Closed

[smoothie]

basically you described $300 to go to a place and talk about the forum, when you could just log on here and ask for people's skype (like I have done) and talk to them and have better discussions for free. To be honest no independent thinker would go to a conference js

May as well nobody ever go to Disneyland since most of the Disney movies are on the Pirate Bay anyway...

Well Disneyland has been changed into a landmark of American society so watching a movie is very different from going to a landmark that has been around for very long time. Also the bitcoin conference is the same thing as the forum just that you see a face and hear a voice...

Then simple solution ... don't go.  You have no intention of joining the foundation and no intention on going to a bitcoin conference.  If it serves no purpose then the price doesn't really matter does it.  It would be just as pointless at $10,000 or $10.  So don't go.  Other people will. 

What exactly was your issue again?

His point was getting people to think before they spend any more money on a possibly pointless conference for their sake. Might not be pointless if you're one of the "elitists".

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[smoothie]

Hope its better than the excruciatingly embarrassing ones of the past.

this will be the first real one is the US right?

Previous conferences are infamous for having been organized by people who have since gone into disrepute - NYC by Bruce Wagner, Prague with involvement from Bitcoin consultancy, London by Nefario and Bitcoin consultancy. But I think all of them were actually quite good (and the first real conference in US is definitely NYC Aug 2011).

1. They have all been reasonably organized, and better with each conference.
2. The organization is just an excuse. It's an important excuse inasmuch as it's what brings people together, but it's actually meeting other people from the community that is important. And we've done plenty of that.

Edit:

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There's your problem, right there. You think conferences are about "material". The material is an excuse to get people to meet (and to get press coverage, too).

internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

!= Meeting in person.

yes, unfortunately not understood by many here.

shaking someone's hand, looking that person in the eye, expressing one's self with body language, and engaging in one-to-one conversation magically strips out most of the bullshit you get on all those internet channels.

that's funny you once again may have misjudged me Cypher. I understand the importance of meeting people in person when TRUST is needed.

You forget, this is Bitcoin. No trust is needed. Hence irrelevant to need to go to a bitcoin conference unless you are one of the early adopters that just wants to increase the value of his stash he got for $0.005/BTC.

[dree12]

Hope its better than the excruciatingly embarrassing ones of the past.

this will be the first real one is the US right?

Previous conferences are infamous for having been organized by people who have since gone into disrepute - NYC by Bruce Wagner, Prague with involvement from Bitcoin consultancy, London by Nefario and Bitcoin consultancy. But I think all of them were actually quite good (and the first real conference in US is definitely NYC Aug 2011).

1. They have all been reasonably organized, and better with each conference.
2. The organization is just an excuse. It's an important excuse inasmuch as it's what brings people together, but it's actually meeting other people from the community that is important. And we've done plenty of that.

Edit:

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There's your problem, right there. You think conferences are about "material". The material is an excuse to get people to meet (and to get press coverage, too).

internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

!= Meeting in person.

yes, unfortunately not understood by many here.

shaking someone's hand, looking that person in the eye, expressing one's self with body language, and engaging in one-to-one conversation magically strips out most of the bullshit you get on all those internet channels.

that's funny you once again may have misjudged me Cypher. I understand the importance of meeting people in person when TRUST is needed.

You forget, this is Bitcoin. No trust is needed. Hence irrelevant to need to go to a bitcoin conference unless you are one of the early adopters that just wants to increase the value of his stash he got for $0.005/BTC.

[citation needed]

[smoothie]

You people who plan to go and are organizing this conference are better using that money to further bitcoin, not have fancy conferences where you basically tout your LEET skillz in making tonz of moneyz.

Having a conference in fact is using money to promote Bitcoin.

Bottom line, people are better off keeping their finances and conserving than attending a bitcoin conference.

Only in the same way looking at porn is a better way to enjoy sexuality than going out on dates.

And smoothie obviously knows about that.

