I'm staying at the Roosevelt.

Unfortunately I will only be able to attend on Saturday, August 20.

Arriving Friday night, departing Sunday morning...

As for the somethingaweful kids trolling way back, "humor" is in the eye of the beholder.  If it makes me laugh, that's good.  As long as it doesn't harm.  Don't waste people's time with epic-length posts interrupting a serious conversation.  That's not cool.  And not even funny.  Stick to harmless fun, like Cosby, bitcoin show theme, quadricopters etc.  Thanks.  I still love you.

Obviously,  as has been discussed, when bitcoin drops from $13.50 to $5.50 due to thieves devistating trust in Bitcoin..... that's a big problem.  The Roosevelt Hotel won't accept a fixed Bitcoin amount ( and you know I tried to get them to! you know I did! )

Ed and I and OnlyOneTV are not trying to make a profit on this event.  But we can't afford for it to lose money either.

We could have made the price a fixed 6 BTC or something... and kept it there.  But our desire was / is to keep it very affordable..... so every little startup and individual and even super smart high school kid..... with a passion for Bitcoin.... can attend.

We certainly don't want anyone turned away because they can't afford the admission price....  No no no!     ( if anyone is in that situation, email me )     No one will be turned away because they don't have $26.   Not on my watch.

Meanwhile, nothing is being kept secret ( except some big announcements being saved for the event ).....  We're just VERY busy.    And as for the numbers of registrations...  that is a moving target.

To complainers, I'll say only two things:  (1)  If you don't like anything about how this is run, you can let me know via email.  If you wanna complain to the world about it, just start your own conference.  (2) If you're the type of person who always finds something to complain about...  Please don't come to this conference.  Please.  Just don't come.

This is going to be a MAGICAL event... filled with unbelievable positive energy.

TRUST ME. This is not gonna be like any Bitcoin Meetup you've ever been to...   I know for sure that ALL the key players WILL be here.   Flying here from Africa, Europe, China, Japan, Central and South America, Australia, etc.

No matter the exact number of attendees....   The measure of its success will NOT be measured in number of attendees....

It will be measured in the QUALITY of the MINDS present... and the QUALITY of the CONVERSATIONS that will ensue.... and continue....24 hours a day for all those days...

And the personal ( and thus business ) CONNECTIONS that will be made.

OMG.   I am so excited!!!

Someone buy me a drink!

The conversations that will happen around the bar at the Roosevelt,  and at Hudson Eatery ( a classy nightlife celebrity hangout too, btw )...  It's gonna be sooooo amazing!

And the ANNOUNCEMENTS that are going to happen on Saturday.....   The Bitcoin World will be a-buzz.....

We decided for sure last night.  OnlyOneTV will be making a HUGE HUGE HUGE announcement at the Conference.   One you're all gonna be VERY excited about... when you hear it.  I can't say now.  It's a surprise.   But I will say it during my opening speech on Saturday morning.   :-)

Actually, we'll be announcing another super exciting thing at the Conference too.   I'm not really sure which one more people will be excited about.   Probably Both.   Both of these things will change the Bitcoin world immediately!

Oh, and those are only my OWN announcements...  I'm also privy to some major announcements to be made at the Conference by major vendors also.   They're gonna Rock your World too!!


Only Love,

Bruce Wagner
http://OnlyOneTV.com
skype name: punlman
voice/text: +1 646-580-0022

Will you have printed material or something similar being distributed that it is possible to purchase advertising in?

Will there be a live videostream at the conference? Or at least some recordings? Are you gonna have a twitter hashtag? I'd really like to follow the event as closely as possible, even if I can't be there in person.

+1!  :)

This is a must. The conference NEEDS to be broadcast live on the net.

Getting a mainstream TV station to show it live would be nice, but unlikely.

Bruce.....This needs to appear when you search google news!

Find a small news corp(Tribble statire even!) to get this in before the conference, It'll go all the better for having this.

+1

+1

Bruce thank you for the update. My lady and I will be attending (but have not registered yet) and I can't wait to meet everyone and further solidify the vanguard of the Bitcoin revolution. Woot woot!

We have been in discussions with Bruce and although we can't be there personally, we will be providing a mobile web app for the conference (iOS and Android compatible) that will allow those unable to attend the ability to get key info and video (not live at this point.)  For those attending it will also have the full current schedule of events that will be updated as things change. In addition, it will have a vendor directory, speaker list, and twitter feed. (I recommend we use #BitCon hashtag)

We plan on keeping the app live indefinitely after the event so those who are completely unavailable during the event can catch up on it after the fact.

When can I download this,  and what should I search for in the app store?

Due to time constraints, I don't think a native app will be approved in time for the event this year (We only conceived the idea for the app Saturday), so we are providing it in a web app format.  We will post the URL here this afternoon.

After this event, I will start a new thread to discuss possible features for a native app for next year's event, perhaps with next year's we can get live streams.

I live in NYC.  I have purchased BTC.  I have websites that accept BTC.  However, I won't be attending the conference considering the admission fee.

I'm paying for flight and hotel to attend this. And you won't even attend b/c $26 is too much?

The admission fee is pretty goon considering it's a conference. I do wish Bruce would reply to e-mail or something.

A live video feed would be amazing!

Intervex, that app sounds great.  I look forward to hearing when it is available.  :)

Just paid the admission... DAMN Bit-pay transaction was fast! Literally 2 (!) seconds after sending payment from Instawallet (using Green Address feature), I had the receipt and confirmed payment. That was smooth as hell. Actually that money transfer happened faster than most emails lol

You do realize that most conferences, even first year start-ups like this one, cost A LOT more than $26?

$26 is a move for two.

If the $26 is the reason your are not attending, then the conference does not need you.

Yeah, lots (most?) of them are in the $75-$200 range.

Fred has been trying unsuccessfully to contact Bruce about getting Ixcoin (http://www.ixcoin.org) a vendor table and sign up to be a conference sponsor. He does not appear to be returning Fred's emails or chat requests.

I'm guessing he's pretty busy organizing the conference, but can anyone help in getting hold of him? That would be most appreciated. Thanks.

I really cant believe that Bruce does not want this scam at his bitcoin conference  ;)

Why do you need to contact Bruce? Just go here a pay the $130 for a vendor table: http://bitcoinme.com/index.php/bitcon-2011/

Or are you asking him to accept your ixcoins for a table? :p

P.S. My bet is that Nasakioto == Fred Twingham. Tell me I'm wrong.

For various reasons, such as finding out what comprises the sponsor package of. We can't find any details on it.

Fred, what will you be having at the Ixcoin table anyway?  And CoinedIxbits?  I know gold is a stretch but you could go with straight brass.

For anyone booking at The Roosevelt Hotel, try discount code SWEET or FACEB2 for 10% off and free wifi.

What does "Pseudonymous socializing" mean?

Probably a masquerade ball.

Good luck with the conference Bruce, I hope everyone takes a whole ton of pictures!

Why would there be a Ixcoin table at a Bitcoin conference? It seems as weird as a Nokia stand at a Motorola conference.

Not trying to be agressive or anything, Im just curious. I really dont get what a Ixcoin table would do at a Bitcon conference.

Now i want a gabicoin seat too.

i thought the same thing... it would be truly bizarre.

it's not a 'p2p decentralized virtual currency conference', it's a bitcoin conference.

I hope it's not too late to reserve a DuCoin stand?

Sorry.  I am quite busy.

Pick up the telephone and call me if you have questions... anyone.  

You can buy a Vendor Table (or multiple Vendor Tables) and/or a Conference Sponsorship Display Package on the web site.

http://bitcoinconference.com

At this point, if you have questions, call.

I can also do email.  But allow a bit of time.

I can not do Forum PM or MSN or Twitter or Facebook Chat or IRC or a multitude of other methods.  If you're not reaching me.    Call me.   Or email me.

I used to wonder the same thing when I saw the Microsoft booth at Usenix, but they kept sending it, with some very smart staff to man the booth, so it must have worked for them.

Sounds like Bruce is ok with it.  ;)

On the one hand, I agree it is odd.  On the other hand, why not?

http://i55.tinypic.com/14jnlls.png

I just booked my room at the Roosevelt.  Thanks for the special code, twobitcoins.

I typed my "special request" pictured above correctly, but the submission form stripped the apostrophe, quotes, and period out of my sentence.  Just a word of warning in case anyone's special request hinges on exact punctuation. :)

o.O

The conference agenda has been updated! Print it out and keep it safe for the duration of the conference! If you have a smart phone you can download the pdf directly to your phone.

We are very excited!

If you're new to New York try hopstop.com

Any last minute questions?

only that we still need to print out the banner :)   

See you there guys!

Call Wendell at fastsigns.com location on 30th St near 5th Ave.   Zip code 10001.

They will make any type of signs banners etc and deliver them to OnlyOneTV Studios for you.

