Bitcoin Forum

Bruce,

I and several thousand other people, forum members or not, were very exited and looking forward to this bitcoin conference. Mind you, bitcoin is the internet currency, so the "whole" internet was watching, or actually, not watching, because there was no live feed, no blog posts, no press release, no pictures, nothing.

I don't understand how you can make a bitcoin conference and lock out the whole world. Yes, I heard some lame excuses about a broken laptop, and expensive internet connections. This wouldn't even be an issue in some third world country, so I doubt that this could be an issue in the middle of NYC.

In hindsight this conference looks more like a secret meetup of some secret society. The only thing that was leaked out of the conference is that there will be a few more conferences in the future. Whoever will run this conferences, please don't be selfish - communicate about it, let the world know what is happening while it is happening. Use this past conference outside communication as an example how it should not be done.

If you would have done the publicity that such a conference does deserve, I am sure the exchange rate would have risen by at least 2 or 3 dollars, instead of fallen by almost 1 dollar. Now how to you explain your family and friends that you have just wasted this big opportunity to solidify their bitcoin wealth by 25%. Or do you no longer care, after the mybitcoin debacle? Do you think that after loosing 49% one doesn't want to gain some 25%?

I think it is also a lost opportunity for OnlyOneTV. In the short period of time when there was some sort of live feed, there were more than thousand viewers. Numbers that you never had before. I can only imagine how much more thousand viewers only got the "off air" message, and remember your business now as OnlyOffAirTV. Bit lost opportunity, better don't tell your sponsors about this.

BTW, to make this clear. This is no bashing on you, Bruce. I like and watch your "daily" shows, and as a long time viewer I know that you are exaggerate sometimes, like the fact that you call this a daily show, while in fact there can be a full week between shows. Same thing was you stating that some 15 media outlets will be there, I guessed that this will be not that much, but probably a few. Actually almost no one knows the truth, because there is no information about it.
In fact, you did with your bitcoin conference, what you said is the worst thing to do, stopping all public communication, going incommunicado. Sorry to say this, but this behavior reminds me of some guy named Tom Williams.

Someone claimed that some parts where recorded, so here is hope that you make at least this recording available. I and, I am sure, a few thousand other people would really like to watch this. But to quote you: a day in the bitcoin world is like a week, a week is like a month. So according to you, those recording are already some weeks late ;)

Best regards,
aq

It's really kind of sad that things had to go this way.  I was really looking forward to all kinds of announcements, speeches, etc.  I did watch episode 38, which was fun, but was expecting even more come Saturday.  Unfortunately, it's just been, as aq pointed out, dead silence.

I think that no one is posting summaries of things because there wasn't much to summarize.  So far, every single person that I've seen posting about the conference happenings have just said "it's been great, I've met a lot of good people and had some great conversations."  Seems like it was more of a meetup than a conference.  Hopefully I will be proven wrong about this in the coming days...

There is stuff on youtube, and Gavin gave a speech.  But, maybe it was not well attended.

Indeed there are now!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bitcoin+conference&aq=f

Will have to watch some of those later, thanks for the heads up.

I'm a big fan of Bruce and the show and I know that he put a lot of effort into putting this conference together.  I wasn't able to attend the conference, but from what I've read from people who attended, it sounded like a lot of the big players were there and great ideas being exchanged.  I'm not so much concerned about the short term price action in the BTC exchange rate, but could it have been done better? Yes, but at the same time this will be a learning experience which will hopefully push the Bitcoin community forward and help to make an event that will be even bigger and more accessible the next go around.

That being said I was really disappointed as well after seeing Episode 38 that I was only able to see a few of the Keynote presentations on Saturday afternoon streaming online and wasn't able to hear much else on what was going on.  I've been asking around hoping to find someone who has posted the Breakout sessions from Saturday and Sunday, but no luck so far. :/  

At the moment I can't help but see it as something like that as well. 

Yes, in terms of a get together for people who are already into bitcoin it seemed like a great event, but in terms of promotion and helping spread understanding among average people it seems to have fallen quite short and may have hurt more than helped.  A preaching to the converted?

And promotion was supposed to be one of the goals of it wasn't it?  I mean with the mention of the media that would be attending and the excitement generated by the promise of big announcements that would be made?   

I was hoping there would be more I could point some of my friends to, who are currently sitting on the fence in regard as to whether this bitcoin stuff is just a scam or techie fad or something. 

Like with the original author I am hoping this feedback helps future events be more successful.   

+1 Amen brother..

Given the extremely difficult circumstances that our community has had to endure over the last several months I'm surprised there was even a conference, keeping that in mind I think the 1st ever World Wide Bitcoin Conference went great. All of the major players were there, and slowly more and more media will begin to surface out from the event.

Could it have been better? Of course, and I am sure that in the future Bitconf will only get bigger and better.

In a world where I could've walked around streaming a feed from my freaking PHONE through the whole thing, I honestly am very disappointed not to have seen a dedicated web site with constant updates, videos, the whole nine yards. The documentation at defcon is better, and that's a conference full of people who try their best not to be documented. Bruce, I love you man but I am disappoint.

