Bitcoin Forum

We will have a BITCOIN booth at the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.  This is a massive media event.  Last year there were 5000 media and reporters at this event, and a total of about 140,000 people.

If you want to see some good, accurate reporting about Bitcoin, I would encourage you to contact every news reporter you know and tell them to come by our booth to interview us.  We are booth #70018 in the Venetian Ballroom.

Link to our booth and floorplan:  http://ces12.mapyourshow.com/5_0/exhibitor_details.cfm?exhid=T0009202 (http://ces12.mapyourshow.com/5_0/exhibitor_details.cfm?exhid=T0009202)

In our booth we will have the following personnel available for media interviews:

Tony Gallippi, CEO of Bit-Pay
Stephen Pair, CTO of Bit-Pay
Roger Ver, CEO of Memory Dealers and Director of Marketing of BitInstant
Alison Skipper, Sales/Marketing of Bit-Pay

I have some brochures printed up which I will post here in this OP as soon as we lift the embargo (they include some top-secret unreleased Bit-Pay products  :))

Roger will be selling virtual and physical bitcoins in the booth for cash, credit cards, and PayPal.  Yes, virtual bitcoins for credit card, right in the booth!

We are spending about $10,000 of our own money to attend this show and promote Bitcoin to the world.  I am asking the forum members to help us get as many reporters to come by our booth as possible!  (hint - a little bitcoin scandal next Tuesday wouldn't hurt).  

If you would like to make a donation towards our efforts, you can visit http://lovebitcoins.org (http://lovebitcoins.org) and we will list you on the site as a supporter.  BONUS:  if you make a donation by Sunday, I will have a printed list of all the supporters in our booth for every reporter to see!

Thanks
Tony

EDIT:  if you make contact with a reporter and they say they will stop by, or may stop by, please let me know their name and organization so we can be on the lookout for them!

NEW: Here is the sign we will have in our booth.  it will be standing up in a nice sign holder.  Thanks to all our supporters!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/LoveBitcoins-sign.pdf (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/LoveBitcoins-sign.pdf)

NEW: Here is the sign we have to help the reporters get started with a wallet (and of course we will show them how to use it)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/CES%20wallets.pdf (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/CES%20wallets.pdf)

NEW: We have 1000 copies of this brochure to help our face-to-face education about bitcoins
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/WeLoveBitcoin-trifold-flattened.pdf (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/WeLoveBitcoin-trifold-flattened.pdf)

EMBARGO LIFTED:  Here is the new Bit-Pay product - the Deposit Card!  Anyone can now accept bitcoins in-person and have dollars deposited daily into their US Bank account.

Video Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UmynaPg8hw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UmynaPg8hw)

Brochure:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/BitPay-trifold-flattened.pdf (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/BitPay-trifold-flattened.pdf)

I will have a printer IN OUR BOOTH to print these on the spot for any reporter that wants one.  I'll even scan their card and send them bitcoins (ok just a few pennies) so they can see how bitcoins work.  

Bitcoins as a virtual instrument are difficult for non-geeks to understand.  But give someone a card they can carry around as a way to receive money into their bank account, and I think even the most dim-witted reporter can get this.

Sample cards:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52611567/cardsamples600.jpg

This is big... well done!

Good luck! Make sure you take lots of Pictures and Videos please...  :-*

Good luck guys. Maybe you could also sell something for bitcoins from the booth...let people try it out first hand?

Congratulations!  you guys, and gals, do great things for Bitcoin.

Tony is going to kill it in Vegas. Can't wait to see the pictures!  ;D

wow, sounds great!  :)

Great news, Tony! Good luck with the show!

The link to bit-pay.com on the map doesn't seem to be working. Good luck with your booth!

Great!

I hope you guys have a great turnout at CES. This is a great chance to promote bitcoin and your POS business.

their programmers have something wrong with their coldfusion redirect.  The hyperlink is pointing people to "https   bit-pay.com" and they left out the :// despite it clearly being in the address.

I sent an email to let them know.

Amazing :D Hope it goes down well, I know how hard it is to sell bitcoin to the uninformed.

Bit-Pay is great! going to tweet it on several of my twitter accounts  ;D

Good luck. Will be looking for news reports.

I do not see an option on your website to donate some BTC for good cause  ;)

Use this:

http://lovebitcoins.org/join.html (http://lovebitcoins.org/join.html)

If you don't want your name listed on this page http://lovebitcoins.org/members.html (http://lovebitcoins.org/members.html) then leave the Name field blank.

Great to hear!  I e-mailed a couple people at Smart Money & the Wall St. Journal that I've talked with before about other tech/finance projects.  Will post again if I hear anything back.