They are almost right across the street.

Call him TODAY.

ALSO.....

Vendor Tables will be up from 7am to 6pm on Saturday. 

ALL DAY.

:-)

FYI: Vendor Tables are for ALL Day Saturday!

All,
  I'm proud to announce that the mobile conference app is now available.  You can access the app (iOS/Android Compatible) by going to: bitcon.mobi (http://bitcon.mobi)  If you are on an Apple iOS device, you can add it to the home screen and run it as a full-screen webapp.  I will update the schedule per the latest one published momentarily.  If you have pictures of the event, please e-mail them to photos@bitcon.mobi, or to the guys at OnlyOneTV and they will be added to the Pictures feed in the app. (Photos are screened before posting, so no, your porn won't make it in the app^†)

Current Features Include:
  - Interactive conference schedule with maps/phone integration (still in the process of updating with the latest info)
  - List of speakers (still in the process of adding the new ones)
  - Twitter Feed (Hashtag is #bitcon11)
  - Photo Feed
  - YouTube Feed
  - Location Map
  - Sponsor List

So whether or not you're going, stay up to date with the latest goings on using the bitcon.mobi (http://bitcon.mobi) app.

^†Unless it's really good.

Excellent!  Just "installed" it.  :)

INFO HAS BEEN UPDATED: BitcoinMe.com :: Conference & Expo 2011

http://bitcoinme.com/index.php/bitcon-2011/#register

Sign up as a Volunteer at the #Bitcoin Conference & World Expo NYC Sat Aug 19-21 & get Free Admission. manny@onlyonetv.com

People are asking for live video feeds from the conference. Have the organizers or any of you who are attending thought about using Bambuser? (www.bambuser.com)

Broadcast live from any mobile device or webcam, for free.

I would really like a live video feed!

OnlyOneTV.com WILL be live streaming the entire #Bitcoin Conference & World Expo. We encourage EVERYONE in attendance to ALSO stream it. p1

If you have a camera, video camera, camera phone, MP3 recorder: We want YOU recording & streaming the #Bitcoin Conference & World Expo. p2

We also ask that you SHARE that video, audio, and photos content back with us... so we can upload a copy to our App for everyone to see. p3

Please BYOI.   Bring your own internet.   Bring your own Wi-Fi tethering solution.  Internet is available from the hotel but it must be ordered in advance and costs about $200 for one wired connection. 



Only Love,

Bruce Wagner
http://OnlyOneTV.com
skype name: punlman
voice/text: +1 646-580-0022

Fantastic! The planets didn't align for me to come over this time, but you can bet your ass I'll be sitting at the computer at 8:30 am on Saturday and watching Bruce making his announcements!

Thanks.

Awesome!

Tomorrow!!!! WOOT WOOT!

Super awesome! I will be glued to my PC  :)

It does not seem to work for me.  opera mobile not supported and I need something else? What is the recommended browser?

I will take a look shortly, just got off a plane. Pretty or not, I'll get something functional for you by the end of the day.

in the same light, http://bitnavigator.info was created in time for this conference solving the location issue.

see https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=37884.0 for more details.

There is now a link to  http://bitcon.mobi   on the  http://bitcoinconference.com  page.

Personally, I prefer "bitconf" to "bitcon"

Sweet! 

On route to NYC now!   

Lucky Dog!  We REALLY wanted to make it out (Were it not for a conflicting business engagement I'd have been all over it), we will be there for sure next year!

FINAL SCHEDULE UPDATE to The #Bitcoin Conference & World Expo 2011 NYC is Now Online. Download it Now!  http://bit.ly/o4UOo2

We hope the conference is a big success. Unable to make it this year. Will be there in 2012.

Unable to make it this year Bruce. Best wishes to you and everyone who attends. Good luck !

who reports and where can I read about the bitcon?! any links of bloggers etc would be interesting..

Bit Navigator is going to be there at least uploading pictures, our editor has a wedding to attend to on Saturday unfortunately so our live blogging part isn't exactly worked out, for now the plan is to live tweet / pictures.

also we are en route now ;)

link? pretty please?

it's in my signature but here you go lol

http://bitnavigator.info

Sorry, my brainfart!

Im gonna see if I can make it today. Sounds interesting.

Is there a stream of this? At what time?

so on Saturday is the conference at the TV studios or at the Roosevelt? that's the one day i can go... can i pay admission at the door ?

Yes! We will stream everything live at onlyonetv.com! We're working on a second mobile stream since everyone has moved to the back of the studio for the time being. EVERYTHING on Saturday WILL be shown LIVE!

Mobile Live Unit -  http://onlyonetv.com/?page_id=454

Main Live Unit - http://onlyonetv.com/watch-live/

The action is on the mobile shot at the moment.

I am still figuring out the last minute details of what I have to get done for the weekend to happen.  I am planning to come on saturday  only also.  My wife may or may not be with me.

I Second the question can i buy bitcoins at the door with cash to use for admission?
I am not planning on having a laptop with me so no wallet.dat file to transfer from.

And far as I know everything is at the Roosevelt right?

solarpower

It's nice to see live Bruce's chat with people you know by reputation. Great stuff.

Agreed, strangely compelling, actually.

Site is down...  Too many requests I guess. 

@bitnavigator on twitter.
 For some pictures and info

agreed,kind of obvious. :D

According to Bruce on the Bitcoin Show episode 38 - yes, he 'finally had to say yes' -  you can pay in cash at the door.

Hopefully I can make it out tomorrow!

OT: buttcoin, can you make your sig a tad bigger, can't see sh$t!

How does it feel to have a site completely devoted to trashing possibly one of the greatest software developments of modern-day time?

Do you know it makes you look completely foolish, therefore everything you say in that site is a complete waist of time?  ???

Edit: Just letting you know how pathetic it is.

Painful video links. Redirects, popups, ads that can't be paused. Never got to the content.

Has anyone summarized the first day of the conference yet? Google News has zero press coverage of the event.

Still waiting to receive photos to post to the mobile app...  I watched what I could of the live event today, wish I was there to report on it in real time!

It was pretty cool.  Most of it was just a meet and greet.. had a nice crowd of maybe 40-50 people I think bruce said there may be triple tomorrow. (today).

He also interviewed a bunch of people one after the other on the latest bitcoin show broadcast which I'm sure is up on the only one tv page. 

The best part of the day was Allison from bit-pay though.

That seemed like the consensus in the rather comical chat session that was going on during the video feed...

Caption: Bruce attempts explaining Bitcoin to "the beiber"

...in somebody's basement.

Seriously though is that room they're in part of the hotel or is it Bruce's office, or what?

beiber looks photo shopped and a bad job I might say.

It took me exactly 2.5 minutes, I blurred, added noise, dropped his saturation... maybe if I spent more time on it I could convince the skeptics that JB was really there? Not gonna spend more than 2.5 minutes on a quick funny :)

This is the largest room at the Only One TV studios. There were a lot of people there for the space but Bruce and his staff were great at getting everyone seated. Needless to say, everyone's got to be extremely happy that the event will be at The Roosevelt in a serious conference space. My favorite part was the introductions, being able to meet the minds behind many of the things we've all been seeing was really cool.

I was just off screen to the left here but strangely I seem to have forgotten meeting the Bieb. Bitcoin's getting big though so it's hard to keep track ;)

I would.

poor allison. lol

There is a woman at minute 1!

It reminds me that episode from "The Big Bang" where they brought Penny to the comic book store for Justice League of America competition.

Yeah, I really enjoyed that too!

I thought onlyonetv was going to carry bruce's opening speech live... can't seem to get it anywhere

Yeah.... I too see "Off Air" on their Live Video link...
Was waiting for the kick off speech... :(

Apparently, there are no plans to stream the kick off.

is anyone blogging live then?

Not that I've been able to find.  I really wanted to find some content to aggregate through the mobile app, but people seem pretty closed off. Even Bruce's responses to my requests have slowed to a standstill.

Here's some pictures from last night, I'll make an effort to live tweet it as much as possible today I guess.

http://bitnavigator.info/?p=126

also follow our effort on twitter @bitnavigator (http://twitter.com/#!/bitnavigator)

It's not that BitCoin is unreliable, it's that it is still a currency in its infancy.  It cannot be used to value things on its own, yet.  No matter how much Bruce would like to have a set price in BTC that stays from the start of ticket sales to the end, it won't change the fact that there is still a good deal of volatility in the value of bitcoins.  Volatility = a huge amount of risk when you are talking about playing with money you are borrowing (which is essentially what is happening when you accept payments up front for expenses in the future).

You keep saying how Bruce has malicious intentions to mislead and speculate, when that simply isn't true.  Now, you seem to have backed down to a statement regarding the volatility of Bitcoins, which I think everyone here can agree with.  Just don't blame Bruce for Bitcoin's volatility.

