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Steemit Inc's Involvement
Of course we know that Steemfest is an event that is co-sponsored by Steemit Inc. The idea was born out of @roelandp's mind but the Steemit Inc's involvement has been very present at the events. To some, this is confusing, in the sense that it's not clear who is the organizer of Steemfest, but in truth the event has always been coordinated by @roelandp and Steemit Inc has been one of its sponsors.
So technically, @roelandp could choose to exclude Steemit Inc from an event, and this should not be a reason why Steemfest could not happen. However, that would make little to no sense, given that most users of Steem, are users of Steemit. (for more information on the difference here is a great explanation by Luke Stokes)
Have we even asked @ned?
I'm obviously a small account by comparison, so I have no way of reaching him. But, is there a reason why we can't have two parties? Would he want to sponsor a second one in the new continent? (technically that's still true) - I don't know, but what I do know, is that if we don't ask the NO is guaranteed. Hence why, we can't really complain about him not being part of a hypothetical unasked for idea.
Not to beat a dead horse but, aside from the fact that a ex-witness tried something a little on the shady side. I know of no one who has attempted to create a big meetup for Steem users aside from @roelandp. The truth is that the job of coordinating such an event is no small feat, and anyone who gives it a go has to be comfortable dealing with all the complexities of negotiations. So, its understandable that there is not a list of people waiting to make the plunge.
But, if there is a Steemian with the knowledge and the drive to organize one. Why haven't we asked @ned? - I'm being 100% serious about this too. What is the risk on posing the question? Will I get flagged to oblivion for asking? Will my life end after he says he's not interested? Will my girl leave me for being a failure? - I see absolutely no risk whatsoever.
Complaining is easy
Hence why we do it so much. I'm guilty of it myself. I'm not in a financial situation conducive to making any trips at the moment so I won't be visiting SteemFest this year. But, my immediate reaction should not be to point out all the reasons why traveling to Europe is terrible, why I hate the snow, why we chose Poland of all places. It would probably be a lot more productive of me to wonder if there is a way we can do something on this side of the globe as well.
My dear friend @luzcypher shared with me some pictures of Mexico. I for one can't think of a nicer place to hold a Steem get together on a big scale. The prices are affordable, most people love the beach (there are some weirdos out there), and we would have some local experts to guide us through the process. (@luzcypher has been living down there for more than a decade, and he is not the only steemian)
So, maybe we should be having that talk. Maybe there is someone who is willing to make that a reality if the community can secure support from @ned and Steemit Inc. I'm not an event planner by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm sure there are at this point many capable Steemians that could pull this off if they wanted to.
Conclusion
The point I'm trying to make is that SteemFest does not have to be the only event, the only reason why Steemians meet and bond. No doubt it will always have a special place in people's mind, because it was the first of its kind. But, it doesn't mean it has to stand on its own.
As far as I know, there are always meetups happening between Steemians. I even participated of one not that long ago with my Minnow Support Group family. It was great, it was special. Finding a way to scale that up is not impossible, it just requires commitment. Less complaining, more doing.
Other posts by yours truly
• Has anyone even asked Ned? - Steemian Festivals - SteemFest 3 Dilema
• Random thoughts on the futile quest of spammy comments
• Steem Abuse - Finding Patient 0
• Another way to look at it - HODLing assistance series
• The Advantage of Steem - HODLing Assistance Series
Anyone can organise an event around Steem. If they do a good job then there's a chance Steemit Inc will get involved. I've been to a few small meetups organised by users. I was going to the Steem Camp in Germany, but now I know Steemfest is in Europe that takes priority. I probably wouldn't go if it was in the US, but I think you need something on that side of the Atlantic.
Hence why I think having two big events per year would be ninja. Those who can will do both, but having the choices would be perfect for most.
Soon there will be enough users to have big events all around the world without people having to travel far. We just need organisers. The second biggest meetup I've been to was at the London Crypto Show. People just turned up there, including Roeland and others from abroad.
My vision would be simultaneous SteemFests in every continent - all linked up by technology.