I see no problem that forum whiners are on the bottom of Bruce's priority list. His concern is for the participants of the conference and it seems they're happy.

Not in NYC, at least if you are on AT&T

That's not fair either, many of us were dying to go but simply couldn't afford a trip to New York.

The coverage should have been better, but once again the conference should have never taken place so soon after these events to begin with.

Since Bitcoin is an open-source project that means any one of you could have set up this conference.

So if you think you could have done better then prove it! :) good luck...

Wrong, actually. The priority for the conference should have been the success of bitcoin. That would have been greatly aided by much more communication and coverage than there was. I'm sure the conference was a success from the participants' point of view, but from the point of view of the larger success of bitcoin as a whole, too many opportunities were missed.

The good side is it sounds like some people have made some good friends and got feedback on ideas face to face for the first time. At the moment most of em are getting over the weekend forming thoughts on where to go with new ways of looking at bitcoin problems. Money people are chewing over what to prioritise. Chill out for a few weeks and see what comes of it with applications for the real world improving.
BTW maybe the organisers should go on a few AA conferences they have em as often as you change your undies and some are great. My dad was right into them.

I realize this.  I would just advise bruce to be more impeccable with his words.  Lots of us like bruce and believe him when he says something.  For example he said the conference would be streaming all day.  Many people sat in the chat room on the site waiting for the stream for hours.  A simple tweet saying that it wasn't gonna happen would have been great.  There have been times where he said his show would start in a few minutes and people wait and wait for it and it doesn't start till hours later.  I don't really want to come off as whining, maybe Bruce just doesn't realize how many people rely on what he says.  You're a popular guy brucy!

Keep up the good work.

+1

I left very happy and excited for the future of bitcoin.  There seems to be some (vocal) people who did not go, and are saying it did not meet their expectations.  Ok.  Great.  You didn't go.  You didn't help.  You didn't pay.  How much does Bruce really owe you?

Bitcoin conference => more (better) bitcoin products and services => long-term value and success
Bitcoin conference coverage => short-term speculative value

Both are nice, but, seriously, 1st is the priority.

1. Make giant post and website about incredible bitcoin con.
2. Buy shit tons of cheap bitcoin.
3. Hype about the bitcoin con pushes prices up.
4. Sell all your bitcoin on Friday when the hype peaks.
5. Spend everyone else's money partying and getting plastered all weekend in NYC.
6. Swede steals your laptop.

http://www.xr3club.forumwise.com/images/smilies/xr3club/icon_trollface-emoticon-4.gif

The issue that bugs me is how little info came from the event..

Like it was a roomful of nerds in comfort inn, and the claims of all the media.. was extremely exagerated..

This might as well not happened in the internet world.. no one heard it was happening.. and even the community had no idea as to anything happening the WHOLE weekend..

Whoop dee dooo, you guys are planning another  conference, big surprise.. a cruise..  how nice...

What about educating people ?  OUTSIDE yet alone inside the community..?

I'll sign this part.




Quoted for emphasis.

How is this even possible?

What were you thinking?

Will anything be forthcoming?




This is irrelevant in the long term.





Truly staggering incompetence for a web media production company.

I am surprised and disappointed by the lack of communication with the outside world.

I am sure there would have been volunteers if called for. (If this was the problem.)

Other than that, congratulations on pulling off a presumably successful event. :)


PS: Mind telling the world how it went?

Wow. Alienate a bunch of people who are eager for more information on the conference and on the future of bitcoin in general.
What a great promotion idea.    :-\

You right about the problem and the solution is known and simple. Next time you should go, or make sure that someone else will go with purpose of reporting, because this is how public gets information about ANY event.

All I read from the op was that he is unhappy that someone else is not working hard enough to make the btc price go up for him. All I want to say is that op needs to just shut his mouth. Or instead of writing on a public forum to complain about it like a whiny little kid, go out and promote bitcoin like you believe it should be at a standard that it deserves on your own merit.

You have not even done a tiny fraction of what Bruce and other devs that spoke at the conference did for Bitcoin from the very beginning. If you cannot appreciate it's progress, then you don't need to part of this community.

Chillax, man. The OP was completely reasonable and well-spoken. The short-term price action is not important, but the broad point about lack of coverage and info is valid.

As one of those in attendance, I was very happy with the whole weekend but that's because I was there. I think it's a legitimate criticism to say that much more attention should've been given to broadcasting the event and informing the community at large about the goings-on.

I'm sure the lesson will be learned, and there will be no excuse not to have excellent coverage and info-distillation at the next such event.

Bullshit trying to put this all on Bruce.  What the fuck tech geeks, how did someone not have their android app out with a live feed off their phone cam.  All are to blame.

Exactly, I thought naturally we would see more coverage just from the bloggers that were there.

Just a heads up seems like the SA cry babies are planning another massive troll attack, so we will begin to see these threads all over :(. I have never seen such a coordinated group of individuals that are so into disrupting other peoples daily activities. It's actually kind of disturbing and somewhat vicious...

No news reporter go to the conference?
I was told that the bloomberg or something like that would go there.

