Mountain Crypto Unconference — what would you expect from an event like that? We at Coworking Bansko wanted to deepen our knowledge about Blockchain technology and topics around cryptocurrency, and we assumed that there were other people who wanted the same, or who want to share their expertise with us.. Meeting people, exchanging knowledge and sharing experiences were the goals of our unconference weekend. For us, a great event is one where we spend equal time on the conference topics, as well as on social and fun activities. It’s not surprising, when you meet a bunch of like minded people that you will have lots of fun too! We were able to dive deep into the program and also into the warm waters of natural hot springs to put a relaxing finale to a well balanced weekend.
Topics which have been addressed during the unconference:
The opening speech on Friday
The opening on Friday was the intoxicating story of Martijn Wismeijer, who held the Keynote and established the positive atmosphere for the following days of unconferencing. With his personal insight to the crypto world, the twenty five attendees were entertained by his unique talk. Martijn is one of the first movers in regards to Blockchain and Bitcoin. Although he did not pay too much attention in the beginning, he had his spare laptop mining bitcoin and forgot about it for a month or even longer. When he accidentally stumbled upon his warm laptop with noisy fans spinning at high revolutions, he remembered that he had set it to mine coins. On inspection, he found it funny that the laptop had mined 50 coins in the meantime. When he noticed all our shining eyes, he quickly reminded us that at that time the Bitcoin was only worth a couple of cents.
Diversity is the key to an unconference
Not only did the participants came from different countries, but also their background and current projects could not be more colourful and diverse. A unconference is all about the participants. In comparison, a normal conference will provide you with experts and speakers who present different topics in a broadcasting manner. The idea of an unconference is to facilitate sessions where the topic of each session is suggested by the attendees of the unconference. Usually every attendee will pitch his session and in respect to the number of interests, a bigger or smaller room will be allocated to that specific session. Some of the sessions will be combined if they are similar or point to the same topic.
It took about 15 minutes to fill the session board with very appealing topics. We arranged them in a meaningful way and started off our Saturday with the very exciting unconference-part. Most of the attendees had not been part of an unconference beforehand so Saturday was filled with curiosity and excitement. The sessions were moderated by the participants who presented their topic and formulated questions where every attendee could share her or his experience and expertise.
Getting the attendees moving
After a well deserved breakfast on Sunday, it was my turn to energize the the crowd and to facilitate the interactive workshop on “How to get started with a coin?”. I have to admit, we had our challenge to get all the participants to the event-space — we had to explore the local party places and the can’t miss places the night before. Regardless of the initial low, we were able to split up into groups and after the presentation with opening questions and challenges of the coworking industry, the groups went in different directions to discuss the topics individually. When the people spread in groups, they recovered very quickly and turned into a loud party- and fun animals. The tasks were addressed casually, with joined forces and with the eagerness to end the workshop on a high note. The teams cracked the code and presented their findings to the audience.
They elaborated on value proposals for both parties: the coworking space and its users. Furthermore the teams listed the steps to start out and pointed out the necessary executions to deliver value to all stakeholders right from the start. I was flattered by the positive attitude and the depth of their work. The teams have produced a great outcome and they have focussed on the issues and found possible solutions, nonetheless the fun never run short. Watch out, soon you might see a COW-droppings advertisement in your favourite coworking space, that could bring you some Coworking Crypto-Coins for free.
On a side note
The Coworking Crypto / Coin is something I have been digging into for a while.
“We live in a new world, a world in which currency is a choice, and not just a choice in terms of use… It’s also a means of expression.”
Puzzled by the above statement, which I came across when listening to a recording of a speech of Andreas Antonopoulos, I realized two things: Everyone with access to the internet can start his own digital currency. Also, a digital currency can express the common interest of a specific group.
I was able to form a small group of people who believe in the idea of a common coworking cryptocurrency, which I have named the “COW” [kou]. We have joined forces in a Slack group and have developed strategies and brainstormed possibilities for global collaboration within the coworking industry. My motivation is mainly driven by unsuccessful attempts to create alliances with other coworking spaces, and it seemed to me that the aim hasn’t been high enough in order to form successful collaborations. Focusing on a common interest, such as a common currency, and adding value to each stakeholder, might be ingredients of a successful recipe to spark a collaboration. The COW will to benefit the entire industry and might help to grow the coworking movement. Please, feel free to contact me, if you want to know more about that.
For me it was a great event, I was able to network with new people, to learn more about blockchain, Bitcoin and Co, and it also taught me many details, tricks and do’s and don’ts about buying and trading cryptocurrencies. Dive into Bitcoin, get familiar with this amazing new and revolutionary technology and find peers who are eager to explore this exciting topic together with you, or come and visit us in Bansko at Coworking Bansko — http://coworkingbansko.com!
If you also enjoyed the weekend, you can share your happiness by writing a review on Coworker.com: https://www.coworker.com/bulgaria/bansko/coworking-bansko.
With appreciation,
yours Uwe
PS: For further information on our program, feel free to subscribe to our newsletter, send me a message or follow us on Facebook, you’ll be able to find all of it here: http://coworkingbansko.com
PPS: Next event coming up soon: http://freelanceweekend.com