Many more people could then participate, at much lower costs. And the impacts on the environment would be much less (less flights etc)
Steemit Inc could maybe dispatch 3 or 4 people to each event.
And it could be a super PR hit for steem if we could be the first blockchain to hold such a pan-global event all linked up by the very latest technology.
Count me in to help organise if anyone likes this sort of idea...
Host of The Alternative Lifestyle Show on MSP Waves Radio.
Editor of the Weekly Schedule of Steem Radio Shows.
Founder of the A Dollar A Day charitable giving project.
That's a wild idea Pennsif... I freaking love it!! No doubt we are headed that way...
There is still time to do it this year - maybe on a smaller for the other continents (outside of Europe) for the first try.
We would just need a few people in each continent to get the ball rolling locally, a small coordinating group and a team of tech advisors.
Maybe this would be a super job to put the Steem Ambassadors on the map (I'm one of them).
And some funding of course... but maybe @Fundition and @Utopian-io might be able to help on this front, until Steemit Inc comes on board.
If anyone is up for it I can start to make the connections...
Good idea.
No one wants to admit that you absolute don't need to all be in the same place in the 21st century. What the hell is the point of all this communications technology if we don't use it?
And it's seriously shortsighted to want to force everyone to take a plane trip around the world, what's the tipping point where the emissions savings from "not being on a POW chain" are negated by everyone being so ready to jump on a plane?
Also, the areas of the world where we'll probably see some of the most tremendous growth are the same areas where the average user is least able to afford such trips in the first place. It reeks of privilege and of an ignorance towards knowing what to do with any modicum of success found on the platform.
For Steemfest you can also join the livestreams from home for sure, so I hope I'm not forcing anyone to come. You have a good point about the travelling part. So I also like @pensiff's idea of linking up several 'train-ride-away' locations vs. having to fly. Flying is next to our global logistics backbone of ships burning crude oil the single most polluting behaviour of human mankind.
I think with the evolving Virtual Reality it won't be long we will start to see around the world drinkers and social / network events where you literally mix virtual and real together. Would definitely be the next leap forward for especially conferences and such. Beginnings are there, with online-conferences, but then you miss out on most of the social interactions which also account for a great part of the "worth" of the event.
I get that people like to travel and meet up and maybe score some "backroom deals" or something, but meetings like this really play into the general optics of crypto by the general public as being pump and dump schemes designed to benefit "early adopters".
No social media sites other than maybe reddit ever really had irl meetups of their members, but one could argue that the meetups had 0 impact on reddit's success, and the other sites got on just as well without them.
I am just not the person to even ask or discuss on matters such as this, I assess cost-benefit very differently and am more prone to diverting resources towards those who cannot amass said resources on their own.
For example, I gather that many people on steemit are extremely profit-oriented, or are brown-nosers and very "networking for one's own gain" type of people, so I'd rather throw a few hundred or a few thousand in a fire over being forced to pay to endure that kind of behavior in person.
And I'm not just saying all of this because I hate parties.
You have a very childish and immature view of people. You also do something called over analyse and think people are so degraded that they only think of profit. 99% of people on Steem Blockchain are not trying to maximise their ROI even though they can.
That will say your world view is completely flawed. You are suspicious of people going to meet other humans. Meeting humans is a real normal thing it's called being social. But instantly you become suspicious that they are planning something behind your back. Only a person living in deep scarcity would have that mindset.
You clearly also do not understand how life works. If someone comes up with a genius idea clearly they will benefit the most. Is that unfair to you? It's capitalism and real world. If you didn't know it already life is a competitive landscape. If you want rewards in life you have to be smart.
Also trying to make some point how meetings have made "0" difference without any evidence to back it up shows that you rely far too much on your logical mind and probably worships it. You are only projecting your own world view. I don't see greedy people because I'm not one of them. That will say you attract what you already are. So always start with yourself.
Proceeds to over analyze.
Nice.
And the historical record of everything is already on the blockchain, maybe you should look up voting patterns and how things got to be the way they are now.