And yes, I agree, the media probably will latch on to the fact that most things for the conference are being paid for in USD.  So?  Is there anything that could be done about that?  Not really...

-DiamondPlus

The opening has been delayed for 1.5 hours. It's starting now...

actually, for the record our bill last night was ~600(total) dollars at the Hudson Eatery, only ~250 was paid in cash/credit.

the real issue was there was and still has a certain amount of money needed to cover the venue due in the "future" and you can't really predict the market in the sense to accept bitcoin now and hope it'll hold the same value you accepted them at few weeks ago, this is why the ticket has been changed to 26 dollars as oppose to 2 bitcoin, (which at the time of the original writing, were the same price).

now to pay instantly e.g. Dinner at Hudson Eatery this is not really a problem since you simply pick the lowest price enough to meet your volume and make an transaction, then it's up to the merchant / restaurant to keep bitcoins or sale them instantly and get dollars.

;)

Still not started?

You can always download the Bambuser app and stream live from your mobile. :)

Yeah, I'm surprised no one has downloaded the ustream app and started streamin it...

I for one am not streaming because Internet service here is TERRIBLE! I've dropped 20 callsand can barely check my email. I thought being in manhattan it would be amazing connectivity but for me it's the opposite.

Stream status from OnlyOneTv / conference organizers please?  :)

+1

Would the same hold true if: this same sized conference; at this venue; held in August of 1998; change the word Bitcoin to Euro in the above quote?      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro (link only supply for quick reference)

Why can't I see the Conference on OnlyOneTv.com? ???
I'm cryeing.

 :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( >:(

Here's a taste of the tables.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16770286

Have you never been in Manhattan before? Honestly, should generally be better today (weekend) than normal work hours. But yes, especially if you are on AT&T you are gonna have difficulties in NYC and San Francisco.
 

never been before! it's horrible! ATT is worthless here

Nice camera work.  It feels like I'm watching the intro to ALF.

Perhaps the next conference can be held in Las Vegas... We have excellent wireless service, tons of meeting space, and some amazing nightspots. Not to mention great hotels...

Also hopefully by then the Casinos will accept Bitcoin ;)

Can you give us an update? anyone?

I've seriously considered approaching some of the bigger hotels to find out if I could get them to start accepting bitcoin for room reservations and such...  If anyone would be able to survive market volatility it would be multi-billion dollar resorts...  They make most of their money on the gaming end anyways. (which I guarantee they wouldn't accept Bitcoin for due to IRS and gaming department accountability.)

C'mon guys? Throw us a bone here!

I know right?

Regardless of where the next conference is, there needs to be far better reporting from it.  We put a lot of effort in to the mobile app and now we're not getting any content to push out through it...

Hopefully the conference is so amazing people have lost all sense of reality.  I will excuse this lack of reporting if this is the case.

I was hoping reporting at the conference would give Bitcoin a real time bump.

Yeah, I hope the conference is a success... if it turns out to be a flop it will take a while before another conference would be able to build support...

Let's wait until we hear some announcements from the conference. I am also curious, but we should be able a day or two..

Why isn't the show on OnlyOneTv? As the name implies, this should be the only TV I need to look at for Bitcoin News. But in fact, there is no TV. The TV is missing. This is Very Misleading

Nothing available??? I can't believe it.

Yesterday they announced the whole event would be covered:

Live Stream by onlyonetv

and numerous uploads from participants.


WHERE ARE THE VIDEOS/STREAMS?

this is unbelievable!!!

They perhaps all were take into custody by CIA? wawww...  good I did not go...  8)

The talks is about to start, Bitnavigator has volunteered to help stream it for only1tv.

http://onlyonetv.com/watch-live/

This is complete jokes...

It's nice that someone helps, but due to the sound it's completely unwatchable.

That's really too bad! :(



Dear Bitcoin Show Team,

WHY don't you get people to help you if you can't manage on your own?

Just on better network, I think it might be better now.

I guess that, of course again Bruce was a bit to enthouiastic and made everbody think the event was bigger then it actually is.
Not saying the event is no good.
Just like Bruce said, its not about the quantity but about the quality of minds being there.

Glory hole.

wow, u nailed it :)
rite on da button

I am pretty sure it is being recorded by onlyonetv for the online use, the stream is not what the final upload will be. 

That is correct and I can confirm with Bruce.

The stream shows a fat, shy monotoned IT dork talking to a crowd of 15 people in a small room with what looks like rivals homecoming decorations. I'm so sorry for people who flew in and got hotel tickets for this.

since when has any tech related project been good looking men and sexy women?
since when did the very first conference ever created for something go smooth and problem free?

just because the people at the convention are not spoon feeding everyone information every 10 minutes
is a poor reason to bash it.

Its not the e3 FYI.

He's just another troll (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=22612;sa=showPosts). Nothing to see here...

A bit? Btw what was his big announcement in the morning that was supposed to shock the btc community?

To be fair, those are the only conferences a lot of people know since they are the ones you get to hear about even if it's not your industry/interest.

I've flown half across the world to speak at conferences were no one but other speakers turned up - and those were run by professionals and well advertised. To be the first of its kind, this one seems to be doing really well.

Here's an uploaded version of my slides: http://yyz.us/bitcoin/TheStateoftheCoin2011.pdf

Edit: fixed some minor slide errors, that were corrected verbally during the presentation

I have not heard ANY announcements.  Anyone?

There were supposed to be TWO big announcements... Where are they????

Here's one: http://tradehillblog.com/

This is pretty damn big, imo.

They announced this already before Bitcoin (check out the post date).

Yes, that's old news.

Any MSM hits?

¿ʎɐpoʇ sʇuǝɯǝɔunouuɐ ʎuɐ ʎq uʍop ǝpısdn pǝuɹnʇ ʇ,usɐʍ pןɹoʍ uıoɔʇıq ǝɥʇ 'os

+1 Thanks!

Still no update about the "major" announcements?

cool... :)

(╯°□°）╯︵ so, the bitcoin world wasn`t turned upside down by any announcements today?

I hope the major announcement isn't that i'm going to get f***ed for investing a ton of money into bitcoin this weekend

Did anyone find out what Bruce's big announcement was?

Dude! I had to turn my laptop upside down to read that. But at least I got a sunflower seed for my efforts. Thanks much(ie)!

Perhaps the big announcements are:

1) The next 2 Bitcoin conferences are in Thailand and Amsterdam.

2) A week long Bitcoin cruise.

Seriously --->about the cruise? Alaska? If so, I'm definitely on board.

Anything going on today with this event or has it fizzled out?

The agenda has "follow up sessions" at OnlyOneTV studios from 9pm - 12pm  is that a typo? meaning 9am to 12pm?

Then lunch at o-crepe but OnlyOne is in Manhattan & o-crepe is in Brooklyn so I'm just wondering what's up.  It seems a big jump to go back and forth.

Thanks,

- Blackout

Typo in the Schedule for #Bitcoin Conference & World Expo NYC 2011: TODAY 9AM till 12pm at OnlyOneTV Studios.  ( after that, the conversations never end! ) :-)

#bitcoin #bitcon11 TradeHill made it in. On their way to today's event at OnlyOneTV Studios now. :-)

When will the next bitcoin show be?

looks like it was fun,
and Bruce , you probably have a future career in presentation. ;-p and is that a NYC accent ?

No coverage of this conference found in Google News or Bing News so far. Zero. Nothing.  Will check again Monday.

the real list...

Some of the media outlets who have said they will be here include:

onlyonetv
betabeat

Rooting for Thailand  8)

when is the next bitcoin show?

Your words cut deeper than any knife could  :'(

Agree, this is really a disappointment after the original announcement. Just searched again and found exactly NOTHING in the news. Also from the pictures/info so far the announcement was maybe a bit exaggerating? I mean, dont take this wrong, i really like the idea of this conference.
But the announcement was just a bit too bold ...

I actually i like his website and try to view it every other week or so. It is humorous and sometimes gives an
insight into how this fourm has a group think going on with some events. If you cannot take some scalding
criticism and poking of sticks into what you are doing... you might just have a really one sided view of what
is going on.

sorry, off topic, i know.

Also, to the goober who rode a bus in from Iowa and was saying that you were the guy behind Buttcoin, nice try dumbass.

If you see him around the bitcon today make sure you tell him he's full of shit.

Changed to a smaller sig too  :D

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mX-zz6IY_aU/TZKE9Dg5mXI/AAAAAAAAAWA/zhLOHCfYr7k/s1600/WAIST.jpg
sorry :(

Thank you very much for listening and consideration, much appreciated!!

I read Something Awful's Bitcoin thread (the one in GBS) for the same reason.

Same here, it’s a must read. :D

mind linking the thread?

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3413928

It's interesting to take a snapshot every 100 pages, and make a notion of opinion of same people and how it changed over time. Good practical example of short memory.

Sorry for the misspell ;).

