Donations requested for Bitcoin Community Talk

[MathCampbell]

Hi all;
I wouldn't normally go asking for donations in such a brazen way, but it's not for me, it is for the 'coin!
I'm due to give a talk later this month on Bitcoin to a large and influential tech-group; it's basically a social group that holds monthly talks on various subjects.  You can read more about the group here.  I'm doing a talk outlining bitcoin and why it should be used; a lot of the people at the group are developers of apps, some database types, I met a VC guy looking to invest last time, and companies hiring devs etc. so I figure if I can do a good talk it will be a good opportunity to get BTC into the dev community; if they adopt it for their products etc we could see some real-world growth here.  Or not.  But worth a shot I thought...

What I'm asking for donations is so that I can purchase a couple of the Casascius physical coins to distribute around the group, then "open" one, and show it being traded, as a practical demonstration.  Obviously this means that once you add in shipping to Scotland, the slight commission above the face-value etc. about half of the outlay evaporates.
I know most people won't be willing to donate to something, especially not at this time of the year, we're all counting the pennies (hence why I'm asking!) but I'm not looking for much.  Only need one or two coins, so at most we're talking 2 or 3 BTC.
I'm even happy if someone donates a physical coin that if they'd like they could participate in the talk by being the recipient of the trade back once the coin is "opened" (I'm even thinking this could be done live over skype etc., donator willing, to add to the drama of the talk!  Better hope the block is confirmed quickly!); this way, sure, you'd still have donated a bit since shipping, commission etc. will take a toll, but you'll at least get the face value of the coin back.

If anyone's willing to donate, the address is 1L1NAzofDHjJsjC4ZPbgUoneb3zkRqYfVJ.

If you're willing to donate enough to get a coin, and want involved in the talk, please drop me a pm before donating etc. as this will obviously require some coordination to get you in the talk, and also so I can send you the BTC from the opened coin...

Thanks

[gweedo]

Question time...
Why do you need a casascius coin? If these are developers they going to want to see the API, software, examples of things built and being successful.

Also this is a general question not just picking on you, but once in awhile someone comes along and goes "HEY GUYS, I am giving a talk donate." Isn't this what testnet is for? I think same things can be accomplished by showing off the testnet instead of real bitcoins, it is there for a reason.

[koin]

What I'm asking for donations is so that I can purchase a couple of the Casascius physical coins to distribute around the group, then "open" one, and show it being traded, as a practical demonstration.

i've done similar except i used paper bitcoins, printed from http://bitaddress.org
i used a small post-it note to cover the private key until it was time to redeem.

[paraipan]

Question time...
Why do you need a casascius coin? If these are developers they going to want to see the API, software, examples of things built and being successful.

Also this is a general question not just picking on you, but once in awhile someone comes along and goes "HEY GUYS, I am giving a talk donate." Isn't this what testnet is for? I think same things can be accomplished by showing off the testnet instead of real bitcoins, it is there for a reason.

+1 I think it would be more interesting for any developer to see the real potential of bitcoin and the tools they can use to implement it in any of their apps, just my personal opinion. Casascius coins are not meant for trading purposes, more like long term saving.

How about using some existent online resources to show off?

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/PHP_developer_intro
https://bitpay.com/bitcoin-payment-gateway-api

If you have a smartphone, you could use a mobile wallet and demonstrate how easy it is to pay on any website with a mobile phone.

Btw, I will donate if you can come up with a nice plan on how you would do it.

[MathCampbell]

Fair criticisms, all.
I was planning on talking about API access, and ease-of-use for mobile devs etc.  I just thought it would help to show that the coin does NOT have to be solely digital; that it can have a physical manifestation that holds value in itself since it has the magic number on it
I mentioned the idea to the organiser and he thought it would be a great way of showing the duality of the physical/virtual divide; ie. here's physical bitcoin, but really it's the number that's important, but that doesn't mean you can't trade the coins as well.  As long as they still have the hologram on them, then they're also valid bitcoin...

And yes, I know the casascius coins weren't originally intended for trading, but you CAN use them to trade; offline trades in places that don't/can't have network access, or can't wait for confirms.  The only downside they have is once they're "spent", they're hard to recharge (I think the makes offer new stickers but of course they're not as trustworthy as original)...I guess we need a "smart" card that can be exchanged or used to exchange coin that costs very little but can store the numbers inside it...
I saw a demo of that sometime ago on the forums...maybe in a year or two it will be ready...

[gweedo]

Fair criticisms, all.
I was planning on talking about API access, and ease-of-use for mobile devs etc.  I just thought it would help to show that the coin does NOT have to be solely digital; that it can have a physical manifestation that holds value in itself since it has the magic number on it
I mentioned the idea to the organiser and he thought it would be a great way of showing the duality of the physical/virtual divide; ie. here's physical bitcoin, but really it's the number that's important, but that doesn't mean you can't trade the coins as well.  As long as they still have the hologram on them, then they're also valid bitcoin...