LOL nice try. But once again you're wrong. I've probably gotten more pie in a week than you get in a lifetime!  

[smoothie]

Hope its better than the excruciatingly embarrassing ones of the past.

this will be the first real one is the US right?

Previous conferences are infamous for having been organized by people who have since gone into disrepute - NYC by Bruce Wagner, Prague with involvement from Bitcoin consultancy, London by Nefario and Bitcoin consultancy. But I think all of them were actually quite good (and the first real conference in US is definitely NYC Aug 2011).

1. They have all been reasonably organized, and better with each conference.
2. The organization is just an excuse. It's an important excuse inasmuch as it's what brings people together, but it's actually meeting other people from the community that is important. And we've done plenty of that.

Edit:

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There's your problem, right there. You think conferences are about "material". The material is an excuse to get people to meet (and to get press coverage, too).

internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

!= Meeting in person.

yes, unfortunately not understood by many here.

shaking someone's hand, looking that person in the eye, expressing one's self with body language, and engaging in one-to-one conversation magically strips out most of the bullshit you get on all those internet channels.

that's funny you once again may have misjudged me Cypher. I understand the importance of meeting people in person when TRUST is needed.

You forget, this is Bitcoin. No trust is needed. Hence irrelevant to need to go to a bitcoin conference unless you are one of the early adopters that just wants to increase the value of his stash he got for $0.005/BTC.

[citation needed]

Let me rephrase that "You don't need to trust a person or organization when it comes to the bitcoin network."

[cypherdoc]

Hope its better than the excruciatingly embarrassing ones of the past.

this will be the first real one is the US right?

Previous conferences are infamous for having been organized by people who have since gone into disrepute - NYC by Bruce Wagner, Prague with involvement from Bitcoin consultancy, London by Nefario and Bitcoin consultancy. But I think all of them were actually quite good (and the first real conference in US is definitely NYC Aug 2011).

1. They have all been reasonably organized, and better with each conference.
2. The organization is just an excuse. It's an important excuse inasmuch as it's what brings people together, but it's actually meeting other people from the community that is important. And we've done plenty of that.

Edit:

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There's your problem, right there. You think conferences are about "material". The material is an excuse to get people to meet (and to get press coverage, too).

internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

!= Meeting in person.

yes, unfortunately not understood by many here.

shaking someone's hand, looking that person in the eye, expressing one's self with body language, and engaging in one-to-one conversation magically strips out most of the bullshit you get on all those internet channels.

that's funny you once again may have misjudged me Cypher. I understand the importance of meeting people in person when TRUST is needed.

You forget, this is Bitcoin. No trust is needed. Hence irrelevant to need to go to a bitcoin conference unless you are one of the early adopters that just wants to increase the value of his stash he got for $0.005/BTC.

yes, investing in Bitcoin itself doesn't require trust.  but investing in other ppl when forming business partnerships does.

but lets get back to the point at hand.  conferences can be very helpful at multiple levels and $300, unfortunately, is not an outrageous price.  there is info to be found out speaking to ppl in corners that won't be found out in public forums like this.  pm's, Skype and email can be insecure w/o the proper precautions as you know.

plus, when you get alot of ppl together with like mindset, alot of creativity takes place and deals struck.  it may sound old fashioned but that's how things work.  

otoh, i admit technology is changing things as we speak.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

$300 entry fee to go to a conference?

This smells like elitism.

This is a pretty normal fee.  If you're organizing a conference, you're lucky if the registration fees you collect as well as the vendor sponsorships are enough to pay the venue's 5 or 6 figure bill when it's all over.  It's also not outrageous when you consider that the average person is already paying $500-$1500 to get there when you consider airfare, ground transportation, and hotel.  If the conference were held in a public park, it wouldn't be $300, but it would also be so stupid as to not be worth traveling to, and the media would show up to laugh at us.  The only way to call it elitism is to be oblivious to the economics of organizing a conference.