My point still stands; the entire existence of his site is truly pathetic.

He should be using his time to build something good for the community, instead of trying to make money off us (adsense) by misrepresenting our entire project... He knows half of the assumptions made on his site aren't even remotely true, yet he continues to push it down everyone's throat because it’s “funny”. Slowly he along with all the other charlatans who so adamantly wish for the death of our community will soon start to realize the slow and painful truth.

Bitcoin is not what they thought it was.
Bitcoin is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Bitcoin is already much bigger than any of them will ever be.

^actually you should have embraced the fact that "waist" and "butt"coin go pretty much hand in hand. :D

Yes.. buttcoin strikes below the waist :)

I think the buttcoin and the something awful threads are all good fun.
Healthy skepticism combined with ridicule is a good counterbalance to some of the excesses that can occur around here when people feed off each others enthusiasm a bit much.
I'm very pro-bitcoin myself.. and love a bit of enthusiasm.. just nice to keep a level head about it is all!

I think what should be of more concern is some of the journalists and bloggers who feed off each other's poor reporting and inaccuracies.
Some of the trashy headlines and outright BS they perpetuate is really groan-worthy.
I know the technicalities of bitcoin can be hard to understand, and there are valid reasons to maintain some skepticism about bitcoin's potential - but you'd think more journalists would make a better effort at doing their research.

Still don't get the following things:

1) Why organize a convention witch is almost 100% about the fact that there coming more conventions? I mean in a convention you announce things that are all about the subject the convention is about imho. So for instance that the Dutch, Russian and Arabic Bitcoin Show are going live next week. Or that the mainstream ad is gonna be live this month.

2) Bruce can better push this cruise money into his mainstream ad he announced a couple of months ago, seems a better thing for Bitcoin to me instead of a cruise.

There's also an earlier - and much shorter - Bitcoin thread in BFC.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3388352

Forums have changed over the years it seems. There have always been trolls, but it seems like trolling has become acceptable by more people nowadays. Are these people that just can't get any friends on facebook?

Only by reading the trolls on this forum would you believe that the conference was even 5% about the next one.  That announcement was made during the convention.  It took a few minutes.  The conference was so much more then that.  Deals and connections where made.   It was about discussion, strategies, new products (and there were many) and of course of bitcoin.  Not only did I have a great time, I made money (in the form of BTC) and bought some cool stuff. 

It was great meeting you this weekend.  We will be wearing our 3 bitcoin shirts!  keep up the great work.  getting the OpenCart plugin is our #1 task right now.  Look for something very shortly...

A lot was covered at the three day Expo. Anybody who was there care to provide a CliffsNotes version of the event?

I don't think our minds have evolved enough.

I would argue that I have done more to spread the word of bitcoins than 99% of the people on these forums. My site gets some good traffic, has branched out on Twitter and Facebook, and brought lots of new people into Bitcoin that had no idea what it was. You should be kissing my feet!
I make around 19 cents a day from the Adsense ads. I'm not doing this to profit, I'm doing it because it's fun.
I may run a satire site, but I don't post anything on the site that isn't true. Except that Lionhat Security thing, I totally made that shit up.
I don't wish death to your community, what else would I have to feed on? Please don't make yourself out to be some sort of martyr, you're just a bitcoin grunt like most people here.

Here's a quote on why I love these forums and everyone here.
http://buttcoin.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/comedy-gold.png

i lookend into the vid on staurday evening, but unfortunately, the sound was to low.
but i saw a ixcoin banner.. was thomas there? if yes, do u have any pictures? was he beaten up  ???

It's Monday. No coverage of this conference found in Google News or Bing News so far. Zero. Nothing.   Not even a mention in major tech blogs.

From the pictures of the event, it looks like about fifty people showed up.

I wonder Nagle, can you be any more negative than how you've already been from day one on these forums? What's your purpose being on Bitcoin forums?

I think it was actually about 100 people.  Pretty good for the first one!

As for the news.....  there is a big article coming out, should be extremely detailed and well researched.  

As I said before, I cannot guarantee that when someone tells me, "We'll be there!"  ...that they actually WILL be there.

Every one of those news organizations told me that they would be there, or that they "were very interested in" being there.  

The Press that was in attendance -- that I know of -- includes:

• Wired Magazine
• The New York Observer
• Scientific American
• IEEE
• Gawker Media

...and a few others I can't remember right now.

ALSO...

According to Manny, the manual head count done during the Keynotes was approximately 120 - 140 people.   However, many people came Thursday through Friday and could not be there on Saturday.   Also, many people flowed through during the day, and were out in private meetings during those times...  And, some key people did not arrive until Sunday... for example, Jered from TradeHill could not arrive until Sunday.

So, my guess is that we had a total of 150+ people, in all.

HOWEVER...

As I have said many times before....  It's all about the QUALITY.... not the QUANTITY... or the people.

If you wonder how the event really went....   ask someone who was actually there.

And...

JUST WAIT till you see what we have in store for Pattaya....

What is "Pattaya"?

Did anyone get video of jgarzik's presentation?  If so please post it somewhere.

I enjoyed the conference, and I usually hate conferences.

Apologies to everybody who I met and whose name I've already forgotten.  My secret super-power is forgetting names.

And congratulations and a big Thank You to Bruce and company for organizing and making it happen!

That's because most conferences aren't about something as freaking awesome as Bitcoin.

It was a good event. The presenters did a great job.

It was great meeting so many people willing to talk about something that everyone else I know either wouldn't understand, or has heard enough of already. I learned plenty.

It was amazing to be at a conference where people flew in from all over the world to discuss an industry that didn't exist a few months ago, and which has such potential to improve the world.

No one knew what to expect. Apparently most people registered on Thu, Fri, or at the door. It's easy to blame Bruce for over-hyping the event, but it's much harder to put yourself out there and organize a first-of-its-kind event. Kudos to Bruce.

10 Tricks to Remembering Names http://jessenowlin.com/blog-4  Caution is advised when using #3: Imagine the person's name written across his forehead. Don't make the mistake of referring to Sally Peterman as Sally Dickman.

Now a word (or words) about this Pattaya meatup (no spelling error here). I have a feeling this venue will be nipped in the butt bud (damn! neither, or both, work well here) within 24 hours.


Would anyone care to take a stub as to what the answer to that is? If you can't, then I pat you on your back for saving yourself till you're married.

Let's think about this for a second, can we? I'll use ye ole standby dialog to make my case.

Him: Honey! I'm going to Pattaya to attend a Bitcoin conference and will be gone for about a week.
Her: That's nice dear. Have a safe trip.
Her: (5 minutes later after Googling Pattaya) You're going where? I don't think so! Now if it was in Vegas, I wouldn't mind as much. In fact, I would probably go with you.

Obscure! I don't think so!

Now, if this is a conference for a bunch of young, unmarried men, then it's a great venue--for them and you (got me a thinkin' here--nevermind!). Doesn't a conference in Pattaya automatically shut the door to most ladies and older gentlemen? Perhaps you did give a lot of thought about the potential media coverage.

Headline: Expo Lad Arrested in Sting: Tried to Pay for Sex with Bitcoin

I'm not a rocket scientist, but I do know how not to make a rocket.


http://psas.pdx.edu/TridentSpin/trident-2-dnsc8906614.jpg

With that said, please reconsider Pattaya. I love your show, and you're pretty OK. But this Pattaya thing needs to be nipped in the...

That's absolutely amazing for a first time conference not really being majorly advertised in the weeks running up to it.

Well done.

Bravo!

I have to say that I agree with Phinnaeus Gage on the Pattaya thing. That's the most suspicious place in the world to have a nerdy Bitcoin-conference. Seriously, it's well known for endless couples of 50+ white males with a young thai "girlfriend". It's one of my least favorite places in Thailand, uhhh.

Having the conference in Bangkok at a nice central location would be slightly better but Pattaya... omg. Well, I hope it works out.

I agree just organize it for the capital then people can slip down to Pattaya or wherever else afterward if they feel like it.

Exactly. That would make a lot more sense.

Wich Bitcon is coming first?
Thailand or Amsterdam?

Thank you.

I can't remember the name of the guy and his company but who was that guy at the conference that made the announcement that he was selling basically "anything" on his new site with coins? Anyone have that URL? I think it was basically an amazon of bitcoin.

That was probably http://www.bitcoindeals.com/ .

Let's slow down here and rethink this a bit. Did you say 50+ white males with young Thai girlfriends? Perhaps I could blend in with this crowd. I take back my post.

The site it just great. You can buy almost anything with bitcoins. This is breakthrough.

Yes, it could be, as soon as it goes live.

It is live. Follow them on twitter and you can may get an invitation code

The question is, is it just another overpriced middleman, or will it actually have competitively priced products?

Based on what I have seen when screening through the offers, and also in the example of the bitcoin show, I'd say that it is very competitively priced.