And yes, I know the casascius coins weren't originally intended for trading, but you CAN use them to trade; offline trades in places that don't/can't have network access, or can't wait for confirms.  The only downside they have is once they're "spent", they're hard to recharge (I think the makes offer new stickers but of course they're not as trustworthy as original)...I guess we need a "smart" card that can be exchanged or used to exchange coin that costs very little but can store the numbers inside it...
I saw a demo of that sometime ago on the forums...maybe in a year or two it will be ready...

Focus on the api, the protocol and how it works, as a developer don't waste time with stupid casascius coins. I would show them quickly explain why they are cool move on 2 mins tops. As a developer tell me how this api works, how to start accepting bitcoins, and how to secure my wallet. Three main goals of what your talk should be. Also give some history.

[MathCampbell]

Point to note; I'm a graphics artist, not a developer myself. I won't be wading into the code etc. too much as i'm simply not qualified; my aims are to show the ease of use & ease of adoption, to show the coin isn't some daft internet thing but is a valid, live, viable currency, and to show it is secure, since the main concerns of the devs, the venture-capital types, and the managers & startup types at the event aren't "is the API easy to integrate" - I will of course mention how easy it is etc. and show some stuff on the API usage, but really, their focus will be on:
a) is there any point (is it viable)?
b) is it hard/expensive to get running with it? (I guess this would be where I cover API usage, but it's more than that - I'll want tot show it's easy and costs nothing to start accepting BTC), and
c) is there a market/real-world use, or is this just somewhere to store "real money" and lose some on commissions/transfer-fees etc. - this is where the physical coins come in; they're not daft or silly. 
In fact, I see physical coinage as vital to getting wider adoption of the coin.  Not only does it allow for non-networked transfers, it also gives the coin some solidity.  A lot of people don't like trusting in computers/pure maths (Obviously not the people I'm speaking to, but their end-customers possibly), and like to feel something in their hands.  This is why coinage is still in circulation.  People don't trust banks etc. or credit cards (and rightly so).  A lot of those people would be more likely to adopt BTC if you can show it's "real", so the physical coins ARE important in mass-adoption. 

Of course, the other part of that is education, showing that bitcoin isn't like the other electronic currency out there (ie credit-cards etc.) since there's no Bank, no credit-card company to arbitrarily cancel your money or apply fees etc.
My talk isn't aimed at THOSE people - it's aimed at people who want to sell apps and market products and services to the general public, a lot of whom WILL be those people... so I'm trying to sell the coin not only to the people at the meet, but also to show how they can sell it in turn to the public.

[gweedo]

I think your confused at who your aduience is cause in the beginning of that post you say

since the main concerns of the devs, the venture-capital types, and the managers & startup types at the event aren't

then you say

My talk isn't aimed at THOSE people - it's aimed at people who want to sell apps and market products and services to the general public, a lot of whom WILL be those people...

Also I really think your unqualified to give a talk, cause you really need to sale the developers cause "venture capital types" and "managers' and "startup types" will not do anything if there developers don't want to do it, or don't think it is worth there time. I really think your misunderstood these types of people.

[paraipan]

Don't mind gweedo, he likes giving a hard time to newbies.

Try looking into paper wallets if you're a graphical designer, and explain how anyone could print their own bills with a personal artistic touch.

https://www.bitaddress.org

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=92969.0

http://www.rugatu.com/questions/1833/how-would-you-like-to-design-a-bitcoin-banknote

[markm]

Doesn't Casascius have pretty pictures on his websites?

Don't these people have any imagination?

If they lack imagination you're dead in the water before you start, or if they are dull plebes who insist on holding something physical they won't be likely to actually move on it.

So show them the pictures and if you have any personal coins at all show them that they can give you fiat cash right there you send coins and presto, physical coins are on the way to them...

If you have no personal coins to do that then they should rightly ask how many days of no coffee no gravy no meat and maybe going to bed early to save on electricity it takes to save up enough money to buy a couple of coins, leading to why aren't you into the things yourselves if they are so great, and so on.

Going to spin some massive hard luck story or something?

Oh hey, great new spiel, "I would give a bad impression if I was broke so send me money because I cannot even manage to hang on to a couple of coins to rub together..."

-MarkM-

[fornit]

I was planning on talking about API access, and ease-of-use for mobile devs etc.  I just thought it would help to show that the coin does NOT have to be solely digital; that it can have a physical manifestation that holds value in itself since it has the magic number on it
I mentioned the idea to the organiser and he thought it would be a great way of showing the duality of the physical/virtual divide; ie. here's physical bitcoin, but really it's the number that's important, but that doesn't mean you can't trade the coins as well.  As long as they still have the hologram on them, then they're also valid bitcoin...

in my opinion, this is a really bad idea. casascius coins != bitcoins, private keys != bitcoins. bitcoins dont exist outside their blockchain. casascius coins are a toy and have very little in common with actual bitcoins, or currency in general, for that matter. its like calling a piece of hollow chocolate usually sold around easter a "valid bunny". might be fun for the kids to bring them, but very confusing for people who actually come to learn something about bunnies.