I was there. I'm from Sweden. Payed in total perhaps 1500 dollars to be there. Stayed in a truly crappy hotel (Latham Hotel on 28th Street) and have this to say:

• Could not afford to pay for the trip? Seriously? That is a lame excuse if you are from the US. How much could a plane ticked have cost? I know no one in NYC I could stay at, but if you're American then the chances are high you actually do.
• The conference fee was 2 BTC (you payed more for a table, but still). How far do you think that takes you in covering the costs for a "ballroom" at a fancy hotel in NYC? I'm sure Bruce made no money at all, and worked his ass off. And so did so many others of his friends and colleagues.
• There weren't that much stuff to stream, really. We had Bruce announcing the whole thing, then we had Gavin talk about the future of the code. Next up was Stefan Thomas talking about BitcoinJS, and finally Jeff Garzik's talk about the state of the coin (his slides are online, check his latest tweets). The rest of the whole thing was just socializing and lots of very interesting discussions with other Bitcoiners. The true content was in the personal meetings. Sorry guys, that's always the best thing with conferences.
• Organizing an event like this is very very very hard work, and not profitable in any way. Pointing fingers at Bruce for doing a crappy work surely doesn't help much.

+1


I think the problem is that a lot of people here only know "conferences" to be E3, CES etc. They don't know that a lot of conferences are 30-80 people flying in from all over the world with little to none external coverage and very niche specific.

Thank you kindly, matsh, for your honest assessment.

And as somebody who has organized small events (and subevents) like this over the last 12 years, I can only confirm that even if you plan ahead, loads of things change at the last minute. Part of the conference was moved to a different venue. If it had been held in the One-TV Studios, there should been much better recordings. It sounds like the organizers did not have enough volunteers/staff and got overwelmed.

Been there, done that.

It's not that you bought a video streaming access only pass in advance and got screwed

Personally, I'm a bit disappointed. I was hoping there'd be plenty of coverage.

I'm not actually pissed that there wasn't, just a bit disappointed. Like you pointed out, it's not like we paid for it and then got nothing. :)

we should bring bitcoin and bitcoinproducts into other conferences, where media is present, like gaming/ingegnieur conferences, instead of getting the media to the conference

Flexcoin attended the conference,  we had a table next to Mt. Gox and CampBX ... we viewed it as a great success.    I personally believe you're being hard on Bruce,  he did a VERY good job.   you guys completely missed the fact that it WAS THE FIRST CONFERENCE ...   view it as alpha software.  There will be bugs, and the bugs will get worked out.

You're slamming the guy for making the world's first bitcoin conference ...  it's wrong on so many levels.

Exactly.  The whole point of meeting in person is to network and exchange ideas, and build relationships.  Speeches can be recorded and put on YouTube anytime.  It's meeting people face-to-face that is the key benefit here.

For example, I will buy more merchandise from Littleshop now that I've met him and talked with him for 3 days.  And it turns out we're both from Baltimore.  Imagine that.  Networking is what the conference is all about.

He told all loyal Bitcoin Show viewers he would be streaming the entire event
This didn't happen cause of a broken laptop (I should triple check and get an alternative backup before I would go there) .. so yeah that's what he owes us (the people who didn't go) the next Bitcon.
This is my only comment on the whole thing.
I mean look at his first bitcoin show, did this went perfectly? No.
But look at where he stands now with frikking 38 episodes witch are better every time.

Suggestion:

Next time perhaps make a call in advance for a shortlist of volunteers
who can take care the inevitable hiccups that show up at any conference.

There will always be issues, but with an action squad on the ready,
you can smooth out the inevitable bumps and make them invisible to the world.

Encourage people to tweet, blog, take pictures, and relate their experience to the outside world.

There was radio silence for almost all of the event,
with the exception of the write-up and photos from BitNavigator. (Thanks.)

Record and publish the talks for Pete's sake!

Manny stated on chat that the whole conference would be streamed live.
What happened to this? Did it fall through completely?

Other than this: Great job in pulling of the conference,
valid criticism is warranted, but the fact remains that the
organizers pulled of a successful first Bitcoin Conference!

Great job! Keep up the good work! *pat on back* :)

Well stated, matsh. 

I keep hearing you want "quality" people, not quantity.  I thought the goal was to out BTC into the mainstream.  Obviously the conference is shut off to any new adopters that are curious about BTC.  Admission fees seem unreasonable, especially in BTC which new adopters do not yet understand or know how to attain.

Most establishments would PAY an event to bring in more then 20 people!!

But hey, what do I know?  I'm just a guy that is able to see BOTH sides of the coin instead of spreading unreasonable and untruthful HYPE.

Do you know how much fees are at other conventions?

Do you know what a real convention is???  LOL.

There's no way I could have afforded the trip.  Not everyone has thousands (or even hundreds) of extra dollars sitting around, waiting to be used on a plane ticket.  I'm struggling to pay my monthly bills as it is - haven't had any "fun money" beyond $5 for a couple of years now.

Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place, but this is the first time I've heard anything about any of the speeches that were made!  I didn't even know the subjects that they talked about!  This is what we (on the forums) mean when we say we've heard NOTHING!  So thanks for giving at least a summary of what happened.