Look yourself at  http://onlyonetv.com/2011/08/the-bitcoin-show-episode-037/ (http://onlyonetv.com/2011/08/the-bitcoin-show-episode-037/)

and/or if you can get an invite.

If you need an invite, it is not live.

If memory serves, Pattaya is first (April maybe?). Bruce said details will be posted on bitcoinconference.com.

You are right, it depends on the definition.. It's launched on beta, invites only to test it properly and make sure it is robust.

Pattaya!!!  8)

So a city known for old men on vacation having sex with young girls/boys and another city known for weed.
That is really setting a high standard for bitcoin convention places.

That just strikes me as sad. What group of people would decide those are the best two places to hold conferences?
What does that say about them and the people they are hoping to attend via those city attractions?

Be Sad ;D

Would be happy with many cities in Thailand. Cheap golf. Great food. Friendly people.Great beaches. Not everyones mind is in the sex gutter.

I think it says something about some people's (nationalities?) associations. Us europeans are quite used to going to Amsterdam for conferences. Last one I attended there was OSiM - Open Source in Mobile.

(Thailand I've never been to, but in my local country Pattaya is referred to as the biggest tourist centre and lists lots of family activites)

Ok. I see your point and the previous poster. It is a major city with the right infrastructure to support such a convention easily.
It does have things to do and see that are not drug and sex related.

but, lol.. whatever. I can just picture the conversation that happened when choosing them. Amsterdam.. the double play city.

Looks like the first two videos of talks from the Bitcoin Conference are now online at: http://onlyonetv.com/category/shows/the-bitcoin-show/

1) Jeff Garzik a Linux Kernel and Bitcoin developer speaks about the state of Bitcoin

http://onlyonetv.com/2011/08/the-bitcoin-show-special-bitcoin-conference-coverage-jeff-garzik/

2) Stefan Thomas of weusecoins.com and BitcoinJS talks about BitcoinJS development

http://onlyonetv.com/2011/08/the-bitcoin-show-special-bitcoin-conference-coverage-stefan-thomas/

I don't know how an internet currency is supposed to work on a cruise liner with little to no internet connectivity. Good luck with that!

I uploaded a PDF file of my slides here:
  http://skypaint.com/bitcoin/DevDirection.pdf

Gavin, Is there no youtube clip of your conference contribution? Did anyone post that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoSWnxieScw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWdAPq5qKls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f07yugTEPk

Cruises have satellite internet spread out via wifi to passengers.

But they overcharge for the access, or so I've heard. It will be an excellent test of bitcoin's ability to work in limited connectivity areas, if anything.

Access can be expensive if you're doing anything more than just checking your email.  You definitely wouldn't want to try to stream live from onboard via either your phone or your laptop - the charges would be horrific.

I did a quick google search on the costs of internet access on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean and I did not
like what I saw. Think pay by the minute ranging from .35 cents and up... more like up...

I never really thought about the cost but just doing an hour's worth of work on the boat could cost 30 dollars. ow.

And the answer is: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22portable+satellite%22+internet+%22cruise+ship%22

I feel sad for the people equating being gay with being a pedophile.

 ???

They're still bloody expensive to use even though it's cheaper to rent your own and get your own plan than to use the cruise line's facilities.

EVERYTHING is expensive on a cruise ship, except for the stuff that is thrown in for free.  You've got to come prepared to spend that kind of money.

Before I get called out on this, I want to offer my deepest apologies to Bruce Wagner and anyone else reading this who is (the word I want to use here is omitted). When I wrote the above quoted post, now with the phrases highlighted in bold, I had no idea. Yes, I may have used sexual innuendos in past post, but never, ever, in reference to a certain community. I now feel like I may have crossed that line with the bold phrase above in reference to Pattaya. Forgive me.

I've done more than my share of reading this board, in fact, putting in many hours prior to becoming a member. And nowhere did I read about Bruce being ( ). And that's a good thing, for that shouldn't be an issue what-so-ever when it comes to Bitcoin. I did read posts in a thread once (although the thread was of a different subject matter) about this issue--members going back and forth about what is right, wrong, indifferent, etc. But that was about it in a nutshell. I always kept those posts in mind when I write on this board, for fear of being called out on this issue.

How I found out ---> NPR has a new article today (audio coming up later this morning on Morning Edition) http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/24/138673630/what-is-bitcoin

I read the article and at the end it linked to Episode 33 of which I watched before. But at the very beginning, Bruce said something I missed. He mentions Ed as his business partner and in life. Holy Shit! What did I just post! Hence this apology.

With all that said, PLEASE, once again, accept my dearest apologies on this issue.


Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

What, gay?  It's not a bad word, you don't have to censor it.

You would think, though, that since bitcoin is susceptible to mainstream media fearmongering that it would be wise to avoid any hint of unnecessary edgeiness. 

There are thousands of places on the planet that could handle a conference like this.  New York was a good choice, it is a capital of international finance after all.  Now how about London?  Zurich?  Tokyo?  Even Rio, Dubai, or heck holding it in Tripoli should bring some free media!  Even the heart of the beast - Washington D.C.  You know, some place where there are lots of bitcoiners already, and some place where there is media hanging out.

 

At the time of writing the post, I was more interested in covering my ass, hence didn't want to make any more waves by using the word gay. At any rate, I hope that this is a mute issue, for there's a lot of work ahead of us concerning Bitcoin.

Thank you Bruce Wagner for taking your time and effort in putting together the first Bitcoin Conference (2011 NYC).


Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

If only 100-150 people showed up in New York City, far fewer are going to go to Thailand. A financial center like Tokyo or Hong Kong or London or Beijing would make more sense. Sounds like someone just wants to take a vacation.

Getting only 100 or so people to show up in New York is an embarrassing failure. You can get 100 people to show up for anything in New York City.

Hmmm, to bad you guys didn't connect the camera audio to the microphone.
I thought you guys had a little more experience with audio problems now.
I mean, don't you test this before you start something this important? :(

I hate to say it.... but I agree.

Hong Kong would make a lot more sense.


The quality of the crowd matters.  Getting together 100 random people is irrelevant.  Getting together 100 people who are working on doing something interesting in bitcoin is -- and was, last weekend -- very useful.  Building Community 101.

This is a ridiculously stupid statement. The conference wasn't a mass public event with a high marketing budget, it was meant for people who are Bitcoin-enthusiasts and truly interested in knowing what's going on behind the scenes.

I don't think anyone was expecting more people to show up, it was a fine amount.

One thing that sucks about the conference was that there was basically no proper live streams or anything like that. In this day and age that can be called an epic fail.

Yes.   We agree.    The OnlyOneTV Team agrees that the lack of live streams was a big fail.    I assure you that that won't happen again.

Fortunately, all the videos are viewable at http://onlyonetv.com now.

I may as well announce what I've been working on the past 48 hours....

Upcoming Bitcoin Conferences:

Dubai, Pattaya, Sydney, San Francisco, Mumbai, Amsterdam, Moscow, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Shenzhen, and London

See Map:  http://goo.gl/tjjQD

The only dates that have been officially announced are:

• Pattaya / Feb 16-19, 2012
• Amsterdam / June 14-17, 2012
• New York City / Oct 18-21, 2012
• Bitcoin World Cruise / Feb 26-Mar 10, 2013

As we work out the details, final dates, venues, etc....  we will be posting them on http://bitcoinconference.com and here in this thread.

My hope is that each of these cities could have a recurring Bitcoin Conference annually.

Obviously, planning this many Bitcoin Conferences is an enormous undertaking....   But I have taken on enormous undertakings before.     Wish me luck.    :)

Good luck and I hope it all goes well  :)

I have full faith in you Bruce..  you did an awesome job at the first one... you'll do an awesome job for the rest of them as well.

Bruce, I don't want to imagine where bitcoin would be without you.

Well done and keep going. Don't get demotivated by people criticizing you. They should rather help you or dooing sth good for bitcoin themselves.

I will come to the Amsterdam conference for sure.

Bruce,

Consider focusing the bitcoin conference locations on world financial centers (hong kong, london, dubai, nyc, ...) rather than fun vacation destinations :)

Thailand!!!  8)

All destinations mentioned in Bruce's mail look appropriate. Maybe comments to the contrary lack global insight?

(I'm slightly startled, as a European, as to what people seem to think about Amsterdam. It's as if I would describe the whole of San Francisco as a good place to meet bums after having spent a night or two south of market/mission).

Please remember, there are a lot of kids in these forums.

ah dinner is cooking. i am bored. i will post.

Picking on Amsterdam as a poor choice for a conference by itself is silly.. but when you combine that choice with Pattaya is when it
raises some eye brows.