You added 0 value in this comment barely put in an effort. I actually cared and put in an effort into my writing. When you argue and write comments you are suppose to add value right here not just redirect a person instantly. I actually took a look at your comments and found things to respond to while you clearly now showed that you lack that skill. Overall you are not putting out any real arguments for anything. It's just you ranting about random stuff without being part of a solution.
Historical record yes but what is your point? Are you a solution to a problem? Have any original ideas? Or just complain mode forever? Clearly you are on the Blockchain because you find it interesting so might as well focus on thriving instead of coping.
BTW what I find really inspiring is all the stuff happening in Africa (talking about parts with tremendous growth). There are so many steem related initiatives happening, a couple of events like Steem Camp and SIN.
It's definitely interesting to see how mobilized some of the communities from Africa are.
While I was listening I was trying to understand the intent of the complaints because the conversation was close to ridiculous I'm not sure I am correct.
These are some of the issues that stood out to me:
Some are concerned that holding 3 Steemfests in Europe is inconvenient for much of our user base, and Europe isn't even where most of our userbase resides.
rolandp's clear response was this has to do with the overall budget of the event and being able to spend less for more in Poland than the US.
That point somehow morphed into: if they are all going to be held in Europe, maybe the location should remain the same, in an attempt to standardize the event. Amsterdam was suggested because it is a desirable destination with an Airport serving more cities via direct flights.
From here the conversation went to who is funding Steemfest and whether or not the community should have any say in the matter. I've never gotten the impression that SteemIt Inc feels they owe us any explanation of what they do with their stake.
I gathered that rolandp was stating he has organized the event on his own and SteemIt, Inc has decided to help fund it and if people were unhappy with the location or venue they could feel free to create their own event and lobby SteemIt, Inc for funds. (This is my impression of the response and does not necessarily represent rolandp.
I understand people are disappointed in the location and some even question the funding. I think it is a compliment to rolandp and the event that people felt so strongly about the situation. Yet, I have zero desire to see Poland in the Winter nor am I willing to spend the time and funds it would take to get there. In my opinion I would give both sides a point on this level.
I don't have any expectations of SteemIt, Inc justifying their budget to the community, so I don't hold any position on that level.
In summary, I agree with what you are saying, someone should consider planning another event and ask @ned if SteemIt, Inc would like to participate.
lol, thanks for adding some sanity to the conversation.
Thanks whatsup I totally agree in your summary, it leaves out many of the hatespeech thrown at me :P - getting that on some typed comment is one thing, but having that shouted in your face another :P.
I elaborate a bit myself about those "strong feelings" you mention in a paragraph elsewhere in my longer response on this post from meno.
Afaik Steemit inc sponsors multiple events and I think that is what most of the blockchains do. They sponsor not only monetarily but also by having people at those events present. Only this week already I saw several posts from Steemit employees being or going to events (both in the US actually :P).
So yes I did reach out to Steemit inc, you can see this in my original announcement for SF1 where I paste my reachout email. (linking to busy, because the formatting due to < code > < / code > tags is a bit weird on Steemit.com for this one: https://busy.org/@roelandp/save-the-date-steemfest-1-11-12-13-november-2016-amsterdam-nl
Btw. just to be factual: Winter starts in Poland on 21st of December. So with the start of SteemFest 3 - on 7 November we are exactly 45 days (or at 50%) of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere!
lol. @rolandp I stand corrected on the dates of Winter. :) I wish you great success with SteemFest.
Yes, I cleaned up the summary. :)
I'm told I heard nothing compared to what was discussed.... and maybe I should be grateful. But honestly, my intention was, and still is to help people understand we are all in this together. Maybe on that common goal we can build something good, thats it.
I won't be going either, but its more a financial thing for us. I would not mind seeing Europe for the first time.
To be clear I am not a huge fan of conferences and although I am very happy it happens, I likely would attend unless it was somewhere amazing or really close.
Yes, we are in it together. Pretty frightening if you had heard the first part of the conversation. lol.