Good luck at CES!

Will

Good stuff, should make for some nice exposure :)

Not sure if you have table space for this... but a laptop or LCD sitting on the table with the bitcoin WebGL globe on it would be a great attention getter and conversation piece. You could also show the BitcoinMonitor.com page... these things should demonstrate visually how Bitcoin is something new and different, and the tech crowd should be quite receptive.

Even better - put one of these visuals on a large LCD tv behind your booth.

Good luck!

Even better - instead of those, we'll have the Blockchain.info set to ding every time a new transaction appears

http://blockchain.info/new-transactions (http://blockchain.info/new-transactions)

With the TV showing Blockchain.info and Alison you are sure to grab people's attention.   :o

Have fun.

Hot damn I hadn't seen that!  Awesome :)

I think the demographic most likely to jump into bitcoin based on reporting from CES would be anyone watching G4, keep your eyes peeled for their "talent" too bad Olivia is gone, she could convince mobs to follow her into hell :) Kevin Pereira has a short attention Span.

This is great.

I realized today that the phrase "sending someone money with bitcoin is as easy as sending an email" is a powerful line.  Not only is it a fairly accurate analogy of how bitcoin operates from a user standpoint, but it's also something that people can latch onto very easily.

Also, as evoorhees said, you should show the globe. ;)

It has a wow effect, and people can play with it.  Tactile feedback improves memory and they can explore where all the nodes are.

Do we have to wait until next week for this???

[AOL ding] "You've Got Bitcoin" :D

Other 2 good live monitors :)
http://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com
http://www.bitcoinmonitor.com

Finally some visitors for me... Can't wait to hang out with you guys!

Don't forget to mention the bitcoin gambling.

this is very funny.  i'm now leaving that page tab open just to listen to the tx ding.

you know how us fanatics need that constant stimulation...

I have updated the OP with the list of sponsors that we will post in our booth.  Any new donors before Sunday night will be added!

Here's our chance to shine boys and girl(s): http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-consumer-electronics-show-20120107,0,2381286.story?track=lat-pick

small hint from my experience: a small projector is better!!! much easier to transport and just hang up a small bedsheet (or whatever the correct word is) to project onto and you are set. that's very flexible and a good attention grabber.

good luck from me, too!

is it just me, or is that map missing significant portions of the world?

it sounds like we need a little email campaign to Mr. David Sarno.  Booth 70018 :)

This is great! Curious what the reaction of most people will be, especially since you have to give them information in a short timewindow. What my experience is is that people without any basic knowledge aren't convinced very quickly but it's important they at least had their first glimpse in the awesome world of bitcoin!

This would also be pretty cool to use at your booth:
http://www.weusecoins.com/globe-bitcoin/ (http://www.weusecoins.com/globe-bitcoin/)

The blockchain.info map and list of new transactions is great, but it is cluttered for someone not familiar with Bitcoin. I still think the WebGL globe is a perfect attention grabber for the uninitiated walking by. Perhaps you can have both, with the globe being more prominent, and blockchain.info available for a guided tour?

Anyway, it's great you decided to do CES. Keep us up to date.

Blockchain.info also has a WebGL globe (updates live) http://blockchain.info/nodes-globe

I could try and put transactions on the globe, could be cool.

I think that has now become mandatory :)

You've been doing an awesome job with Blockchain.info, keep it up! I use the site almost every day.

It  seems to center on where the transactions are.  If you click it, you can grab and move it.
cheers

YEAH!  popping and dinging transactions on a spinnable globe would be awesome!  The show starts Tuesday morning :)

Heh, I have to see it during my pool's payout :))

Allow me to suggest, if it has not been considered already, that a variety of possible displays planned in advance and queued up.

It would not surprise me to see some of the possible services DDOS'd for lulz (if nothing else) during the show.  If not simply fail for shit-house-luck reasons.

This youtube video would be a great presentation to be running from your booth:

http://www.weusecoins.com/   

It's less than 2 minutes, very professionally done, and covers the basics of Bitcoin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo&list=PL82F1B07C3D2D409A&feature=plpp_play_all&loop=1&autoplay=1

If you load this YouTube link, it will loop these four Bitcoin videos. All. Day. Long.

WeUseCoins
Alpaca Socks - Min Max (music video)
Bit-Pay Mobile Checkout
Bitcoin Radio Ad

BTW guys, If you can't find any booth babes, I'll put on a Bikini and strut around for a few Bitcoins.

Heres my initial attempt http://blockchain.info/new-transactions?format=webgl. Needs a bit more flash, but i'm not sure what i could add.