And there are some kids here comments.. pfft.

jgarzik gave some valid criticism and if the person holding the convention played their cards right you could get quite the crowd involved
who have very interesting careers in such cities. Pattaya though? Right.... Bangkok makes a lot more sense when you consider direct flights
from every major carrier.  Because everyone knows after being in a plane for 10 hours (whatever) you want to hop on a smaller plane/bus/train
to get to Pattaya and then in another mode of transportation to get to your hotel. That sounds like fun when you limited time to do it all in.

Actually, Pattaya is CLOSER to the brand new Bangkok International Airport.... than Bangkok is... driving time wise.

Also, Pattaya in on the beach.  It has gorgeous resort hotels like The Ritz Carleton or the Four Seasons --- on the beach --- to choose from.... for the Conference.

Bangkok is a big ugly dirty city.    Trust me.    Everyone would like the places on the beach in Pattaya better than anywhere in Bangkok.

It amazes me at how critical people can be.... about places they've never been to... and things they've never attended... etc.

Anyway, you'll love the 5-star resorts on the beaches of Pattaya....  for about maybe 10% of the cost of the same room in the US.

Oh, and the last time I was there....   The hotel sends a Mercedes limo and driver to the airport to pick you up... no extra charge.

Speak of what you know.

Bruce talking shit for the first time

Love that  ;D

I couldn't make unfortunately.

Thanks Bruce for organizing the event. I look forward to watching the speaker videos.

Examples of Pattaya Resort Hotels:

(1)  http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1549 (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1549)

(2)  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pyxmc-pattaya-marriott-resort-and-spa/ (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pyxmc-pattaya-marriott-resort-and-spa/)

And from this tool, http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=4900&From=THB&To=USD

You can see that rooms there range from US$163 to US$197.

You can get rooms at the Four Seasons for much less (<USD 100) depending on who you book through.

I think that now would be a good idea to find out how much interest in attending there's going to be at various price points.  Some people will be able to attend no matter what the cost, but for many others there's going to be a ceiling above which it's simply not affordable.  In deciding where to hold the event, you need to consider whether you want it to be more of an industry insider event for people who are happy to drop a couple of thousand dollars on attending or whether you want it to be more accessible to the average Bitcoin user.

LOL.




Did anyone else LOL?

Isn't it in the best interest of Bitcoin to consider the views of the average person, narrow though you may think they are?

Pattaya!? Really?? 

A lot of people, partly thanks to some media outlets and bloggers, already see bitcoin as the currency of drug dealers and
terrorists...  shall we add sex tourism to the list?  Why beg for bad press?

And are good beaches really a priority when it comes to bitcoin conferences? 

I mean who cares what the public thinks about this stuff as long as we can have a good time?

So much for me getting family and friends interested in Bitcoin... 

Seriously, what are you thinking?    :-\


+1

I wouldn't be too concerned about what the press think, after all the silk road press was good for bitcoin. But telling family you're going to Pattaya might be awkward.

Bruce,

I feel very grateful to you for offering to Bitcoin a dedicated TV show and an international conference.
But I have to say that I agree with Jgarzik regarding the location, and I have a few concerns about the content and the atmosphere.

The Bitcoin Conference is now permanently associated with Bitcoin's brand in everyone's mind.
Accordingly, it must fit with the image the whole community is willing to give of Bitcoin.
It must feel right to merchants, developers, researchers, hackers, bankers and the general public.
Defining what this image should be is a topic of its own, but I take no risk telling that it should be very professional.

Organizing private events is a good thing to strenghen the community.
But it should not be associated with Bitcoin in an ambiguous way.
I suggest you create a separate branding for such initiatives, like "The Bitcoin Club", "Bitcoin Meetups" or whatever..

Imagine if you attend a Defcon thinking it's going to be about hacking, only to find yourself unconfortable in some private party where you don't know anybody... Imagine if the Linux Expos were organized in Ibiza, or if LUGs were an ambiguous mix of party going and Linux geekness.

In practical terms, I would divide your list of events in two lists rebranded as follow :

The Bitcoin Conference (in major financial places to start with):
- New York
- London / Paris
- Hong Kong / Singapore / Tokyo
These would require a higher budget, heavy media coverage, and a seamless organization.
It would be community and sponsors funded, and would cover mostly technical, financial and business related aspects of Bitcoin.
It would cater mostly to professionnals, and serve the purpose of broadning the economical base and public awareness of Bitcoin as a reliable financial backbone.

The Bitcoin Club / Meetup (anywhere):
- here, anything goes
This event would be mostly funded by people attending the event, and sponsors willing to be associated with the community life.

Separation of concerns is the key.
You have a high status in the Bitcoin community, and with high status comes high responsibility.

Exactly. It's why huge conferences (CES!) are held in Las Vegas as well. It's simply a great place for conferences no matter everything else that the place in question might be famous for.

I actually live in Vegas. I don't exactly have the resources to whip something up from nothing - least of all the TIME to do something of this scale - but I can say this: bring bitcon to Vegas and you WILL have a fair amount of local assistance and one hell of a turnout. I'd also advise that there should be a bitcoin booth at next year's CES and Defcon, and there may still be time for a booth at this year's HOPE.

I forgot to mention that...    We do have a booth at this year's upcoming CES.....   a Bitcoin Booth.   Email me if you want to know more about that.

Also, I think you Americans have the wrong ideas about places like Amsterdam and Pattaya.    Europeans are totally used to attending conferences in Amsterdam.    Asians are totally used to attending conferences in Pattaya.     Please don't impose American fears on places you've never even visited.    There needs to be a rule:   You don't get to tell us how much you disapprove of a place... unless you've first visited it.

Bottom Line:   You pick and choose the Conferences you wish to attend.   I expect very few people to actually attend them ALL.   Only a crazy person (like me) would try.

We have an entire PLANET to cater to.

Remember, we called it BitCon Asia for a reason.   Pattaya is a central place in Asia.    Flights are common and cheap.    The airport is new and world class or better.    Everything is extremely inexpensive there.

If you don't like the city.... skip that one.    I listed 12 cities....   Pick one you approve of, and go.

There are plenty of families with kids who will be attending in Pattaya and Amsterdam.     The city is only what you make it.

There are also plenty of people who are ecstatic that we included those two cities.

Also....   After giving it much thought, I realized that we do NOT have to pattern ourselves after DefCon or Comdex or CES.   

Bitcoin is new.     Bitcoin is ground-breaking.     Bitcoin is global.

We can make our own new rules.    ....and we have a whole planet to cater to.

I really like the "new" feisty Bruce.   ;D

Gay, straight.... zig zag.. whatever...  I am really not interested nor care about anyone's sexuality as long as they don't push it on me. I'm straight but I don't need to wave a flag about it (except just now). Pattaya is not the BEST place to hold a bitcoin conference. Bitcoin is already got enough trouble with the bad press that insists the only viable thing right now holding bitcoin up to real value is silk road's drug site via tor.  Yes, that press ended up helped the price of bitcoin go up, but it's still not a good way of advertising bitcoin to new people.  I'm sure high school / college crowd immediately wanted to know how to get some bitcoins after hearing about silk road - but I don't think the CONFERENCES should be affiliated with that. Having an official conference about bitcoin in Pattaya which is known for it's sex industry is not in my opinion a very good idea - it is ASKING for bad press to further associate bitcoin with it's only use being wild crazy illegal activities or over priced regular items through middlemen.

I enjoy a good burning man festival, but I wouldn't make it where any OFFICIAL bitcoin conference is held, even though having a meet up there would make sense. Just my two bitcents.

Also - remember you are trying to spread bitcoin to regular people, not just rich high volume btc holders.... do those events in private if you want to. Do you really think your average joe is going to go to Pattaya to learn about bitcoin if they are not heavily invested in it? Think about it.  Not trying to stifle you're sense of adventure, I like a good party and travel as much as anyone, but I agree with what some others have already stated.  

I'll see you at the next NYC conference and if you want to make sure this one streams correctly I can provide that.

So whats your opinion about Amsterdam?

I'm seriously considering coming to the Amsterdam conference. It's the only one that's close (I live in Finland). It's definitely a location I can approve of, haven't been there yet either so it would be a perfect trip.

Your gonna have a great time over there.
I am curious how many guys from the united states will fly in for also that particular reason you bring up.

Amsterdam's better than Pattaya but still, Amsterdam is associated in most people's minds as the drug & sex and party city so I still don't think it's a good strategic move at this point.  I might go, I just don't think it's going to be good for bitcoin's rep.  I can just see the articles now "Bitcoin, known for it's use in buying illegal drugs and contraband on the Silk Road website, is now taking it once step further and meeting to do it in Amsterdam"

I agree with one of the several posters above to keep in in some of the main legit financial centers.... maybe in Vegas if you want to have party time yet still be legit.  The goal is to get more NON bitcoin people involved so yes, you can have the geek bitcoin experts and rich massive btc holders, but you can also have NEW people coming up and getting their first bitcoin wallet set up and getting some free bitcoins or prizes etc..... it sounds more like these cities are for party time for the high btc holders than spreading bitcoin and having a real conference that open up bitcoin and furthers it's legitimacy - and to you super early adopters BTC elites, you guys should be putting up some coins to make this happen, if you;re sitting on thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of bitcoins, it is in your best interest to give some away to spread the bitcoin far and wide to new users.  It doesn't hurt you much since you were able to mine at a far increased level, and it will sustain the value of your coins.. probably more than any lost value you would incur by giving some away.