Now I'm not trying to be a huge complainer here.  I'm glad that, according to those who attended, the conference was a success.  I just wish that someone had made an effort to communicate with the outside world about what was happening.  Even just someone with tweets saying "Gaving is now talking about the future of the code", etc.  None of us knew anything about what was happening there, and that was just really a shame, especially after how much it was hyped.

Agreed.  There should have been way, way, way WAY more dedication to getting media coverage.  An economy can't grow without investors, and you can't get investors if they don't know what the hell it is.

This..

You, and others here, seem to be missing the point of the OP.  If it was going to be a gathering of bitcoiners, who could afford the time and money to go, with little for outsiders who don't know much about the whole subject then it should not have been hyped the way it was with the talk of the whole event being broadcast live and wall to wall global media etc.   

And it seems unfair to call people who give this kinda feedback whiners who want to attack Bruce, especially when they add that they like Bruce and his show and are only posting to help improve things going forward. 

Ok, all yes so maybe this wasn't the best conference but it was the FIRST keep that in mind! To blame Bruce isn't doing anyone any good. Grant it I was one of the few waiting for streaming of the event "live" also and was dissapointed!  but this only means things get better from here! ;D

I do. One of the conferences I'm going to in October has an admission fee of $4000.

I think to me what was most disappointing is that this would have been a great opportunity for the media to get the RIGHT information.  With all the misinformation going around about how Bitcoin operates or how previous hacks actually happened, it would have been wonderful if the media could've actually heard the speakers and presenters and to actually hear from merchants and vendors.  Meh...

I think one big mistake was making it a four day event.  Defcon and the Microsoft World Partners conferences are both four day events so people expect an awful lot in terms of content from gatherings which stretch over that timeframe.

Even though the agenda for Bitcon made it clear that there was little in the way of organised content - and that what content there was wasn't really aimed at attracting the public - perhaps people expected that with so much time to brainstorm, the attendees would generate new content on the fly and present it to both the conference and the community.  That often happens at conferences which have a lot of open time so that expectation wasn't entirely unreasonable.

For what it's worth, I think that the choice of topics for the keynotes was a bit of preaching to the choir.  They were interesting topics for those who already have a stake in Bitcoin and what lies ahead but they weren't the kind of topics which attract the media or potential users.

Personal opinion is that NY Conference was a decent start to a great future of Bitcoin World Conferences.

We need to support our bitcoin community more. Build up confidence in every way. Cheer every new company (even if they do something better then your company).

Send business their way. Bitcoin is microscopic at the moment. We should all have a team player mentality.  8)

Myself and several thousand other people on the forum couldn't give two shits about the conference. It's 2011, there's more information on this forum in 12 hours then that entire 4 day conference. Conferences are an excuse for people to travel and pretend they're special. I've been to tons of them. I've never seen one that actually accomplished anything that warranted the time and effort.

Somehow we have to be face to face to "plan crazy cool new stuff!". Seriously. The people moving Bitcoin are the people using it on a daily/weekly basis as a *currency*. And the developers who are making that possible.

So there was a "conference" with a few people from an internet forum. And people weren't happy with the coverage? If there's been 10 threads about this "conference" that's about 9 too many.

If you are so deeply concerned about bitcoin, stop complaining about the past and work towards its future.

To those who say that I should have asked people to help with the live streaming and recording of the events, breakout sessions, etc...    See this post -- where I did exactly that:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6150.msg465119#msg465119   

I also tweeted that to 12 or 13,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook.

To those who say that I should have asked for volunteers to help with Conference preparations and in general....   See this post -- where I did exactly that:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6150.msg464047#msg464047

That blast also went to 12 or 13,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook, in addition to here in the forum thread.

I would love to have seen attendees live stream more.    Almost every one of them has the technology to do so.... in their pocket.

However, I do NOT blame them.     They came to the Conference to experience it themselves.... and to have conversations (private conversations, in many cases) which they would not necessarily want broadcast to the world.

I am grateful for the few who did stream it.    We were able to make a decent recording of the speeches.   We had Only One (OnlyOne, get it) working laptop, unfortunately.    And that laptop was needed to process the constant flow of incoming registrations / admissions.

Yeah.... That's a lame excuse.   We need to buy more laptops.   And attendees need to stream more too.

But, all in all, it was an AMAZING Conference.

For the record, I think  ---  No, I KNOW  ---  that the value of this WORLD'S FIRST Bitcoin Conference came from the private conversations with the genius minds that were in attendance...    Those private conversations could not be streamed to the world.

Even if there had been 1000 times more media coverage....   The value would have mostly been the private conversations....   at the bar afterward....   in the restaurants.... etc.     That's where the REAL magic happened.

I may not check this thread frequently.   I've commented on this thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6150.msg478104#msg478104

Wooo hooo go get'm Bruce!  Great job the event and talks where awesome thanks !  ;D

I agree with everything you said, Bruce, except I disagree completely about where the 'REAL magic" happened.  In my opinion, and I assume in the opinions of many of those who did not attend the conference, the real magic didn't happen at all. 

I would agree that there is something to be said for the utility of those conversations that were had amongst those at the convention, particularly among those who were (I hope) discussing real plans for forward movement.  However, the real magic that WE as the miners, sellers, and consumers who did not attend the conference wanted to see did not happen. 