Also Can't seem to remove markers using WebGL earth so flags won't be cleared on a new block.


Cheers evoorhees, glad your finding it useful.

Please post your Internet connectivity experience during and after the show. I see the shared packages are in the range $595 to $1495. I'm really curious if you manage to get Bitcoin working reliably while the exhibits are open and without the need to get a dedicated circuit.


Edit: Also, please post if you manage to sell any bitcoins for cash/check/credit-card on the show floor without getting your booth closed. I'm extremely curious if they have any effective enforcement of their rules.

i'm sure you know this already, but just in case:
browser full screen F11
might be useful for some displays

Nice!

Awesome!

Question -how easy is it to use a different ding sound? Something attractive as opposed to abrasive would be good =) Something like this: http://audiojungle.net/item/message-16/804200?WT.ac=category_item&WT.seg_1=category_item&WT.z_author=JavaSiS (http://audiojungle.net/item/message-16/804200?WT.ac=category_item&WT.seg_1=category_item&WT.z_author=JavaSiS)

If you find a sound on that site that you like, pm me and I'll compensate you with btc as a donation.

 (sorry to hijack thread - PM me response if you want)

Actually there should be three sounds: buying; selling; and when a new block of 50 BTC is found (I suggest Boo-yah! for that one).


I was going to suggest something like that. Sex sells!

There's not enough time for this idea, but it would've been nice to have a half dozen or so people donning uniforms to represent products and services which use Bitcoin, e.g., a cabbie...WAIT!!! It's not to late.

What IFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!

Chicago Cabbie started accepting Bitcoin prior to the start of CES and put together a video of him doing it in action. He's even a video guy with the equipment. I'm sure he'll jump at the chance of being at CES even if only on video. Put that video in the loop, and I believe it's capable of going viral.

Now you're thinking like the guys from Middle Men...  :)

I'll assume that's a good thing. What about the Chicago Cabbie idea?

Consumer Electronics Show lacks the Next Big Thing

Despite what is expected to be a record number of exhibitors and attendees, many analysts agree that no single device or technology has emerged to define the show.

I once read, or least I think I've read, that newsmen are somewhat lazy and need a lead feed to them. Introduce them a talking point and an established back story, and their now able to pump out a quick copy and call it a day. This is no way a diss toward newsmen. I'm just relating something I think I remember and trying to put that into perspective. The equation would look like this: Chicago Cabbie + Social Media (Twitter) = More Customers + More Customers Paying With Bitcoin = MORE PROFIT!

~Bruno~

You should rent the movie Middle Men.  it's about the guys who invented the way to accept credit cards over the internet on porn sites...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gcb_9Q10E (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gcb_9Q10E)

when you get to the scene in the movie about the different alert tones, you'll get it :)

get me a video of the cabbie and I will play it!

i refuse to watch that movie for a simple fact, the guy who produced the movie managed to screw up many people adult industry in the end (epassporte fiasco), i'm guessing that part isn't in the movie though, maybe he'll make "middle men 2 - funds in motion" later on

I'm actually meeting Chris Mallick next week.  what should I ask him about epassporte?

I'm not sure if you'd want to ask him anything about it, but if you do

ask him if he's planning on making and releasing second MM movie "money in motion" - i bet he'll be delighted ) or what was the story with epass, will be interesting to hear his side of the story

i'm sure adult webmasters would like to know if he funded the movie with funds of epassporte account holders and if not where did their money go?  the estimate of missing funds was in several million dollars - how accurate that is i have no idea, exact number is unknown. the movie production was in range of somewhere 20-30mil

i was lucky enough to pull all my funds from epass just a day or two before access to accounts was disabled, from what i understand many others were not that fortunate. GFY members would love to hear back from Chris with a status update about their funds at the very least.

Pfffft
They are just saying "there is no new iFail device"

The new Android dongle with HDMI connection looks quite promising (bargain).

ok that's good to know.  I was going to talk to him about bitcoin, and ask his recommendation on how we can avoid getting our bank accounts shut down or seized.  Maybe he can give me some advice?  LOL

epass didn't keep up on KYC policies and regulations, once they could not operate the same way from US , epass moved their operation to offshore islands (somewhere around that time few years back epass also processed for illegal online gambling too); anyone could have gotten account and their epass visa card almost anonymously for limited usage. at one point Visa put a break on due to non compliance with their own program policies  leaving epass card holders and epass without access to those funds  - that's when everything went sour for everyone who used epass. since virtual epass wallets and visa cards funds were in separate banks, eventually people were able to get their visa card balances offloaded but whoever had money in virtual epass wallets were stuck as there were very limited options withdrawing money from there and lots of delays. basically most people in US were able to get their money out via limited ACH and wires as those funds were kept in another bank. international users were pretty much screwed. as rumor goes Mallick had used epass account holders money to fund his movie and when visa shutdown card program, i guess the discrepancy on amount of available funds had surfaced effectively running down epass to demise when everyone wanted to get their money out at the same time.