Have fun, party, but do that after a real conference that can be accessed by most people.  I'm not ragging on Bruce or any of the gang, they were extremely friendly and hospitable, I just got bogged down and couldn't make it (I found out about it really late).

- Blackout

Amsterdam is fine for me. Madrid is closer, but that's asking too much. ;)

This!
Would you have a booth at the CES if the CES was in Hawai?
Do you think you would get the same media exposure?
Do you think you would get a lot of prospects coming at your booth?
Conferences and expos in exotic countries tend to be attended only by their own speakers and their family.
It is just a convenient way to go on holidays for free at company / tax payers expenses.

That is just going to dilute the attendance and therefore the very interest of this conference.

I think we hit the center of the problem here.
What is the purpose of organizing Bitcoin Conferences? Is it for expanding its market share in places where that matters most (certainly not Pattaya) or is it for fun and leisure?
Is the expected audiance merchants, investors and general public prospects or the bitcoiners and their families?

If it is the former purpose, your list of places is wrong. Economic / financial centers are the place where you want to organize the conferences if you want to reach a decent number of local merchants and business owners. Bitcoin is not going to get endemic because it gained wider  adoption in Pattaya.
If it is the latter purpose (which it seems to be), then "Bitcoin Conference" is a misnamer that will only create confusion and bad press. "Bitcoin Offsite" would be better.

Let me doubt they are ecstatic about the opportunity for Bitcoin or business in general.

Neither do we need to pattern ourselves on mundane associations like the Lion's Club and co.

You can make your own rules in your own events under your own brand.
You can call it OnlyOneTv Conference if you like or TheBitcoinShow Expo.
But please don't brand it as a Bitcoin official event.

Bitcoin is a currency and what it wants is business, not holidays.

Are all the people that think Amsterdam is a bad location from the US or something?

I'm from EU and yeah...never heard such crap. Amsterdam is fine, there is nothing wrong with weed or sex, and even if those things were bad it's still a great location, easily reachable from anywhere in Europe and the largest city in the Netherlands...

Seems like some people think the world revolves around America, and everything that their precious government says is correct. I recommend you leave your sheltered pathetic little lives for some time and see the world from outside your little box, you will find that actually the rest of the world thinks the US is a joke and your not the center of the world.

I refuse to have a Bitcoin meeting in California. They are the world producers of porn and that would create bad reputation for Bitcoin.  ::)

How about a conference on Mars? afaik there ain't no porn on Mars (yet).  ???

No, they are trolls from the SA board.

Very few people think that, even from America.  Most Americans think our government is crap.  The majority of Americans are for the legalization of weed and simply love sex.  There is a small (but vocal) minority that do not. 


I have traveled all over the world, including Amsterdam.  Very few people think the US is a joke, and despite OUR STUPID GOVERNMENT they still want to come here.   When in other countries, they complain about very similar things to what we do such as taxes, government waste and corruption, and the price of things.

They were being polite to you. After you were gone, they told their friends that they are now more sure than ever that the US is a joke. ;)

1) Are you from the US?
2) What countries outside the US have you travelled to?

(Your personal info says you're http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Biggins and would indeed be american but if you are Michael you should should really know better)

http://www.google.com/search?q=conference+amsterdam

+1


Bitcoin in order to become more successful needs to get the business community interested and average ordinary people.

Ordinary people need to be welcomed and embraced and shown how Bitcoin can help them in their daily lives in these
uncertain economic times.  We shouldn't turn them off... piss them off... offend them... etc. etc.

What we don't need is a clique of elites globe-hopping from one party to another portraying themselves as the
official Bitcoin spokesmen... 


Gawd, do we ever need some sensible and professional PR types to step up...

So go on a crusade to promote sex, drugs and rock n' roll.  Or do what thou wilt in the privacy of your
own home, or anywhere you please...  I may even join you...  I'm all for those things.

But why tie it in with Bitcoin?   

Agreed. Check out my other thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=39030.0

A Bitcoin convention in Dubai would be awesome. It's both a respected new financial hub and a very fun, exciting holiday destination. Great central location between Europe and India.

...and when you go there, please ignore my first couple comments, for I effed up. The thread has the making of becoming a several pager. PR is where it's at.


Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

Wow...

That sure is... a lot of conferences.

+1 to this entire post.

99% of the negative threads you see in this forum are coming from these sick people http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3413928.

If you been there please don't click on the link (they love the attention.) I have already applied to be moderator here, and I swear I will handle it if I get the chance. About 200+ people would be banned overnight, but I swear to god I would clean this place up...

Hell yeah! After all, what good does free speech do anyway! It just makes people say stuff you don't want to hear. Go get em! :D

There is a difference between free speech and disruptive speech sir.

One leads to change, the other leads to a jail cell.

EDIT: Or even worse, a mental institution. Which is where 90% of the SA members belong.

Yeah, we know that from China, several Arab countries and to a lesser extend also Russia. If something is not what you would like to hear, you just call it disruptive and have it removed.

Maybe you should look up what freedom of speech means. Anyway, I'm sure you'll remember my name so you can ban my "disruptive speech" whenever you manage to get a hold on some moderation-power :')

Real cute comparing probably one of the loosest forums I have ever seen in my life (btctalk) to Red China... That's such an oxymoron I don't even need to refute it.

This community is vigilant and while some criticism was deserved, this has been an open opportunity for people to go way over their daily limits. I think collectively as a majority
we want structure in this community, so that day to day reading is much easier. We all come here to dicuss our ideas and get as much information as possible. People who come here for the sole purpose to disrupt & dilute the value of this community, actually harm Bitcoins by tarnishing the reputation of all it's supporting community members.

You're on my watch list.

That is either one hell of a short life, or one that has not yet seen many forums yet. This forum is far from loose. You realise that new people are confined to a tiny subsection of the forum? You call that loose? You realise that lots and lots of people alréady got banned, often for just saying things the mods don't want to hear even while done without any swearing or personally insulting anyone? That is loose? lol.


Could you speak for yourself please? What you want is not always what others want. That sucks, I know, but such is life.


Oh noes!  :o

People like you are the reason why this forum requires some type of restriction of entry.

And yes many people have been banned, but not enough IMHO. Unless you're here to learn or invest you should not belong here. This is not that "type" of forum, and the sooner the SA crowd starts to realize that, the faster they will find a funnier forum to troll. The hilarious part (on our end) of this entire debacle with that specific troll forum is that we were actually able to convert some of their troll and now they are solid investors! 

:D  Pretty soon they will start to delete their own threads at SA in fear that their slime posts are hurting prices.

FlipPro, you are totally out of topic in addition to being a fascist.
Will you please stop trolling this thread or s.o. will have to get you banned.
Thanks.

People like you are very damaging to open source projects. You only care about moving things in YOUR prefered direction and would like to see anyone who disagrees with you banned from the project and banned from even talking about the project.


Of course. If you had your way, anyone who disagrees with your idea's would be banned. That is indeed the easiest way to win a discussion if you can't win it by arguments.


Wow. Funny how you seem to think that you can define what a forum for an open source project should and shouldn't be. You realise you are nothing more than just another forum user, with just another opinion, just like the people you would like to see banned?

Your whole attitude does explain why you are the only one posting on your own little forum though. Enjoying the powers of moderating there? Great place it must be! No one to disagree with you :D

I have to ask you kindly sir, what do you do for the community?

I want a place where people can come and debate fairly, without having sick people ruining every single post with their demented egos.

He seems to be battling delusional people who feel that their way of thinking should be imposed upon an open source community. A noble cause I would say.


Which you want to achieve by banning everyone who does not conform to your personal ideas of what a forum should be. Way to go :D

"People like you are very damaging to open source projects. You only care about moving things in YOUR prefered direction and would like to see anyone who disagrees with you banned from the project and banned from even talking about the project."

I am the biggest promoter of Bitcoins open source properties. I believe it is Bitcoins greatest strength, and it's one of the reasons we are all here. My preferred direction for Bitcoin doesn't have to match anyone else's other than my customers. That is the beauty of Bitcoin, and it is the reason why it can't be destroyed. No one can hijack Bitcoin and call it their's therefore no personal failures reflect on the currency itself. Anyone can win, and anyone can loose with Bitcoin regardless of the approach.


Of course. If you had your way, anyone who disagrees with your idea's would be banned. That is indeed the easiest way to win a discussion if you can't win it by arguments.


