Web Summit quits Dublin

murpho999 · 23-09-2015 12:28PM

road_high wrote: »

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

Have you ever travelled, I find Dublin Hotel prices quite reasonable compared to European cities.

Also, the RDS is not exactly a hard venue to get to.

People writing here as if millions of people were coming, It was 22,000, less than an average game at Lansdowne Road.

Ignatius in bloom · 23-09-2015 12:30PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Have you ever travelled, I find Dublin Hotel prices quite reasonable compared to European cities.

Also, the RDS is not exactly a hard venue to get to.

People writing here as if millions of people were coming, It was 22,000, less than an average game at Lansdowne Road.

Right so we have enough events and we shouldn't encourage anymore, got you.

awec · 23-09-2015 12:33PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Have you ever travelled, I find Dublin Hotel prices quite reasonable compared to European cities.

Also, the RDS is not exactly a hard venue to get to.

People writing here as if millions of people were coming, It was 22,000, less than an average game at Lansdowne Road.

It's not just about the money people spend on hotels.

And 22,000 is pretty big by conference standards.

This event is a loss to Ireland unfortunately.

FionnK86 · 23-09-2015 12:36PM

awec wrote: »

It's not just about the money people spend on hotels.

And 22,000 is pretty big by conference standards.

This event is a loss to Ireland unfortunately.

Not a loss to the bus company I worked for. Last year we were asked to provide transport to the event, in return for advertisement without any offer of financial payment to the company. It was turned down of course.

awec · 23-09-2015 12:38PM

FionnK86 wrote: »

Not a loss to the bus company I worked for. Last year we were asked to provide transport to the event, in return for advertisement without any offer of financial payment to the company. It was turned down of course.

Yea that's cheeky, but hardly indicative of whether or not the event was a positive thing for Ireland.

murpho999 · 23-09-2015 12:39PM

Ignatius in bloom wrote: »

Right so we have enough events and we shouldn't encourage anymore, got you.

awec wrote: »

It's not just about the money people spend on hotels.

And 22,000 is pretty big by conference standards.

This event is a loss to Ireland unfortunately.

I never said it wasn't a loss just pointing out that the reasons people here are giving are wrong.

Hotel prices are not as expensive as people make out and nor is transport to RDS, with DARTs and buses as well as taxis which most corporate people use anyway.

It could just be a business decision by the organisers which is their right, no need for people to come on here and use it as an opportunity to bash Dublin./Ireland.

vkid · 23-09-2015 12:42PM

Dublin hotels are not reasonable, even by European standards. Comparing against London and Amsterdam maybe but other cities..no. And that is becoming increasingly obvious this year. They are overpriced.

micosoft · 23-09-2015 12:44PM

asherbassad wrote: »

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.

TBH the only scumbags are the people who think they are entitled to the hard earned cash of innovative organisations such as Apple and Google.

Tiddlypeeps · 23-09-2015 12:48PM

I've been to GDC and Gamescom a few times in Cologne, which has a bloody huge convention centre. Hotel prices in Cologne around that time are crazy compared to the price of hotels in Dublin around the time of the Web Summit. Hotel prices alone aren't really a big disincentive. Not being able to find space in a hotel near the venue at all is a pretty big one tho.

stmol32 · 23-09-2015 12:49PM

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

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 seeing any begrudgery on this thread.
Most people are just pointing out that they've attended and found it to be disappointing.

Even your post, one of the few positive ones about the event, was luke warm at best.

murpho999 · 23-09-2015 12:51PM

vkid wrote: »

Dublin hotels are not reasonable, even by European standards. Comparing against London and Amsterdam maybe but other cities..no. And that is becoming increasingly obvious this year. They are overpriced.

Disagree with this, go to a convention in the likes of Paris, Rome, Madrid etc you'll pay through the nose for a hotel.

micosoft · 23-09-2015 01:00PM

We really do need to bet bigger on Conferences. The Dart Underground is a huge loss - connecting the Dart system to Grand Canal and the airport as well as potential to grow the National Convention Centre to support really big conferences like Mobile World or Salesforce Europe. With Dublin Airport being a hub for the US, Middle East, Africa (Ethiopian Airlines) as well as the Hub for Europe (Ryanair) we have an incredible opportunity but a complete lack of ambition.
As for the appalling bitterness shown by some posters. Grow up.

arayess · 23-09-2015 01:04PM

Ben D Bus wrote: »

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.