Hi Meno. My understanding is to travel the globe holding one meet up a year .If you have more than one people will choose the one that suits them and it will dilute the whole experience. I see it as only fair spreading it around different countries the way it is being done currently. If they held it in the states all the time it would limit members who couldn't afford it who lived in Europe. I can't afford to go this year but hope to be in a position next time around.
I hear you.. i think we may have enough peeps for 2 atm though... Maybe I'm wrong. But hey, the intention is good.
No way i could make it out this year either... unless something crazy happens, its quite impossible atm
I didn't realize that all the festivals have been in Europe so far and they need to change that. The States needs to surely get the next one at least. It is all about new users and growth so surely it has to be next.
i am just waiting for the dates. that beach in mexico will be soooo crowded
I'd be down. Sign me up.
PS - I have pretty much assumed that you are now planning the North American steemfest. Good luck!
PPS - I will help you if we get some funding.
You know, I can think of someone that could pull this off... but i would not to assume she would want to.
I have planned some pretty big events in my day... but this one would be the biggest by far.
Lol. @meno: Steemit blogger, msp waves dude, and events organiser.
Mexico has my vote.
the beach right? that's all one has to say... Beach.
Yeah, I don't think roeland is a warm weather/ beach person.
OH NO! hahahah @roelandp !!! hahah
brings out the pitchfork
lol :P I'm now house-sitting for 3 weeks on the beach :) I'm an avid kitesurfer :P This was a reference to Lisbon and I tried to pull a joke, that there is no need to wear shorts as there is no beach anyhow.
Also we need to ask- what is the best use of resources ,
a) A fest excluvively for people who are already on the STEEM train
b) A hybrid fest where we open it up to normies for any given country to learn and explore about STEEM... you know...marketing ish !!
Very true, I say the latter... and I'm sure I'm in the majority.
get some sign upss..get some real time reactions/feedback...
Live stream it...
Don't need to do the normie talk for whole 3 days..maybe do it for first day.
I'd say B too. But I think that will grow more and more for example with more outward going product features like SMT being released. With that the Steem chain will also morph btw.
Agreed... I call it the shovel effect. We are participating in the gold rush, attempting to be the best mountain to dig up a mine.
Once we have SMTs we will be selling the shovels to those who are looking to dig up the gold. At that point, we reach sustainability, a solid valuation floor and best of all, a clear incentive to be a passive investor (which we need) and just hodl.
@roelandp
tks for responding.
What do you mean with America? South, Central, North?!?!
Big hug
Steemitri The International Mannequin
It could be any of them, it really could... but I'm thinking Cancun. That's where my mind goes... look at those beaches. just beautiful.
Yeah... I think it's a great idea to have more Steemfests... and Mexico would be a nice choice.
... and yes, it's not that easy to organize such a big event.
Hugs
Are you familiar with Steem Creators Conference (@steemcreators)? It's currently focusing on North America. First conference was held in April in Las Vegas, and a second conference is being held in September in Toronto, with a third already tentatively scheduled for next April in Austin, Texas (home of Steemit).
No success yet in getting Ned to show up, but dlive and dtube will be represented in Toronto.
Well that is one to shoot for no doubt. Somehow it slipped my mind, but now as I read about it, I'm remembering dlive's announcement of the event.
I will probably shoot for next year as my finances are unfavorable for any trip planning. But I would love to participate of one.
thanks for the information....................keep it up bro
sʞuɐɥʇ ˙ʎɐs oʇ ǝldoǝd ɹoɟ pooƃ sᴉ ƃuᴉʞuɐɥʇ ǝsnɐɔǝq sʞuɐɥʇ ƃuᴉʎɐs ǝldoǝd ʞuɐɥʇ oʇ ǝɯosǝʍɐ ʎʇʇǝɹd sʇᴉ ʞuᴉɥʇ ᴉ ˙ǝɔɐld ʇsɹᴉɟ ǝɥʇ uᴉ ɹoɟ ʞuɐɥʇ ǝq oʇ uosɐǝɹ ou pɐɥ ʇɐɥʇ uoᴉʇɐɯɹoɟuᴉ ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝɯ ʞuɐɥʇ noʎ ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥʇ