The second conference was a lot of warm, intimate fun. As promised then, we’ll be having a third edition, which will work pretty much on the same APIi.
This will work as follows :
- You can get on the VIP list. There is a cost associated with thisii and you will have to actually be a VIPiii. You will be expected to behave courteously towards the other VIPs, which specifically includes not trying to sell them. You may pitch if asked to pitch, you may talk business by mutual agreement, but you may not under any circumstances cold hit on peopleiv - they come to the conference to relax and enjoy themselves, not to be intellectually brutalized. Please respect that.
- You can get on the press list. If you work for either well known or very cool outlets have your editor contact me for a press invitationv.
- You can be a registered participant. The only requirement is that you make a comment here, signed with your gpg key, stating your intention to participate. You will get priority admissionvi and we will try to help you with any questions you may have or difficulties you may encounter.
- You can just show up.
Here’s a tentative schedulevii :
- Friday, April 17th 2015 : VIPs and guests arrive.viii. Open to the public lunch (15:00). Open to the public event (sightseeing or somesuch). Open to the public dinner (21:00). Clubbing and bar hopping (until last man standing).
- Saturday, April 18th 2015 : VIP only event (12:00). VIP only lunch (16:00). Press meet (16:30). VIP only dinner (22:00).x
- Sunday, April 19th 2015 : Open to the public Q&A session / workshops (12:00). Open to the public lunch (16:00), Open to the public Q&A session / workshops (18:00). Open to the public dinner (22:00).
All this will be taking place in Buenos Aires, smack drab in the center of townxi. Taking as a given that you will be flying, you will probably be arriving to and departing from Ministro Pistarini International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina (IATA: EZE, ICAO: SAEZ). If you have a choice I would advise connecting through Istanbul - perhaps with a day or two layover to take in the town. That’s what I did, and I loved it.
Yes I will have private security, but mostly to protect the participants from themselves rather than for any local concern. Contrary to what may hear from locals and panicked-as-a-lifestyle Westerners, crime in Buenos Aires is not significant (contrary to say, Los Angeles).
This is very much a VIP driven event, so if you would like any particular activity or equipment be included or provided please let me know in advance.xii
List of confirmedxiii participating VIPs :
- Martha McCuller, MiniGame CTO, first woman in Bitcoin, first woman on the Internet, first woman engineer at RCA etc.
- Benjamin Vulpes, Bitcoin Foundation co-chair.
- Herbie Versmells, pants guy.
- Hannah Wiggins, F.MPIF last standing manager.
- Shane Kinney, Bitcoin Foundation co-chair.
- Stanislav Datskovskiy, S.NSA principal.
- Mike Cirello, BTCAlpha.i
- David Francois, Paymium.
Press List :
- Stevie "thestringpuller" Frederick, accredited on behalf of Qntra.net
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- How many things do you know that use the same API next year as they did last year ? Please count. [↩]
- To reflect the theoretically absent but practically quite present inflation of the dollar, you can either pay the equivalent of 1`320 USD at prevailing market rates during 2014, or the equivalent of 1`950 USD at prevailing market rates up until the 15th of March 2015. Note that you can’t get on the VIP list late no matter what happens, if you’re not in by the ides of March you will have to wait for the third edition. All payments are final, there will be no refunds made on request. [↩]
- This means that if you don’t run any sort of Bitcoin infrastructure, if you’re not well represented in the WoT, if you don’t have significant credentials you can’t get on the VIP list irrespective of whether you’re willing to pay the fee or not. [↩]
- And yes if participants complain you will have your VIP status rescinded. [↩]
- Press invitations are issued per outlet rather than nominal, which means you will have to bring along a letter from your editor stating you’re the designated participant. Note that they will have to make specific publishing commitments in order to obtain the invitation (such and such pages, such and such slots on such and such dates).
If your outlet is relying on the cool theory be prepared to argue it well and on the first pass, I won’t be sending my staff on research binges simply because the only way some obscure publisher can get himself out of bed in the morning is the self-delusion of coolness. [↩]
- Should any open to the public event be full all the VIPs will be admitted, then any registered participants on a first come basis, then, if space allows, unregistered participants. [↩]
- Bear in mind that we’re almost a full year away and things may well change. A definitive schedule will be published late March 2015. [↩]
- Just like on the 1st edition VIPs get free shuttle service to and from the airport, free hotel accommodation including breakfastix, free meals and drinks everywhere. [↩]
- Everyone is getting two room apartments wich contain a nice matrimonial bed upon which you can comfortably fit a hot Brasilian chick with deep green eyes on either side of you (I tell you from experience), plus a couch in the other room. So you can bring your wife and your girlfriend, or, I suppose, her boyfriend. [↩]
- Note that Argentina has a weird biorythm. [↩]
- If you’re fond of maps, somewhere between Puerto Madero and Plaza 25 de Mayo. I would have loved for it to be between Mayo and Mustard somehow, but sadly it couldn’t be arranged. [↩]
- We’re normally going to talk openly and freely, gathered around some sort of square or round table. This, from what I’ve seen, is a complete surprise for anyone with conference-going experience, which quickly turns into a pleasant surprise. If however you’d prefer a more formal setting, or favour a particular format ; or if you intend to present things which require equipment, or would simply like a projector or something, do say, you’ll be accommodated. In any event it’s a good idea to think about what you’d like to say, and how, and why before being confronted with two dozen pairs of eyes attached to people you respect. [↩]
- This means they’ve paid. [↩]
- Amusingly, in between last year's "BTCAlpha" and this year's "BTCAlpha" he was S.WOL principal. But if you miss the yearbooks, what's to do ?! [↩]