Wrong if I had it my way only people who are here to obviously obstruct would get banned. In RL and on the net some of the people I care the most about are people who disagree with me. I love to talk to people who disagree with me, because honestly that's the best opportunity for me to learn something new and grow as a human. Debate is good and I try to foster it on TweetForum and on BTCTALK.


Wow. Funny how you seem to think that you can define what a forum for an open source project should and shouldn't be. You realise you are nothing more than just another forum user, with just another opinion, just like the people you would like to see banned?

Your whole attitude does explain why you are the only one posting on your own little forum though. Enjoying the powers of moderating there? Great place it must be! No one to disagree with you


I think we all have power as human beings to represent ourselves in ways that make our opinions count. I think I have earned the right in this forum for my opinion to be heard, since it is a sincere and serious. I am trying my hardest to help the community with various projects that I have in the works, and with my hard earned money through various investments. I also give back to the Bitcoin community by donating everywhere I can, and I also run a forum that is still small but is helping people get introduced to Bitcoin every day. I have many members who are now earning Bitcoins, and yes many of them disagree with me, and that's OK. People can disagree with each other as long as they don't disrupt the flow of the conversation. Many people here are pressed on time as it is, and all these disruptions do is lag the inevitable, and I think we all know this.

The_Duke, don't you see this is just a teenager craving for respect and authority?
Don't feed the troll.

No you are not. If you were, you would also be a fierce advocate of as much freedom as speech if possible.
Sure, if people start calling names, using excessive swearing or perform illegal activities on the forum (sharing child porn, setting up a money laundering system, whatever) I can see how that needs to be banned. But what you are suggesting goes way beyond that and it has nothing to do anymorw with being a promotor of open source properties.
Saying stuff like "if I was a mod I would ban all people from SA forums" would be a huge red flag to me as a forum owner to never give you any moderation rights. But maybe that's just me.


The problem with that is that this "obviously obstruct" of yours doesn't match the definitions others have of it. You seem to be extremely selfish and egotistical in the way you define how this forum should be used.


When is the last time you looked at the user count there?


And the same goes for a lot of the people you like to call trolls. I don't think you are sincere and serious at all. I think you are just trolling this tread. But I am glad that mods allow you to do that, because it shows others what kind of people to watch out for. It is your right to do so. Shame you don't want others to have the same rights as you do.

All you have is baseless attacks in your posts. I am done feeding you.

You avoided my question nice dodge.

The reason why you avoided my question is because you have NOTHING to show to the Bitcoin community.

NOTHING other than your troll posts contributing to the total pollution in this forum.  

Done feeding you to.

So who's the troll here exactly? When you can't win by arguments, you just point at others and say they are trolling. If you could, you'd rather even ban them, which was my exact point to begin with.

Wow I came here to get info about the conference and see this crap. Please quit feeding the Trolls.

Lots of troll talk going on here!

To "Are-you-a-wizard?" and "defxor"

Not that I need to answer this but since most of my identity is public anyway - I am Argentinian but the 1st born in America and so therefore, yes, I am an American and I would be a proud one if we actually followed our constitution but it seems that it has been thrown out of the window (one of the reasons I am interested in bitcoin) so I am not so proud of my country's actions or government right now but I do what I can do and am responsible for myself.  I am really not to fond of ANY governments let alone ours right now, so your trolls that I am some goofy unworldy naive american stereotype from a monty python sketch are off base and un-warrented. Yes I have traveled all over the place and been to many of these exotic locations and they are fun, but is that the point right now?  As I said, Amsterdam would be better than Pattaya - in my opinion.  I just agree with some of the above posters that as it stands - with the current locations it looks like the conferences are set up more as parties for large bitcoin holders than actual  true Bitcoin Conferences aimed at expanding bitcoin to the general public.  

Like it or not NYC is currently the financial center of the world - good or bad (mostly bad and falling apart as we speak) but still the truth for now until China & the bankers pull the rug.  I think another attempt should be made here before sailing off to bitcoin island.  The UK or Tokyo are other good ideas but I am not deeply enough involved in bitcoin yet to travel that far for it.

Of course I do have have my own biases in this.  I am in NYC so obviously it would be easier for me.
But like some of the other posters have said - Bitcoin is not OWNED by anyone to to proclaim you are running the "OFFICIAL BITCOIN CONFERENCE" and then setting it only in remote islands is a wee bit much.  This is just my opinion - not an attack. I don't know Bruce or the gang that set this up but when I did find out he was very personable and invited me to come with a press pass and had I known a little earlier, I could have fixed the streaming issue.  It's what I do. I'm an actor / writer /director and and expert in HD film & video as well as sound design.  I have set up countless live radio and video internet stations and feeds and have several ways of doing it with redundancy and backup
depending of course on internet connectivity in the area and budget.  4G in the area? No prob we're set so NYC wouldn't be a problem. I have backback streaming setup... for more remote areas there are more expensive ways (parallel 3g cards) ect.... but I use livestream and the technology works.

Example: live bitcoin poker tournament:  full hour from a remote location wireless feed backpack laptop setup, no glitches:

http://www.livestream.com/blackoutsbox/video?clipId=pla_44603104-8347-4bab-a2c7-5f5a8fb7fc0e

Anyway - I didn't mean to make this thread out to be an advertisement for me but I was a little annoyed with all the anti american sarcasm crap.  All this "You Americans must think this... and You Americans and your blah blah de blah".
 
I am in individual - and don't like being labeled or narrowly defined as ANY stereotype.  The REASON I like bitcoin is for the it's very NATURE that it cares not about bullshit country or government red tape, it is truly a great idea for furthering individual liberty on the internet, so let's stop the trolling and name calling.
 
My whole point is that it is my opinion and others that what is labeled as "THE OFFICIAL BITCOIN CONFERENCES" if that can even really be true because no one owns bitcoin so anyone could call their conference the official one, but I digress, ones touted as such SHOULD NOT turn into some elite party club as their official meeting places.  This is exactly what the big banks have done, bought out the governments and all the big players meet in secret party islands.  Aren't we trying to go a different direction with bitcoin?

Again, I like a good party as much as anyone - but lets make that the secondary purpose...these are just some sensible opinions.

I can at least offer up my streaming services for the next one done in NYC and I can promise you there will be no audio or video issues unless of course the aliens land or a giant vortex opens up before 2012 or they aim haarp at us and microwave us like a swanson dinner.  Barring that, my shit works.

- Blackout - that so naive american guy with the hat.

In Bruces defense, he is setting this up in several locations, so he is taking the initiative to make this accessible to people all over the world. It's so easy to dictate your opinions, but I doubt anyone here knows the amount of work that it takes to organize these events...

Bruce is trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone to meet and way to much has been made of the "locations". Who gives a damn where it's at, the point of having multiple locations is so that people in that region can go with less money!

Again - for like the umpteenth time. I'm not attacking Bruce. Seems like a very nice person. Look forward to meeting him. Not attacking anyone.  I was responding to the anti American crap and just talking basic PR and the failed online coverage. Did you even read my post?

Summary - will places like Pattaya or private cruises add or be good for bitcoin expansion or publicity to a regular public who don't already know about it or aren't already insiders?

Answer: No.

Will there be nice beaches and bars and sex and drugs and whatever? Sure... but keep that stuff private. Hey smoke em if ya got em, I'm just saying official bitcoin conference.... Pattaya?  More like private bitcoin party time.  Nothing wrong with that, but label it what it is.  I doubt you are going to get enslaved asian girls to invest in bitcoin.

But what do I know? I'm a silly american! (talks in monty python american voice while ordering prostitute and bit munchies)

What about Istanbul (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul)?
Near Russia, middle east and Europe.

We are all on our defenses here.

I am seriously thinking about going to Amsterdam, and the World Cruise.

If I go to any of these event's I promise to stream the entire event in Full 1080HD/With full moderated chat and special interviews and articles. I am sorry that things didn't go the best for our first time, but next time I think we will all be much more prepared.

Oh, oh... Would you care to expound a little bit on the kind of speech that would land you in a jail cell? Tread carefully, my friend. There is only such a thing as free speech, everything else is an attempt at curtailing it.

Google "yell fire in a crowded theatre (or theater)" and see where that awful quote originally came from. You'll be shocked to learn it was used by a judge to throw in jail a bunch of Jewish pacifists who were against the US getting drawn into World War I. They were handing out pamphlets in Yiddish throughout New York, to stop the country from entering a ridiculous was between old monarchies and colonial powers in Europe. It was a despicable decision made by that judge, yet the phrase (like the equally ugly "I cannot define pornography but I sure know it when I see it") have become part of the conventional wisdom of the United States and, more depressingly, of its legislative and judicial wisdom as well.

If you ever do become a mod, and that's a big IF in view of your stated desire to ban around 200 folks, remember free speech is only important for those who disagree with us. Free speech only for those we agree with is a bit silly.

Cheers,