It's totally normal for a conference venue to charge, oh, $25 a plate for every plate taken at a buffet line, or $5 for every soda taken from the courtesy table at the back of the room.  Not kidding!  That's how the hospitality industry works.  The food is served as though it's free but it's totally not.  The fee literally covers the cost of the venue.

BTW, I just bought my ticket.  I'll be driving out.  In my Porsche with "Bitcoin" vanity license plate.  Because I'm elitist like that and all.

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There really isn't a point to pay for a total of $1500-$2500 for a 2.5 day conference just to get the same material you could with options 1, 2, and 3 listed above.

Right the next point would be networking right? Well you can easily do that on this forum alone or on the internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

So should people pay $8.88 at most or pay a few thousand dollars to get the same material?

Sounds like a waste of time and money as mentioned earlier in this thread.

You people who plan to go and are organizing this conference are better using that money to further bitcoin, not have fancy conferences where you basically tout your LEET skillz in making tonz of moneyz.

Bottom line, people are better off keeping their finances and conserving than attending a bitcoin conference.

Just my 0.02 btc

Smoothie  

Conferences usually are about making new (business) connections, and that's something that's very difficult to put a price on.

Akin to conducting business during a round of golf, oppose to doing it in some conference room or over the phone. BTW, is this practice still done, or was that so 1990's?(?)?

I'm making plans to attend, and it'll cost me two to three grand. Note to self: Quit smokin' psy's shit.

[smoothie]

Hope its better than the excruciatingly embarrassing ones of the past.

this will be the first real one is the US right?

Previous conferences are infamous for having been organized by people who have since gone into disrepute - NYC by Bruce Wagner, Prague with involvement from Bitcoin consultancy, London by Nefario and Bitcoin consultancy. But I think all of them were actually quite good (and the first real conference in US is definitely NYC Aug 2011).

1. They have all been reasonably organized, and better with each conference.
2. The organization is just an excuse. It's an important excuse inasmuch as it's what brings people together, but it's actually meeting other people from the community that is important. And we've done plenty of that.

Edit:

The SAME material covered at these conferences can be found in:

1. this forum (free)
2. Bitcoin Magazine ($8.88...wow)
3. Google (free)
4. Youtube videos (if we're lucky...also Free)

There's your problem, right there. You think conferences are about "material". The material is an excuse to get people to meet (and to get press coverage, too).

internet, skype, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc, etc, etc.

!= Meeting in person.

yes, unfortunately not understood by many here.

shaking someone's hand, looking that person in the eye, expressing one's self with body language, and engaging in one-to-one conversation magically strips out most of the bullshit you get on all those internet channels.

that's funny you once again may have misjudged me Cypher. I understand the importance of meeting people in person when TRUST is needed.

You forget, this is Bitcoin. No trust is needed. Hence irrelevant to need to go to a bitcoin conference unless you are one of the early adopters that just wants to increase the value of his stash he got for $0.005/BTC.

yes, investing in Bitcoin itself doesn't require trust.  but investing in other ppl when forming business partnerships does.

but lets get back to the point at hand.  conferences can be very helpful at multiple levels and $300, unfortunately, is not an outrageous price.  there is info to be found out speaking to ppl in corners that won't be found out in public forums like this.  pm's, Skype and email can be insecure w/o the proper precautions as you know.

plus, when you get alot of ppl together with like mindset, alot of creativity takes place and deals struck.  it may sound old fashioned but that's how things work.  

otoh, i admit technology is changing things as we speak.

Cypher keep up okay?

Price of conference admission $300.

Price of airfare, lodging, food, .... > $300.

So no it's not cheap.

[smoothie]

You people who plan to go and are organizing this conference are better using that money to further bitcoin, not have fancy conferences where you basically tout your LEET skillz in making tonz of moneyz.

Having a conference in fact is using money to promote Bitcoin.

Bottom line, people are better off keeping their finances and conserving than attending a bitcoin conference.

