Web Summit quits Dublin

asherbassad · 23-09-2015 11:12AM

Portugal's tax system is being restructured as well. Corporation tax will be dropping so it would appear that they are probably trying to attract scumbags like Google and Apple by playing fast and loose with the rules just like Ireland does.

nxbyveromdwjpg · 23-09-2015 11:13AM

Just get Garth Brooks back to fill the gap sure

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 11:16AM

Bambi wrote: »

Delighted they're gone. It was a social media bull**t fest.

They might finally realize in portugal that their problem was'nt dublin venues or companies but the fact that their CEO blames everyone else for his own f**k ups

On second thoughts, maybe it's not poor infrastructure that's the problem.

Maybe it's our traditional attitude to success. Someone creates an event that within a few years brings 10's of thousand of people to Ireland, earns €100 million for the economy and so people want have a go at them

buck65 · 23-09-2015 11:19AM

Surely this moving on to another country is logical and expected? 3 years in Dublin was a good stint, lets move on - €100m into a city over a few days is small enough - Dublin has plenty of events it's up to the city to attract more if they want them but they won't stay forever.

gramar · 23-09-2015 11:20AM

Why do they need to gather for a web summit? It's funny that people who peddle a web based product have to get together to chat about it. I imagine everyone just walking around zombie like with their heads buried in cinema sized mobile phone screen.

wicklowwonder · 23-09-2015 11:24AM

There is a massive media love in with this event. Only 22,000 people attended. Bloom attracted 100,000+. 250,000 go to the ploughing. Croker has over 60k+ regularly in the summer and the Aviva brings in 30K+ regularly. There are a lot more events bringing in more people to the country/city. Let him go to Lisbon. I went to this one year, wasn't great. I know he advertised 90% of attendees are from overseas but there seemed to be an awful lot of Irish there when I went last year or the year before, Be interesting see how his attendances compare in Portugal and how his ticket prices compare also.

arayess · 23-09-2015 11:28AM

traitors, they are.

nonetheless like other posters I was sick of the social media wankfest .
Most of it was ****e when I went , basically a shake down and paying for the privilege of non resident rich people telling us how we can be like them.

The 100million it brought is definitely over blown.

I'm glad we aren't throwing money at these lads

Turtyturd · 23-09-2015 11:33AM

Hard luck OP, maybe your next anti-Dublin thread will work out better.

Tiddlypeeps · 23-09-2015 11:35AM

seamus wrote: »

The web summit's all a bit of a racket anyway designed to extract cash from wealthy companies. €600 per person to listen to a few CEOs talking for 3 days. Or €4,000 if you want to hobnob with those speakers.

It's an elaborate networking event and little more. A bit like the Galway Races, most people only go there to be seen to be flashing the cash around, not because they're doing anything of worth. The organisers of the summit are pulling in serious cash.

Complaining that the Government wasn't giving them any money when the organisers are already generating more than €20m on ticket sales alone is joke.

I'd say that 20m in ticket sales pales in comparison to the company buying up exhibition space.

I went a few years ago, it was a bit sad. A bunch of desperate start ups chasing around a bunch of indifferent VC's. The VC's are only there so they can fight each other over the 1 or 2 start ups that actually look like they are going somewhere. The rest is just advertising from the already successful companies trying to sell their wares to the desperate start ups with the promise it will help them become successful. Unfortunately tho if you are in that space you have to be seen to be taking part in that type of thing.

HBO's Sillicon Valley does a great job of parodying the type of knob ends that surround this type of thing.

Sad to lose it all the same, it was a decent money spinner for the economy. I worry this a sign of early cracks forming in the tech sector here. It's becoming very expensive to operate here and for most companies it's only really worth it because they can make it up in the savings from the corporation tax.

Streetwalker · 23-09-2015 11:36AM

Big blow for Dublin and another indication of the weakness of the "recovery".

callaway92 · 23-09-2015 11:38AM

wicklowwonder wrote: »

There is a massive media love in with this event. Only 22,000 people attended. Bloom attracted 100,000+. 250,000 go to the ploughing. Croker has over 60k+ regularly in the summer and the Aviva brings in 30K+ regularly. There are a lot more events bringing in more people to the country/city. Let him go to Lisbon. I went to this one year, wasn't great. I know he advertised 90% of attendees are from overseas but there seemed to be an awful lot of Irish there when I went last year or the year before, Be interesting see how his attendances compare in Portugal and how his ticket prices compare also.