I'm on it: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=56534.msg681239#msg681239

~Bruno~

oh my gosh I've never heard of that movie going to check it out ahaha

Hey guys, this sounds great! I live here in Las Vegas :)

I don't think I'll be able to go though, I'm still too sick with my CMP problem.

Hopefully you'll do it again next year.

If you would like to make a donation towards our efforts, you can visit http://lovebitcoins.org (http://lovebitcoins.org) and we will list you on the site as a supporter.  BONUS:  if you make a donation by Sunday, I will have a printed list of all the supporters in our booth for every reporter to see!

I don't know if it is just me but I can't find where to donate to this tradeshow exhibit at this site: http://lovebitcoins.org/

I believe you just become a member of lovebitcoins.org http://lovebitcoins.org/join.html?submit=Become+a+Member (http://lovebitcoins.org/join.html?submit=Become+a+Member)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/ces-global-tech-device-spending-may-hit-1-trillion-in-2012.html

CES 2012: Global tech device spending may hit $1 trillion

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0168e53713a5970c-600wi

Embargo Lifted!

I have updated the OP with the new video, sample photos, and brochure of the newest Bit-Pay product!

Also we have rolled out an update to our website.  Things are much better organized and more visual, and very easy to navigate around on an iPad.

https://bit-pay.com (https://bit-pay.com)

And for another great example of how bitcoins are about to get WAY more fun, check out this post too: 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=57260.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=57260.0)

That deposit card is just perfect. That's the system of the future and the best way to explain bitcoins to 'regular' people! Also a perfect gift including the physical coins casascius issues to get your friend/family member started.

I see you're doing your best to get the word bitcoin out there and I think you're doing a good job! Keep up!
Just one thing: I think a company stands or falls with the way it presents itself and I think you can improve this in one way: I don't like(understatement) the voice in the video on your site and I think I'm not the only one. Just my two cents.

Some photos of the booth, for those who aren't at las vegas?  :D

Thanks for the feedback!  Right now the voice in our videos is Alison because she's the only one of us with professional speaking experience (she works for Fox Sports video covering college football).  But as we grow we will probably look for better voiceover talent.

And yes these make a GREAT gift to give to a newbie bitcoin user.  Its something they can hold in their hand and they can understand the connectoin "use this to receive money, ok, I get it!".   

Once they get past that first step, moving on to the wallets and stuff is easier.  But too many people get confused too quickly trying to get the whole virtual currency thing.  This card helps them grasp the concept first.

Thank you for your contributions, BitPay!

So, CES is live now... your booth is up and running?  Any sales?  Any interest?  Any reporters?  Any pictures to share?

nope, tomorrow morning 10am the exhibits start.  Today is just the conference talks...

Ah, got it!

I'm leaving shortly to head to Chicago to meet up with Rashid, @ChicagoCabbie.

~Bruno~

The Bit-Pay brochures look very slick and professional, and really convincing. I can see selling a lot of merchants onto bitcoin with them.

Thanks!  We printed 1000 of them.  If there are any left after the show we will mail some of them out to anyone who would like to use them to promote bitcoins where they live.

The LoveBitcoins site is updated with the donor list.  Thanks guys, I will post pictures of our booth tomorrow.

http://lovebitcoins.org/members.html (http://lovebitcoins.org/members.html)

Good luck! Don't party too hard ;D

Yes, it's Vegas, after all, not Pattaya :-)

Can't wait to see what kind of traffic/response happens.

Good luck!  Promote the shit outta them coins!

-EP

It's going on now.. Good luck!  ;D

Tony asked me to post these pics from earlier today...

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/904/photobitpay1.jpg

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5242/photobitpay2.jpg


Want to help send people to their booth?  See this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=57648.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=57648.0)

The show is really busy and we are seeing alot of traffic in our booth.  I've given demos already to people from Citibank, Diebold, and First Data. I sent photos to a few people to post here for us!

Glad to hear things are going well so far!

Any direct sales of BTC to people at the show?

Yes we've sold some physical bitcoins already!

Another image from Tony.

Alison demonstrating the bit-pay deposit card:
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3065/photo1qc.jpg

you should consider putting this link up as well.