Only in the same way looking at porn is a better way to enjoy sexuality than going out on dates.

And smoothie obviously knows about that.

LOL nice try. But once again you're wrong. I've probably gotten more pie in a week than you get in a lifetime!  

Probably, by definition, also means probably not.  And for everyone who has gotten a total of greater than 168 hours of "pie" in their lifetime to date, there is zero possibility of your statement being true.

Regardless, here you are touting your own game and yer LEET skillz in gettin' laid.  Does that mean I too should now be telling you how to spend your own money?  Or that your choice of women is too fancy, or perhaps not fancy enough?  Or that you should be reserving your sexuality strictly for the purpose of procreation?  I didn't think so. So... you know... don't go to the conference and all.  Doesn't sound like you'll enjoy it anyway.  Make sure to tell a naked chick about bitcoins for me though, every little bit counts.

LOL you really sound butt hurt! I guess you now see my point about touting LEET skillz.

 

168 hours = 10080 minutes.

I highy doubt you've gotten with 10,080 pies at your rate of "stamina". trollface.jpg

Good thing you've got bitcoin 10 minute blocks to over compensate for your shortcomings. 

[franky1]

i think the point trying to be made in the last post was that bitcoin conferences are usually just "get together's" of people already in the community.

take the euro conference of 2011 and the london conference of 2012. there was not much outsider involvement, nor much media coverage.

yet. if bitcoiners went to outsider conferences. EG going to technology conventions like CES, or the money2020 it will get more outsiders involved with bitcoin and help grow bitcoin more.

bitcoin conferences are more like tea parties for the community. so they can meet up face to face with people they have only seen before as a forum avatar and username. great for networking with people and so i do hope the main emphasis is on making everyone's business known so that new collaborations / projects are made. and not just for the social tea party scene.

[mitty]

The fact in itself that a Bitcoin conference is going to be held at a nice venue will most likely make the currency seem more legitimate to a lot of people.

$300 (actually $250 right now) is a very reasonable fee to attend a conference compared to the price of other professional conferences, especially considering the substantial costs involved in hosting the event.

I personally don't think $300 + travel expenses (I'm in Rhode Island) + taking a day or two off work is worth it to attend the conference.  I would probably think differently if I were more involved in Bitcoin and/or if I lived near San Jose.  I also don't understand why people are against a Bitcoin conference.  The Bitcoin foundation should encourage collaboration among the bitcoin community and a conference seems like a great way to do that.  It's pretty obvious that the impact of real-life communication is much more than than of Internet-based communication.  Just because you can communicate ideas via the Internet doesn't make the Internet the best medium for doing so; it's just the most convenient.

I think having a conference is a great idea even though I won't be attending.  If anything it'll give Bitcoin additional press coverage which certainly won't hurt the currency's path to the mainstream, and of course it'll bring together people who are serious enough about Bitcoin to pay for admission + associated fees.

It's amusing that a topic about an official conference for a decentralized global currency has started deteriorating into an argument over frequency and duration of sexual activity... that in itself is proof that the Internet isn't always the best medium for meaningful discussion.

[cypherdoc]

The fact in itself that a Bitcoin conference is going to be held at a nice venue will most likely make the currency seem more legitimate to a lot of people.

$300 (actually $250 right now) is a very reasonable fee to attend a conference compared to the price of other professional conferences, especially considering the substantial costs involved in hosting the event.

I personally don't think $300 + travel expenses (I'm in Rhode Island) + taking a day or two off work is worth it to attend the conference.  I would probably think differently if I were more involved in Bitcoin and/or if I lived near San Jose.  I also don't understand why people are against a Bitcoin conference.  The Bitcoin foundation should encourage collaboration among the bitcoin community and a conference seems like a great way to do that.  It's pretty obvious that the impact of real-life communication is much more than than of Internet-based communication.  Just because you can communicate ideas via the Internet doesn't make the Internet the best medium for getting ideas across; it's just the most convenient.

I think having a conference is a great idea even though I won't be attending.  If anything it'll give Bitcoin additional press coverage which certainly won't hurt the currency's path to the mainstream, and of course it'll bring together people who are serious enough about Bitcoin to pay for admission + associated fees.

It's amusing that a topic about an official conference for a decentralized global currency has started deteriorating into an argument over frequency and duration of sexual activity... that in itself is proof in itself that the Internet isn't always the best medium for meaningful discussion.

This is such a great point.  Internet communication clearly allows one to hide behind a computer screen and veer a meaningful discussion off into a troll fest.  If you tried this at the conference you'd likely get punched in the face.

[BCB]

Mitty

Great point. And idiots like smoothie wouldn't dare show his face and make the same inane comments in public. He adds no value to this board and he certainly adds no value to bitcoin. And he probably knows it which is why he continues to troll this and every other thread he comes across. Op you should just lock this thread now and the rest of us can enjoy thoughtful and intelligent conversation at the conference.

[Meni Rosenfeld]

1. If I'm a normal bitcoin user I'm not going to the conference to get PRESS COVERAGE. Keep in mind it's not all about the big players in bitcoin....or is it? lol (if so, my point is proven). These conferences as Max Keiser kind of put it is to garner new users, not for the bitcoin ELITE to jerk each other off. We all know how that went with Nefario for example eh? lol (Pay $300+ for a conference to listen to a jackass talk who doesn't know what the word "Arbitrage" means all the while touting his leet skillz with GLBSE).

Read what I wrote. The organization/material is a way to:

1. Get individual people to meet each other.
2. Get press coverage for Bitcoin.

I didn't say anything about getting press coverage for individual people (that too plays a role for some people).

Once again, the $250 fee is insignificant compared to the ~$3000 many people will have to pay for flights, hotels and time. The conference is for people who are willing to pay the latter, call it elitism if you want.

2. In order to successfully network with others one does not NEED to meet someone in person. That's why we have technology. I mean if that was the case that we overlooked technology why not just snail mail your wallet.dat file on a flash drive to the furthest most point from you in the world to transfer bitcoins? lol

And yet snail mail still exists, and it's not going away any time soon. Some things you can send over email, some you can't.

Of course you can do stuff without meeting people, but you can do more and better with meeting them. It's another tool in your arsenal which complements the others.

While there was a huge troll war about the NYC convention, that appeared to have the greatest turnout

That's factually incorrect, NYC had the smallest turnout by a large gap.

[BCB]

Meni,

Whe do you bother responding to these idiots.

Buy the way.  Thanks for that recent, short simple presentation on mining.  Very clear and helpful for the uninitiated.

Looking forward to meeting you at the conference. (are you presenting??).

[BCB]

Death and Taxes

Are you presenting at the conference.  I think if you cared to share you could present a very unique perspective based on your experience thus far.  Or at least you should sit on a panel. 

[Meni Rosenfeld]

Whe do you bother responding to these idiots.

Duty calls.

Seriously though I prefer to give people a chance and wait a bit before disengaging.

Buy the way.  Thanks for that recent, short simple presentation on mining.  Very clear and helpful for the uninitiated.

Thanks. I've been meaning to give such a presentation for a while, eventually I wrote it for the occasion of the Tel Aviv Bitcoin Meetup January 2013.

Looking forward to meeting you at the conference. (are you presenting??).

I hope so.

[The Fool]

My sincerest apologies for my crude comments in this thread. I hope the conference is very productive.

[BCB]

Apology accepted.

You can be sure we'll all report back here.

[cypherdoc]

Meni,

Whe do you bother responding to these idiots.

Buy the way.  Thanks for that recent, short simple presentation on mining.  Very clear and helpful for the uninitiated.

Looking forward to meeting you at the conference. (are you presenting??).

yes, i liked the mining presentation as well.  learned another applicable word to Bitcoin to help describe it:  "Synchronization".