It's not really the fact that it was only 22,000 people that attended. It's more down to how powerful the people in attendance at it were.

stmol32 · 23-09-2015 11:42AM

Bambi wrote: »

Do you actually know what the reasons were for the wi fi debacle? I do and it was mostly their own fault

Can you enlighten us please?

Dyr · 23-09-2015 11:42AM

Ben D Bus wrote: »

On second thoughts, maybe it's not poor infrastructure that's the problem.

Maybe it's our traditional attitude to success. Someone creates an event that within a few years brings 10's of thousand of people to Ireland, earns €100 million for the economy and so people want have a go at them

Spoken like a someone who never dealt with the guy

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 11:43AM

OK, I throw in the towel.

This is all great news. The organisers are all pricks and the attendees are all ****. It didn't actually earn any money or kudos for Dublin. It's great that it's leaving and it's all the organisers fault because Dublin provided everything a visiting tech exec could possibly want.

Jeez, if I was a potential investor in Ireland and I read this thread, I'd go elsewhere based purely on the sneering at success that's going on here

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 11:43AM

Bambi wrote: »

Spoken like a someone who never dealt with the guy

tbh, who cares if he's a **** or not. So was Steve Jobs and so are countless other CEOs

wicklowwonder · 23-09-2015 11:45AM

callaway92 wrote: »

It's not really the fact that it was only 22,000 people that attended. It's more down to how powerful the people in attendance at it were.

Is there any evidence that a company choose to come to Ireland because of the Web Summit or vice versa, decided not to set up in Ireland because of the Web Summit?

You can be sure the real decision makers, likes of the speakers, got rushed in and out for a few hours via the Port Tunnel and the toll bridge and didn't even see the city.

Dyr · 23-09-2015 11:46AM

Ben D Bus wrote: »

tbh, who cares if he's a **** or not. So was Steve Jobs and so are countless other CEOs

Hows that list of companies who've set up in dublin coming along there chief?

murpho999 · 23-09-2015 11:49AM

Streetwalker wrote: »

Big blow for Dublin and another indication of the weakness of the "recovery".

How do you work that out?

grundie · 23-09-2015 11:50AM

I was made to go to it last year and I didn't enjoy it. It was just hard sell the whole time, and people trying to thrust their business cards on me. The keynote speeches contained nothing new or amazing.

They'll be back in Dublin soon enough. A few of the foreign attendees told me that they wouldn't have come just for the summit, but that having a chance to visit Dublin swayed them. Nice as Lisbon is, I don't think it has the same draw as Dublin.

road_high · 23-09-2015 11:52AM

Woeful infrastructure (No underground) likely compounded by eye watering hotel prices. Not one bit surprised.

Jimoslimos · 23-09-2015 11:53AM

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Jeez, if I was a potential investor in Ireland and I read this thread, I'd go elsewhere based purely on the sneering at success that's going on here

Stop being silly now. If you were a potential investor (which you most patently are not) you'd look at several aspects.

Quality of graduates
Cost of employees
Tax breaks/agreements
Transport infrastructure
Broadband
Existing competition

"Sneering" at success on a discussion board doesn't make the list. You'd want to be fierce thin-skinned to threaten to pack up your bags and leave, based on a tiny bit of criticism.

Atomic Pineapple · 23-09-2015 11:59AM

grundie wrote: »

I was made to go to it last year and I didn't enjoy it. It was just hard sell the whole time, and people trying to thrust the business cards on me. The keynote speeches contained nothing new or amazing.

They'll be back in Dublin soon enough. A few of the foreign attendees told me that they wouldn't have come just for the summit, but that having a chance to visit Dublin swayed them. Nice as Lisbon is, I don't think it has the same draw as Dublin.

Went to it last year myself and enjoyed it but I mostly stayed away from the start up sections and went to see engineering speeches in areas of interest to me and I felt it was worthwhile, I wouldn't have paid to go to it myself though.

My experience talking to many people there would be similar to yours, anyone I spoke to who was attending from abroad mentioned the chance to visit Dublin as being a huge part of the draw to the event. Personally I wouldn't be excited to visit Lisbon so that could have an impact.

It's a shame to see that the old Irish begrudgary and negativity still exists so much in this day and age where some people think an event that brought in money to the economy and showcased Ireland in a positive light moving to another country is somehow a positive thing.

techdiver · 23-09-2015 12:02PM

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

Went to it last year myself and enjoyed it but I mostly stayed away from the start up sections and went to see engineering speeches in areas of interest to me and I felt it was worthwhile, I wouldn't have paid myself to go to it though.

My experience talking to many people there would be similar to yours, anyone I spoke to who was attending from abroad mentioned the chance to visit Dublin as being a huge part of the draw to the event. Personally I wouldn't be excited to visit Lisbon so that could have an impact.

It's a shame to see that the old Irish begrudgary and negativity still exists so much in this day and age where some people think an event that brought in money to the economy and showcased Ireland in a positive light moving to another country is somehow a positive thing.

I'm not saying that, this was not true, but I often find those comments to be disingenuous, especially coming from Americans.

The same people will say the same thing to Portuguese people they talk to in Lisbon.

Also, even if it is true, as soon as the realities of Dublin's terrible infrastructure and price gouging becomes apparent, they might not be in a rush to come back.

Atomic Pineapple · 23-09-2015 12:06PM

techdiver wrote: »

I'm not saying that, this was not true, but I often find those comments to be disingenuous, especially coming from Americans.

The same people will say the same thing to Portuguese people they talk to in Lisbon.

Also, even if it is true, as soon as the realities of Dublin's terrible infrastructure and price gouging becomes apparent, they might not be in a rush to come back.

There is that aspect of course that they would say it about anywhere, I actually didn't talk to any Americans at the event

There was a large positive "buzz" about it being in Dublin though that was evident at the event and then in the city afterwards but again they may be able to replicate this in Lisbon.

arayess · 23-09-2015 12:09PM

callaway92 wrote: »

It's not really the fact that it was only 22,000 people that attended. It's more down to how powerful the people in attendance at it were.

yup adrian grenier and the guy from man v food (who I love btw) really brought in those billions in foreign direct investment.

The web summit had it's uses but people see through the over blown razzmataz that it was.
Big companies come for the educated workforce and the corporation tax and IDA sweetheart deals , most probably in reverse order to as I listed them.
This summit was a feel good festival of smug **** using social media to smugly declare themselves "with it".
and while doing so stick two fingers up at the "i'm the gym" crowd who clog social media normally.

gandalf · 23-09-2015 12:15PM

arayess wrote: »

yup adrian grenier and the guy from man v food (who I love btw) really brought in those billions in foreign direct investment.

Actually Adam Richman and Neil Jordan were the highlights for me. Given they had almost nothing to do with the web and the reason I was there it indicates to me that it has lost the focus of what is was about. I was at the original one which was relevant to the start up scene. It's almost like they are just using startups as clothes to dress up a mess of an jolly event.

dutopia · 23-09-2015 12:16PM

Makes sense.

Lisbon:

- Better public transport
- Cheaper & better venue
- More hotels
- Good access from airport
- Cheaper & skilled IT workers

jimgoose · 23-09-2015 12:19PM

Bunch a propeller-headed, Segway-riding Californian twits. The only business impacted by this will be Starbucks. Fcuk 'em.

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 12:21PM

Bambi wrote: »

Hows that list of companies who've set up in dublin coming along there chief?

The Summit itself is the success. The Web Summit company employs 130 people. Why do you want to sneer at this?

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 12:27PM

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Stop being silly now. If you were a potential investor (which you most patently are not) you'd look at several aspects.

Quality of graduates
Cost of employees
Tax breaks/agreements
Transport infrastructure
Broadband
Existing competition

"Sneering" at success on a discussion board doesn't make the list. You'd want to be fierce thin-skinned to threaten to pack up your bags and leave, based on a tiny bit of criticism.

Oh, come on. Of course I was exaggerating that point.

But the glee expressed at the loss of a hugely successful indigenous event really saddens me.

Web Summit quits Dublin

Comments