The magic we wanted to see was an explosion of media hype.  We wanted all those amazing conversations converted into newspaper headlines.  Why?  Because the media has consistently gotten Bitcoin wrong.  It has misunderstood the program, the theory, the consumers, the merchants (omg omg omg illegal drugs everywhere!!!) and because of this, we wanted our collective voice heard. We wanted investors to have a reason to get involved with Bitcoin. 

Of course, it was beneficial for the Bitcoin Big Dogs to be there for each other for support and for communication about the future of Bitcoin.  But I have a feeling that most of that was just "feel good" talk...talk that reassured you that you all weren't wasting your time or crazy (don't get me wrong, I'd feel that some REAL magic happened if I got to interview that chick from Bit-pay, too).  The most common reason businesses or presidential candidates succeed is because they are known, and they are known through the media. 

Beyond the hype, the ideas and theories supporting the businesses or candidates barely even matter...they are secondary.  Because of this, Bitcoin must also be known through the media, and on a large scale.  Otherwise, you end up with Ross Perot -- a guy with really amazing ideas and a common sense approach, but nobody will ever give a shit.

By the way, I love your commitment and your show.  And, I want you to enjoy your conference high.  Just please come down from it sometime and realize how important the media coverage really is.

Technology succeeds or fails regardless of media attention. The "media" is obsolete, irrelevant and corrupt, and relying on it to evangelize a system that directly threatens the monetary system they thrive on is a losing strategy. Media attention does not produce anything of value, only passionate and committed people who engage in those pursuits that benefit the technology and community will do so. Your expectations are what betrayed you, not the good faith efforts of others.

Amen, brother!

I would have liked a nice price bump from post-conference media attention, but in the long run the ideas and products that come from back-room meetings at conferences like this will benefit Bitcoin much more.

Also, the price and difficulty stability we've seen this last week or two has been pretty nice, actually.  If the difficulty stays the same (and it seems like it will) then I have no problem with the price staying where it is.

Great new products and merchants using bitcoin, born from this conference, will do more to benefit us all then a temporary price bump (with a following difficulty bump) would.

This was not just a Press Conference....    This was the world's first Bitcoin Conference.   I'm sorry if it didn't benefit those who did not attend enough... 

Perhaps one solution might be to.....  ATTEND the next one....?

The Press saying that they would be there..... was a side-effect....    It was not the purpose.

When we have something wonderful to promote...   Believe Me...   I do know how to get the Press' attention.    But we don't.    We're not ready.    The Press shows up when there is something newsworthy....  like ants at a picnic.

But we don't.   

Bitcoin still faces the big three challenges:

• Security
• Liquidity
• Currency Risk

But....


This.       :)

What WILL come.....  as a direct result of this Conference....   is going to blow YOUR minds.....   and knock your alpaca socks off!   

.......much sooner than you think!

Gosh, I'm having flashbacks.  Exactly what you said before about some AMAZING BLOW YOUR MIND announcement you had that would change the world of bitcoin, and all it was was announcing yet another conference. 

http://masterdev.dyndns.dk/drslog/not_sure_if_serious.jpg

You were just mocking yourself, right? Just imitating how you sounded before the failed conference. right? RIGHT? Please tell me you didn't mean it serious?

You sound like:

http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/images/07-minister.jpg
The conference was a SUCCESS! I repeat there are NO FAILURES in our CONFERENCE!

Stop with the fucking images okay?
There not funny and take alot of space.

They take up less space than all the ... dots bruce is using ;)

Then stop deceiving the public with claims like this one:


And now comes this:
ಠ_ರೃ

One of the great things with global forums is that there's always someone more connected than yourself. I'm very impressed by the above, knowing very well how TED speakers are selected. You cannot possible be a "Matthew N. Wright" :)

Matthew tends to "misrepresent" himself and his associations so I wouldn't read too much into that. 

+1

B S Wagner - buy the rumour, sell the lack of news

I figured that the whole idea of such a conference to meet like-minded people and forge real relationships with them, people don't go to TED or Defcon or even Comic-Con for the media coverage. The press turn up when lots of interesting news is likely to come out of the conference, they won't waste their time turning up to something unproven. If your unrealistic expectations cause you disappointment then try aligning them more closely with reality.

It was disappointing, reading Bruce's post about the event weeks in advance, media coverage, the live streaming, etc.  And seeing the aftermath, I must say I wish he would have delivered on the expectations he set by those statements.

I understand it was the first, low budget, not sure how many would come, and all that.  I get that it is a high risk financially, and he is likely to lose money, but he knew that going in (or should have).

Hopefully, he learned some lessons and will make a greater attempt to deliver on his statements to the public in the future.

Lack of media coverage -  not so surprising.. they're not there to feed every interest group's hype.
No streaming - somewhat disappointing.
Keynote recording with unintelligible audio  -  Well that's a big fail from an outfit with 'tv' in the name.

Anything that can be said about this last point without using swear words - is altogether too kind.

I mirror all of the concerns and criticisms that everyone else has regarding this conference.

