SeedSigner on Nostr: I want to be transparent about this b/c I've already mentioned that I will be at this ...
I want to be transparent about this b/c I've already mentioned that I will be at this this event as an attendee, and also because it was brought up here; if you're going to form opinions about any of what follows below, please read the entire post, I am trying to be as fair as possible.
I contacted the BTCPrague conference organizers several months ago, after deciding to attend, inquiring about a speaker opportunity but was immediately told that the main conference speaker's cohort was entirely full. The organizer however did ask me to make a social media post that I was planning to attend the event, and offered me a discount on conference passes (which I politely declined, stating that I still wanted to support the event by paying the full admission price).
To their credit, one of the organizers, and then someone from their headline sponsor (Satoshi Labs), subsequently contacted me about a "hack day" that is being held two days before the main conference (this event in all likelihood will have a fraction of the main event's attendees), saying I possibly could do a talk at that hack day event.
While I was waiting to hear about the status of this smaller opportunity, the exchange depicted in the images below occurred in the Dutch Noderunners telegram channel. After this exchange I was re-contacted by the same person representing the headline sponsor saying I could have a 30 min time slot at the hack day, but that their preference was that the presentation wasn't about our project, because "most of the attendees know what SeedSigner is and what it does". There was also an offer of a demo table at this smaller hack day event to share info about our project; I believe that offer still stands.
Satoshi Labs delivers a lot of value to bitcoiners at large. Despite their ongoing hardware support for numerous alt coins, I believe they are an overwhelming net-positive for the bitcoin space. But they are also a for-profit business trying to cover all of the expenses that come with being a for-profit business. Nothing wrong with this, but it does put certain natural incentives in place, especially when it comes to ideas or projects that might compete with their core products. Its the same with event organizers, they want to host speakers and companies that are interesting and that deliver value to attendees, and they also don't want to unnecessarily upset their sponsors in any way.
It's a delicate dance with our project often left on the sidelines. In the end, these events are private, have a 100% right to decline any prospective speaker, and neither their organizers nor their sponsors owe us anything.
But at the root of this whole issue is the question of whether SeedSigner reasonably deserves a seat at the table when it comes to the larger conversation about L1 bitcoin cold storage -- does SeedSigner or DIY deserve to be included for example, in a panel about cold storage options at a given bitcoin conference? Many who have built and used a SeedSigner emphatically believe that we do. Others think our project is at best useless, or at worst dangerous (they may hold that opinion in good faith, or it might be influenced by products they sell or sponsorship money they receive; I can't say because I'm not in their heads). I am admittedly biased, and think the core concept of DIY cold storage has merit, that our project takes an excellent approach to this concept, and that as the largest DIY FOSS signer project, we deserve to be a part of the core conversation and not forever sidelined to hack-a-thons.
SeedSigner and projects like it are basically the bitcoin community's last line of defense when it comes to cold storage. Given recent events, it doesn't seem prudent that our project be perpetually told to stand in the corner until if/when we become more necessary or useful.
Regardless, I look forward to meeting many, many good bitcoiners in Prague. And I just might shill our project if it comes up in conversation.
I contacted the BTCPrague conference organizers several months ago, after deciding to attend, inquiring about a speaker opportunity but was immediately told that the main conference speaker's cohort was entirely full. The organizer however did ask me to make a social media post that I was planning to attend the event, and offered me a discount on conference passes (which I politely declined, stating that I still wanted to support the event by paying the full admission price).
To their credit, one of the organizers, and then someone from their headline sponsor (Satoshi Labs), subsequently contacted me about a "hack day" that is being held two days before the main conference (this event in all likelihood will have a fraction of the main event's attendees), saying I possibly could do a talk at that hack day event.
While I was waiting to hear about the status of this smaller opportunity, the exchange depicted in the images below occurred in the Dutch Noderunners telegram channel. After this exchange I was re-contacted by the same person representing the headline sponsor saying I could have a 30 min time slot at the hack day, but that their preference was that the presentation wasn't about our project, because "most of the attendees know what SeedSigner is and what it does". There was also an offer of a demo table at this smaller hack day event to share info about our project; I believe that offer still stands.
Satoshi Labs delivers a lot of value to bitcoiners at large. Despite their ongoing hardware support for numerous alt coins, I believe they are an overwhelming net-positive for the bitcoin space. But they are also a for-profit business trying to cover all of the expenses that come with being a for-profit business. Nothing wrong with this, but it does put certain natural incentives in place, especially when it comes to ideas or projects that might compete with their core products. Its the same with event organizers, they want to host speakers and companies that are interesting and that deliver value to attendees, and they also don't want to unnecessarily upset their sponsors in any way.
It's a delicate dance with our project often left on the sidelines. In the end, these events are private, have a 100% right to decline any prospective speaker, and neither their organizers nor their sponsors owe us anything.
But at the root of this whole issue is the question of whether SeedSigner reasonably deserves a seat at the table when it comes to the larger conversation about L1 bitcoin cold storage -- does SeedSigner or DIY deserve to be included for example, in a panel about cold storage options at a given bitcoin conference? Many who have built and used a SeedSigner emphatically believe that we do. Others think our project is at best useless, or at worst dangerous (they may hold that opinion in good faith, or it might be influenced by products they sell or sponsorship money they receive; I can't say because I'm not in their heads). I am admittedly biased, and think the core concept of DIY cold storage has merit, that our project takes an excellent approach to this concept, and that as the largest DIY FOSS signer project, we deserve to be a part of the core conversation and not forever sidelined to hack-a-thons.
SeedSigner and projects like it are basically the bitcoin community's last line of defense when it comes to cold storage. Given recent events, it doesn't seem prudent that our project be perpetually told to stand in the corner until if/when we become more necessary or useful.
Regardless, I look forward to meeting many, many good bitcoiners in Prague. And I just might shill our project if it comes up in conversation.