It shows your location on the CES 2012 map.

http://ces12.mapyourshow.com/5_0/floorplan_link.cfm?show_id=ces12&exhid=T0009202&booth=70018&CFID=24991261&CFTOKEN=71d0e9234a72dc74-DF33F7A8-D261-12A1-68FD5CCBE5107365 (http://ces12.mapyourshow.com/5_0/floorplan_link.cfm?show_id=ces12&exhid=T0009202&booth=70018&CFID=24991261&CFTOKEN=71d0e9234a72dc74-DF33F7A8-D261-12A1-68FD5CCBE5107365)

heading down to Venetian in a bit, really excited to meet the bit-pay guys.

I have been playing a little BTC poker on seals, and have just been fascinated by the entire BTC idea and consuming tons of information the past few months.

Seals is the best BTC poker site for sure.  :D

No one likes betco.in anymore??

-EP

at my core I heart HTML5 and open source, but the playing experience is just so much better on sealswithclubs, it acts like a poker site we are all used to.  Betco.in is tough to navigate tables and not as easy to play. 

now all the above doesn't matter, because Seals has the only games going, the only large number of players with BTC deposited, etc. so it's the only game in town right now.  Every other BTC poker room is "dark" most of the time, and I heard something about irregularities at BTConTilt (cute name)

anyway, off to the venetian to meet these crazy crypto-currency guys.

Alison is a hottie!

edit:  just realized that's probably someone's wife i'm talking about.  No disrespect!

-EP

Another update from Tony... this is the live blockchain updating on screen at the event :)

You can find this here: http://blockchain.info/new-transactions?format=webgl (http://blockchain.info/new-transactions?format=webgl)

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/1109/photojyu.jpg

Nice to meet the BitPay guys and the Mt.Gox crew

and obv nicest to meet Allison, the first ever Bitcoin girl:

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7018/img0300x.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/34hicqw.jpg



had to buy 3 BTC worth of physical Casascius 1BTC awesome coins:

http://i43.tinypic.com/28rgjh3.jpg

Mod Edit:  Fixed the links for you
BadBear

holy iphone 4gs high res pictures batman!!!!

sorry about that lemme clean that up in a minute

Fail / sorry / will pay .1 BTC if someone fixes that

Here you are good sir:

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7018/img0300x.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/34hicqw.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/28rgjh3.jpg

Looks like I was to late:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6676239315_0427234a10_b.jpg

very cool.  way to go guys (and Alyson)

Damn, I miss Vegas! I've lived there 6 years in a row, 6 months at a time, spending the other 6 months in Biloxi and Tunica, Mississippi.

~Bruno~

I miss it too sometimes. I was in Henderson.

That'll make you a Sam's Town Boy.

I wasn't around long enough to fully appreciate those chains for the hometown beauty and monopoly that they are. I moved to the OC shortly after.

Seriously? where the fck have you been hiding?

It's a bitcoin dinner event right now at Buca di Beppo. Mt.Gox, Casascius, and Bit-Pay in the house!

Keep up the great work!  Cheers!

-EP

A Bitcoin cheers at CES!  Are these the hands of the future??? We'll see...


http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/767/cheersw.jpg

What I have learned from this thread: Your booth model is hawt  ;D

The same goes for your avatar.

Oh thanks, just a quick crop of Megan Fox from FHM.

booth model? My understanding is that she's a stakeholder/principal in bit-pay.
Smart people attracted to bitcoin come in all shapes,sizes, genders and sexualities it seems - what a relief, for a while there I thought it was only for socially inept geeks.
No idea why I thought that ::)

Wow nice pics

And Allison is beautiful!

She remind me Miranda http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/045/3/3/miranda_mass_effect_by_greyice337-d39isji.jpg

It's kind of funny that the very next post is someone comparing her to a badly drawn video game character. 

I look forward to the day when Alison (or any good looking woman) isn't a thread-derailer here.
Seems like I'll be waiting a while.

The bad news is that won't be the case for a long time... the good news: Alison will be a very wealthy woman by then. I doubt she'll care much :-)

Should have saved this for April.  ;D

Yep Alison has been with us since our pre-launch days AND we pay her only in bitcoins!  She has never sold any :)

Smart girl.

What's on the agenda for today guys?

-EP

Yes!

We all love pictures..   they are important, and not just pictures of Alison....although, I wont complain if they all are.. :D

I assume silence here means lots of talk going on there.

-EP

Tony sent this photo to me just now, with email subject: "Bitcoin booth is overflowing into the aisle!"

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7223/booth.jpg

It would be nice to know if there's any interest on the part of reporters and journalists.

The "Bitcoin ATM" is on display at CES now.  Good attention getter. Lots of interest. I have laid out a dozen of my 25 BTC coins (stickers peeled) they make a nice visual aid.

Is it in Bit-pay's booth or somewhere else?  Gonna make a FeedZeBirds #CES campaign on this asap

who's project is this?

Use this!: "Bitcoin booth is overflowing into the aisle!"

who cares about bitcoin
that chick is hot

Yes, I would also like to know..

And is there any attention from reporter types ?

Does the bitcoin booths stick out as popular compared to other booths ?

I haven't seen any new Bitcoin articles pop up on news.google, so I'm guessing that if any reporters have taken an interest in it, they've at least put it on the back burner for now.  Bigger fish to fry, and all of that.

Poor Alison, 5 days times 8 hours of continuous standing in stiletto heels.

Please, for the love of OSHA, somebody get her comfortable walking shoes.

I volunteer to carry Alison where ever she needs to go...

I live in Vegas and just bought my first bitcoins today! Glad to see the booth at CES is of high quality, great work spreading the word about bitcoins guys!  :)

Only if I get to carry her shoes. (I was born that way!)

same.

Wasn't it Todd Bethel(sp?) that was working on an atm for Bitcoin at one point?

Sounds like you used to play poker for a living, I'm guessing...

Nice. I live in Vegas too. Would love to stop by the booth.

too bad bitcoinexpress isn't really active anymore.

she can be the booth babe  :P


*runs before said person hunts me down*

Awesome display!
Yes, that's all I can say


Hey, it rhymes

This conversation was my absolute favorite... The guy on camera right was very concerned about how Bitcoin was a scam, monopoly money, had no value, and was having a real hard time understanding how transactions occurred at the customer/merchant level. The conversation was getting louder and louder and approaching an uncomfortable level at which point the older guy in the middle, we called "the money man" of the group, left. The guy on the right continued for a little bit but gave up and left too. The guy on camera left stuck around and watched the demo bit-pay had for their mobile checkout and pay card stuff.

About an hour later, the guy on the right came back to the booth with bitcoins in his eyes and full of excitement. He finally got it and was tossing these ideas around in his head about how he could start using Bitcoin in his business. It was a very rewarding experience to be a part of. Fun times.

It's a type of person like that who'll help catapult Bitcoin into the mainstream. With so much to see and do at CES, it took an extra effort on his part to return to the Bitcoin booth simply to share his excitement.

~Bruno~

yes, Bethell.  he and Jon Ryan Owens have been at odds.  i'd like to get the straight story on that one.

In other words...loud ignorant guy scares off three people

then loud guy comes back less ignorant

three people still scared off

Guys we have the blockchain.info globe up in the booth now. Send some transactions to your self or whatever to make this thing pop like popcorn!

http://blockchain.info/new-transactions?format=webgl (http://blockchain.info/new-transactions?format=webgl)

That inspired me to donate a little to both the bitcoin faucet (https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/ (https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/)) and blockexplorer. I decided to just make two single-transaction donations instead of the intended one multiple-transaction donation to avoid contributing to blockchain bloat.

Just my two pops.

I can hear it, but not see it. Using chrome.

I can't hear it, but hey, I can see it (using Firefox!) And it's very cool. :D

Please give us some update, how is it going over there, any more cool stories from the show?

Today is the last day of the show.  It's been a very busy and exhausting 4 days, but we have talked to alot of really big decision makers at some major companies.  These deals will take time to follow up on and complete. but look for an explosion of bitcoin in 2012, in ways you can't imagine.  some of these ideas we had not even thought of!

Grrr! You tease! ;)

I don't care how much you tease us, provided the big reveal isn't something along the lines of: We're all going to Pattaya!!!

Since I was there and went to dinner with these guys, I got to hear what some of these things were.  Some of them were not things we would want to post in the forums - about how X person at Y company was totally interested - as we anticipate that those very same people will be browsing these forums and aren't going to want to see their own name in our brags before they even get a chance to do their research and take the temperature of what people think of Bitcoin when they get back home.

For example, I understood that somebody responsible for managing the point-of-sale networks for large chain of truck stops had a lot to ask.  Do I dare say who in the forums?  Of course not, my interest in not alienating them by having them see their own company name in our forums exceeds my interest in satiating everyone's desire to know who it is.

I don't expect an influx of 4chan newbies suddenly dumping bazillions of dollars into Bitcoin just having heard of it for the first time due to their first encounter at CES.  If they had never heard of Bitcoin, their first impression from seeing a Bitcoin booth is that it's another company just trying to peddle a whiz bang product, and CES is overflowing with of those.  (I did notice though, that people who understood and used BitTorrent were much quicker at grasping the magic sight-unseen than those who did not - based on that observation, I am seriously considering a window sticker on my car: "Bitcoin will do to money and banking what BitTorrent did to music and movies.")

But on the other hand, what keeps me excited, is the people who came up to the booth and say things like "Hey! I've heard of Bitcoin. I don't yet know what it is, but I heard <whatever>, and want to ask questions, because we do <this> and <that>, and I was wondering if Bitcoin could help us do a better job of <this>".  These are people who are already well-situated in a career where their buyoff on Bitcoin can be a major part of a big company's decision to take a real look at it.  Those are the ones who will make a serious difference when they get home.

Know of anywhere I could buy this with my BTC? I'd love to have one.

My wife owns equipment that produces vinyl decals, we could probably swing a few if there's significant interest.  We can make them any width... assuming I can get her to not object to putting it on the back of my car. =)

Nice pictures, and well done.

These wouldn't be "bumper stickers".  They would be letter cutouts that go on the window.  Not printed.  Each letter is its own sticker of solid white color, applied from a backing sheet.

Same concept as this: but not quite the size. http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?302547-My-new-ron-paul-window-sticker!

Speaking of truck stops....I hadn't even thought of the ComCheck aspect of Bitcoin.  That would be a market that has not been tapped yet.  Big issues come from all the truckers needing emergency cash...hence the ComCheck....Bitcoin could virtually replace/secure the whole process.

I worked in IT for a trucking company once.  ComChecks (ComData) and fuel cards were like fraud-magnets on the dispatch side.  Some drivers were paid almost entirely in advances via ComChecks.  Fees are outrageous on both sides of the transaction, and the truck stops even have to spend money to host the ComCheck / fuel card terminals.  I can't believe Visa/PayPal/Western Union hasn't broken into the ComCheck thing, as it'd have to be lucrative even at half the fees.

Bitcoin could easily be used to transfer value to a driver from their dispatcher, but the truck stop doesn't accept BTC for diesel.  Need to integrate a bit-pay type service into this equation.

Every truck driver has a cell phone, and almost all of them have a smart-phone (a backup-GPS+Inet+games is too high-utility to pass up, esp if you get stuck at a dock for hours waiting for load/unload).

Killing off ComChecks would kill off a seriously evil drain on the transportation industry.

Love this idea.

That, in of itself, would lower costs for all products across the board--perhaps globally. And that's only if the savings is passed down to the consumers, otherwise those at the top should see the beauty in its design and take full advantage of Bitcoin----and pocket the PROFITTTTTTTT!!!

~Bruno~

US-ians are funny people, just like in that sentence above. How about you guys upgrade your Constitution to allow uniform collection of per-state sales taxes? Large segment of the interstate transportation industry exists purely for tax-avoidance purposes by double-shipping. Why worry about a pittance of fuel-fee skimming?

[Citation Needed]

What BitTorrent did to movies and music is ILLEGAL.  Not as bad, but that example is like the "silk road" example we have to hear about over and over in the negative press.

Using the email/standard mail example is much more accurate although not as "sexy"

I still think we are marketing to the wrong types of people. Nerds use bitcoin, so we should market more to nerds.

On that note: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=56891.msg691128#msg691128

If BitTorrent is so illegal, why is the BitTorrent company still around? http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BitTorrent_company - this is an argument like guns don't kill, people kill.

If you're trying to explain what a gun does to someone who has never heard of one, do you avoid telling them they are useful for killing people simply because that's illegal?  Or because you are afraid you'll be promoting murder?  No, not if your purpose is to convey an understanding of what makes a gun valuable.  Not all torrents are illegal either.

specifically, we should market more to gamers.
they already use virtual currencies, half-finished software and buy stuff online.

Yeah, but the vast majority of torrents are illegal, and they certainly have a negative connotation in the mind of most anyone who doesn't actively use it.  It's a correlation to be avoided.

I didn't say bittorrent is Illegal. The service can and is used also for legal reasons. (just like guns, drugs and cash......)

But your movie/music sentence DOES imply the illegal uses of bittorrent.. 

I'm not a prude and I have seen movies from torrents as well (mostly junk that i would never see in the theaters...)
But i still don't go about promoting the use of bittorrent for such purposes.

Thanks Mike for your help in the booth!  We did speak to pretty much every major bank, VC firm, and retailer that you could think of.  Most of them specifically seeked us out.  Many of them were very interested in us, and some of them specifically said "this is the most innovative thing we have seen at this show."  That is quite impressive considering all the gadgets that the media is all hyped up about.

Square was getting alot of attention at the show as well.  When people came to our booth after they talked to Square, they were really impressed with what bitcoins could do.  We have, hands down, the most business friendly payment system in the world.  We got that point across to some very influential people this week.

soooo, when can we begin to purchase shares of Bit-Pay on GLBSE or other stock exchange?  ;D

+1

To Booth Sponsors:

next year you ought to make a "Call to Bitcoiners" to descend upon the CES to man the booth.

the higher numbers alone would attract newcomers but having the extra manpower there to answer questions of the newbies would be more efficient.  during slow periods, Bitcoiners could fan out across the floor to other booths with flyers or handouts.

its a built in curious audience hunting for new innovations and would provide the Bitcoin community a Mission and a sense of purpose in an ideal setting with high numbers.

the partying after would be improved too!

AND we'd all get to meet Alison!
      
in fact, now that i think about it, what about the Apple Conference?

in fact, now that i think about it more, i think future Bitcoin Conferences should be piggybacked onto other major conferences like CES or the Apple Conference.

attendees and sponsors could contribute to the cost of a booth which would provide major visible publicity for Bitcoin.  the interaction with other non Bitcoin attendees would be an opportunity to educate and expose large numbers of newbies to the concept.  Bitcoiners could even hold strategy meetings at the beginning of each day to coordinate "The Message" and be sure everyone is on the same wavelength.

certain Bitcoiners could be assigned to "Manning the Floor" spreading out to all corners of the conference floor with flyers, handouts, stickers, laptops, Androids, etc to demonstrate the various clients.  we could go out in pairs and and demonstrate the speed and ease of sending and receiving a few Bitcoins.

the comradery and spirit developed amongst Bitcoiners sharing a Mission and Purpose would be highly beneficial as well.

the Bitcoin Conference would be held next door in another facility and attendees could track back and forth btwn talks and attending the booth.

what a great way for Bitcoiners to meet each other and begin networking with each other and newbies.

edit:  booth workers could don Bitcoin T shirts.  perhaps Bitcoin merchants could bring their wares to sell altho this would require rules and a coordinated plan.

the key thing is matching the numbers of CES attendees with numbers of Bitcoin volunteers.

edit:  who knows, the Bitcoin conference could even get some spillover effect from CES attendees.

Who's Square?

Here you go (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=square).

Great idea!  This year we had Roger Ver from Bit Instant and Memory Dealers help with the booth.  Casascius was also here for 2 days helping in the booth.  And Julian (Tuxavant) helped out in the booth as well. But more help is always welcome!

Sometimes the show does not allow soliciting outside your booth space.  And they only allow a certain number of booth personnel.  But next year we will try to get multiple bitcoin booths and get in the same area.  A booth costs around $6000 for a 10x10 space at CES, incase you are wondering.  Give this another year and we could have a number of bitcoin companies in a position to get booths!

We have some leftover copies of the nice color laser brochures for bitcoin and bit-pay.  If you would like me to mail you some, send me a pm with your address.  They make a great tool when talking to people face to face. They aren't designed to be plastered around as ads, they have too many words on them for that.

Tony

Could you post a pdf?

check the OP for all the PDF files.  you can download them yourself, but we have some high quality color printouts.

You've been reading too many of my posts. You're beginning to post like I do.  :) I like how you think, cypherdoc.

~Bruno~

OK, THE Square? They support bitcoin now?
http://a5.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/110/Purple/f7/96/72/mzl.imfongzi.320x480-75.jpg

Yes, the square, no they don't support bitcoin.  It was merely mentioned they had a booth at CES.

I havnt gone through all these comments, but after looking through the pictures one thing came to mind that bothered me.  Who's brilliant idea was it to put skanky women on these cards...seriously?!  How does that make bitcoin look serious in any way?

More serious than barely dressed beautiful women? I gotta tell you, make wife makes the most serious faces when I'm looking (ahem, staring) at those, so I'd say that's pretty serious...

I agree , but i think they were specially made for the CES. Mostly guys and in vegas... so...
They have "standard" cards as well...

that makes sense.

after thinking about it it became clear that it is rather ingenious.  i think bitcoin and the adult industry have a lot to gain from each other - think paycom in the 90s.

• no chargebacks
• horny husbands can keep their anonymity
• super low fees

cam girls would love this too... i think a bitcoin adult cam website is ripe for the picking, if you agree lets talk!  

Yes, we are working with a few now.  But if you find one, let me know and we will absolutely help get them setup to accept bitcoins!  Anyone who owns bitcoins as a long-term investment will profit from wider acceptance of bitcoin.

so if GOV wanted to bust bitcoin they could have done it there or the recent ron paul festival