Rather than spending time, money, and effort on getting a bunch of bitcoin enthusiasts together to pat each other on the back and chat with each other, I think a better course of action is to appeal to people that aren't already in the bitcoin community.

AFTER the currency has rooted itself with the masses then there should be large scale developer conferences but there's no point in discussing all these great ideas if the general public doesn't even know what bitcoin is.

I applaud the effort, but let's not jump the shark just yet.

I am available to host a meeting in LA anytime and set up a streaming too!

Bruce is a hero. Thank you for the successful conference. Thank you Bruce!!! Bruce Wagner: Hero Member
 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) ;D ;) :) 8) :o ;D ;D :D ;) 8)

I can't wait for more OnlyOneTV webisodes bitcoinisodes!!  8) 8) 8) 8) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I thought you were serious until I saw the 5th emoticon in your post.


http://somewhatfrank.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/emoticons.jpg


I've had this image problem since I was 16 when a farmer told me to stop doing what I was doing in the middle of his bean field. I thought I found the perfect spot the year before when it was a corn field. My image was destroyed by that farmer. Even since then, I've been in search of the Image Grail. I'm cursed till I find it.


Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

As someone who flew to the conference all the way from Tokyo,  I can say that the conference was a HUGE success.  
I don't regret attending at all.
I'm sorry there was not live streaming on the web,  but that doesn't change the fact that there was am amazing amount of collaboration that went on at the conference.  I was especially impressed with the Bitcoin ATM information,  the BTCinch.com (http://BTCinch.com) and bit-pay.com (http://bit-pay.com) guys.
They have some awesome tools in the works.  I met so many sharp minds,  and so many new Bitcoin ideas were created.

In short,   the conference was a huge success for everyone who attended,  and I am more excited about Bitcoin's future than ever before.

Life must be so great if your definition of "HUGE success" is met by the result of the Bruce Wagner party :D

Good post.

You guys are also forgetting that this took place in the aftermath of a huge hacking that affected Bruce PERSONALLY and probably still is since he only got back half his Bitcoins from (myBitcoin). I will reiterate my statements in hopes to shoo the filthy trolls away.

Could things have been a bit better for us webfolks who were so eagerly trying to get a glimpse of the conference? Yes.

Was the conference a failure? Of course not, and anyone going around harping that it was total failure is just fishing for lawls.

Can we please stop calling it a conference? It's like calling my daughter's pink tricycle a Harley.

It was not a conference. It was just a forum meeting in a rented location where people did meet's & greets, shared stories, had a beer and a laugh. That's it and nothing more. Any big forum, on-line club, warcraft guild, hobbyclub and treehuggers-united has done the same already. Most of them just aren't nerdy enough to pretend it is a conference and have imaginary media coverage for it.

You are forgetting that he purchased those for 0.x USD anyway, so his financial situation should still be pretty damn good. You also are ignoring that he should be considered pretty damn lucky that he even got 49% back from an anonymous guy on the internet.

Also, I wouldn’t even mind if he wouldn’t be hyping things AGAIN: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38747.msg479911#msg479911

It's his job to promote events. What is your ultimate wish for him, to quit what he's doing? That's what everyone wants because the world is full of haters, and I am sure Bruce is well aware of this. If he wasn't he wouldn't be in the industry that he is in. Media is a fierce industry with tons of competition and money controlling everything, and sometimes your own fans are the ones who want you to fail the most. I think what he is doing is admirable and he should continue to fight for the community, and never settle for anyone.

No one else is planning conferences!

This is an OPEN SOURCE PROJECT.

Anyone can have a damn conference if they are good enough at getting people to go. However, I promise you that 99% of the people in this forum would not have been able to get the same turnout of people that Bruce was able to get to that CONVENTION in New York. Being in the marketing field I know how hard it is to get people to one place, especially when it's something as new and unknown as Bitcoin. I think we could have had better turn out, but either way for it being the first year, it was truly amazing that Bruce was able to organize all this with very little staff, and it only shows how much potential Bitcoins really have in bringing people together. People flew from all over the world to be in New York at Bruce's conference, so obviously he did something that most of the people here would have never been able to do.

And what does this babbling of essentially "LEAVE BRUCY ALONE! :'(" have to do with my criticism that he shouldn’t baselessly hype things up in the manner he did? Read the postings I quoted, he basically contradicted himself.

It's easy to see that there are two viewpoints...   clearly defined...

Those who attended.  

and....

Those who did not attend.

It was two completely different experiences.

If you did not attend, I'm sure it was about as lame as it gets.

If you did attend, as many will attest to, and have told me, "It was the most exciting conference I have ever attended."   ....is the typical comment I hear.

Two people looking in opposite directions... who think they are describing the same thing.

Anyway...  I think it will always be a completely different experience for those who do not attend, unfortunately.    After all, if it were the same....  There would be no benefit in getting together in person at all....   Right?

We will do better when it comes to streaming.     As it was happening even....  I was very upset that that was not happening right.    But, we did the best we could with the limited resources and help we had.

Please don't ever expect one of these conferences to be the same experience from home on tv.... as it would be attending one.

Also, I did not create the conferences for the media.   I created them for the developer and user community.    And, in that context, it was an enormous success...  as 100% of the people here who attended are attesting to.

As I said, we don't really need any more media attention at this very moment.   Those of you who think media = profit are so wrong.

We don't need media attention.   We need positive media attention.

And we will get plenty of that...   Once the developers finish all the projects they are working on right now.

The Conference was a tremendous success in aiding those developers...   by allowing them to meet, connect, and begin working closely with others... they can now work synergistically with each other more....   More.... Better... Faster.

As for the two big announcements I had....   I suppose I should have said what happened.    One of them got tabled.   I decided, after getting more and more feedback on the idea...  that I should postpone announcing it.   It's just too big....   and too risky...   for the moment.    But that idea might come back.   We'll see.

The other --- second --- big announcement was...   three more Conferences....  and a World Cruise.      Personally, I think that IS HUGE.    Don't you?   ( Please only answer if you attended this Conference.... so you have some real world frame of reference. )

Since then, I have already said that I am now working on adding 10 other cities to that list....  12 Cities Worldwide in Total.    Yes, this is going to be enormous.    But I don't need to tell you.   I'll show you.   You'll see.    I love a challenge.    :)

As for The Bitcoin Show...  I wasn't going to say anything...  But...  I'll have a little surprise for you....   within the next 2 days...    Stay tuned.

Bruce thank you for your contribution to the Bitcoin community

http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/4/W/baghdadbob_conquer.jpg

Those.... who did... not... attend, clearly... have no idea... what a real... conference is. 50... nerds.... without... any... media attention... is simply... a HUGE SUCCESS... So all... shut up... and join my... cruise to... the holy land of... PATTAYA!

The cruise is actually a great Idea Bruce.

Advantages are:

Easy conference access for many who can't afford to fly and stay at a hotel.
Free food for the entire stay we are there. Huge savings on a typical expense.
Various different meeting facilities so that we can diversify our meetings ( assuming that we will indeed be renting out these facilities )
Comfortable rooms at much cheaper prices than we would pay at traditional hotels.

The only problem I see with the cruise is Internet access. From previous cruises I have been on I can confirm that the prices for Wifi are ridiculous. Now if you can arrange a group Internet package for us and all of the above I think the cruise might be the most viable option for me and many other Bitcoiners who might be thinking about saving as their number one priority.

Thank you for the work that you do!

You missed one:
Anyone who does not agree with FlipPro can be tossed overboard! ;) :P

No no... I have a third viewpoint. I'm sure the conference was really good for those who attended, and its effects will also be really good for those who didn't. I do feel the lack of media coverage was a minus, which is why I'm hoping for some serious PR effort to get going to help bring Bitcoin to the media in a more concerted way.

My only beef with the conference was the lack of contact with the outside world during it. Think of the opportunities missed just by not having two way communication between those in attendance and those of us (hundreds, probably thousands) who were desperately trying, but were unable to watch and interact with the conference. We might have asked questions of the speakers that sparked an entirely new line of thinking. We could have offered ideas, expertise. One of us might have taken that video feed and rolled it into an article for a blog, or for a media outlet.

So, a successful conference, with lots to learn for the future. Third viewpoint.

I think it was a success... 

I met some good people there.    Bruce did a decent job regarding it being the ALPHA / FIRST / bitcoin conference.

For some reason people believe that the first is going to be like the second... whereas in the second you learned from the first. I know Bruce will sort out any of the bugs in the first conference and apply that knowledge to the second.

I can say that the demand was high enough to justify a second conference...   this is something worth while.   Considering what the topic is...

You guys tend to forget that bitcoins were invented in 600 days ago....  and didn't even have mainstream media attention until 200 days ago.

Not at all. For the first, most people gave Bruce the benefit of the doubt and still believed his hyping was a sign of something majoy going to happen. Whereas for the second, we all know exactly what to expect and we know only to expect about 2% of what Bruce is actually claiming.

I guess I go to slightly over a dozen conferences a year. Half as a keynote speaker, half "just" attending.

How many do you go to? I'm really interested, since you seem to be such an expert.

...all this arguing is childish and makes Bitcoin look bad .... if you are one of them complaining then WHY DON'T YOU PUT THE NEXT CONFERENCE together!  ???

We all live in this bitcoin community and we all bring in different skills/perspectives and ways about  making bitcoins the biggest thing since slice bread!  - we have miners, we have entrepreneurs, we investors, we have kids, moms ...ladies ... to pick on Bruce is just ridiculous. Just leave him alone!  ;D

Big ideas are easy. Execution is hard. Based on this guy's track record...


No. 

Nope I don't think this is in the slightest bit HUGE more like totally LAME & re first para about bloody time to fes up to that pump & dump crap, btw I just sold my full holdings of BTC at a few % loss which is np as I'll buy back in when they continue to tank to mining costs or under mostly because of this fiasco

'Only peeps who were at the conference are able to comment' lol - well bollocks to that Commander BS hyper drive

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

+1 isn't this close to defimation /slander toward you by a group of children?

If you posted that on somethingawful.com (a forum full of children), you'd be probated for child-like abuse of ellipses.

If you think.... a couple of people.... posting from another forum... are causing the destruction of these forums (you're wrong)

If he posted his hype about up-coming announcements on SomethingAwful he'd be toxx claused.

All we hear is radio ga ga. Radio goo goo.

my peepee go wheee!

just in case your paranoica included me, for the record my DOB is in 1955 & I'm nothing what so ever to do with SA.com, I put a lot of money in to BTC because I believe it's great, I just cashed it all out at a modest loss just from your recent goings on -  btw your bitcon '12 locs have hustler writ large all over them, gl with that ~ kiddo

Somethingawful also has a short memory and will totally flip back over to loving Bruce if he plays his cards right.  He should make some youtube videos showing off his sick juggling skills or something.  

Matthew N. Wright
quote

+1 awesome and well writen thank you

Guy is smart and a good writer, he used to run an accredited* school in Korea.



*not actually accredited

I don't really think they're children, just ignorant.

(I'm still waiting for the "conference expert" to come back to me in this thread)

We've seen your website, you aren't convincing anyone

Anyone that had been reading the SomethingAwful thread or that had even watched his show live - but I repeat myself ;) - would already have had appropriate expectations. I'm not really convinced anyone from there could've stopped laughing long enough to finish writing half of these posts; they're skilled but not that skilled. Seriously, the SA thread is worth reading...

Yes lame it is. On more than one occasion both you and Manny had laptops on the bitcoin show. How is that any excuse at all?

Since when is food free on a cruise that you HAVE to pay for?

If their ability to learn from past conferences is anything like how the bitcoin show had audio problems and how they learned from those mistakes, we may not get a smooth conference for about the 20th one.

I have watched all the bitcoin shows and it took about 20 shows for them to finally get the audio issue correct.

To me that is says enough to know what to expect from future conferences given the current one and how it went from an external point of view.

This: http://www.ted.com/talks/joseph_pine_on_what_consumers_want.html

By the way, on the upcoming Bitcoin World Cruise....  Not only is all food is included....  but ALL ALCOHOL is free (included) as well.

What I'm trying to figure out is how a Bitcoin World Cruise is going to push bitcoin forward and address the major issues you listed earlier in this thread.

Alcohol being added to the mix may end up being a bad idea given that we don't want anymore negative attention. Imagine a bunch of drunk bitcoin pioneers on a boat on the ocean. How would that address the issues that bitcoin has?

That's like trying to entice people to join your event for the "free" alcohol.

I get it that great minds meeting is a must for Bitcoin to succeed in the development area, but how does that even require or justify people having to pay for a cruise to be a part of this?

This is starting to sound more like a series of parties rather than productive meetings.

Spending a lot of money and having good food and good drinks is not a requirement to have a successful conference or meeting among like-minded people.

What's next, the Bitcoin Blimpe Conference where we hover in the atmosphere and drink booze and talk about bitcoin until we are piss drunk off our asses?

Or maybe we'll have the Bitcoin Underground Expo in the tunnels of the Nevada Test Site.

Or maybe we can just meet at a public venue that is not pricey and meet there with a structured goal of why we are meeting, and not just to "have bitcoin buzz in the air".

 ::)

Will the homeless underage prostitutes be included in Pattaya?


No dude, you don't understand - ALCOHOL! Free alcohol! Every time you find yourself asking a question like that, just take a shot! Nothing engenders a POSITIVE ATTITUDE like high-proof vodka!

All of these conferences and cruises sound less about Bitcoins, and more about Bruce wanting an excuse for a vacation or a party or, in the case of Pattaya, I don't even want to know.

Have you seen diggnation ?  Its two guys mucking around with laptops in front of a camera.

Maybe Bruce should start drinking beer and cracking adolescent jokes  :)

http://images.wikia.com/wikiality/images/6/6a/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

And I'm serious. I am not sure if you are sincerely naive and really think you are doing bitcoin a favor with statements like this or if you are just trolling and deliberately trying to upset people who try to or hope for bitcoin to get a better reputation.

A bitcoin meetup in a place that is known to be a pedophile resort, talking about a bitcoin cruise and then putting emphasis on FREE ALCOHOL... I am anxiously awaiting your announcement that the amsterdam meetup will be held in a coffeshop with free weed for everyone.

Seriously. You are just making it worse and worse.  

lol free weed?

Almost every week, there is a major financial conference. (http://www.allconferences.com/Business/Financial/) I doubt that Bitcoin businesses could get into the High Growth Markets Summit (http://www.economistconferences.co.uk/event/high-growth-markets-summit/4596?utm_source=eventlisting&utm_medium=online&utm_campaign=HGMS) (UK), now that the bubble has popped.  The Alternative Asset Summit (http://alternativeassetsummit.com/) (Las Vegas) might be a possibility. Anyone with a serious Bitcoin-related business should be attending and presenting at conferences like that, not a low-rent Wagner event.

Tradehill and Dwolla might be able to play in that league. Maybe Mt. Gox. (Probably not Mt. Gox - people who go to conferences like those want to see audited financial statements.)

Still waiting, my man.

Good necro, would read again.

This Hawaiian T-shirt has an expiration date on it, you know...