It;'s not glee we are defending ourselves against web summits media buddies who are trying to lay the blame on ireland for not sucking up to the web summit and paddy cosgrove.

We been told so far that we're Sh1t, sh1tter and even more sh1t cos one company decided to hold the event elsewhere for more cash.

If ireland has one good quality is that we see through hype very well, it might be the cynical nature of people but it serves us well when force fed a shovel of sh1t from the media. A media made of of journalists on a jolly or a kick-back to hype up an event like this to the max.

Web summit was a good event but not a great event to mis-quote eamonn dunphy.

Dyr · 23-09-2015 01:04PM

FionnK86 wrote: »

Not a loss to the bus company I worked for. Last year we were asked to provide transport to the event, in return for advertisement without any offer of financial payment to the company. It was turned down of course.

That's their modus operandi for pretty much everything. I'm sure the portugese are more amenable to the something-for-nothing business model

Atomic Pineapple · 23-09-2015 01:12PM

stmol32 wrote: »

I'm not seeing any begrudgery on this thread.
Most people are just pointing out that they've attended and found it to be disappointing.

Even your post, one of the few positive ones about the event, was luke warm at best.

I guess our reading of certain comments in the thread differ then as there is clear illogical bashing of the Web Summit, it's organisers and even attendees in some posts that falls far short of the constructive criticism that others have posted in my opinion.

It was definitely over hyped, not all that great and was more of a media event than something with true purpose but it was a positive thing for Ireland and a loss none the less.

That said if the powers to be here had any ounce of creativity they would realise this actually now presents a real opportunity to replace the event with something more focused that can add real value to the start up culture in Ireland and drive real home grown growth.

S. Goodspeed · 23-09-2015 01:17PM

Its a pity but I definitely agree with the Government for not giving in to his demands, the company does very well out of the event and relies on Brand Ireland for such so all parties were getting something. Greed always ruins things..

I've been to quite a few tech summits in Europe and the US and (although I am biased here) the Dublin one was special. Anyone I spoke to at it seemed to have a great time being in Dublin. The organised pub crawls &Irish food tent was a nice touch but it was the city that made it rather than the organisation. The only thing that let people down (aside from the wireless which PC should have shouldered more of the blame for rather than calling the management in the RDS a bunch of old farts on stage) was the complete lack of investment in their companies which is the problem inherent in such conferences - people pay a relative fortune to set up their stall & pitch their company yet get very little out of it. One of the key speakers last year admitted as much, he said any deals that happen at the conference have been in the pipeline for months in advance.

I can't see Lisbon being anywhere as successful but only time will tell I suppose.

Ben D Bus · 23-09-2015 01:19PM

arayess wrote: »

It;'s not glee

Yes, it's glee. A selection of quotes below.

Lisbon is welcome to Cosgrove and his minion's.

Delighted they're gone.

schmoozefest

The web summit's all a bit of a racket anyway designed to extract cash from wealthy companies

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.

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.

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

Glee and sneering. Sad.

It's a fricking conference people. They're like this all over the world. But we manage to build a successful one from the ground up, at home in Ireland, in only a few years, and when we lose it we get the comments above.

jimmynokia · 23-09-2015 01:26PM

jimgoose wrote: »

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

Comment of the day.:D:D:D

stmol32 · 23-09-2015 01:30PM

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

I guess our reading of certain comments in the thread differ then as there is clear illogical bashing of the Web Summit, it's organisers and even attendees in some posts that falls far short of the constructive criticism that others have posted in my opinion.

It was definitely over hyped, not all that great and was more of a media event than something with true purpose but it was a positive thing for Ireland and a loss none the less.

That said if the powers to be here had any ounce of creativity they would realise this actually now presents a real opportunity to replace the event with something more focused that can add real value to the start up culture in Ireland and drive real home grown growth.

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was specifically addressing the people who had attended and weren't overly impressed.

Ignatius in bloom · 23-09-2015 01:34PM

murpho999 wrote: »

I never said it wasn't a loss just pointing out that the reasons people here are giving are wrong.

Hotel prices are not as expensive as people make out and nor is transport to RDS, with DARTs and buses as well as taxis which most corporate people use anyway.

It could just be a business decision by the organisers which is their right, no need for people to come on here and use it as an opportunity to bash Dublin./Ireland.

There has been a few comments about how other events attract more people but thats not the point, in real financial terms it's a huge loss for not just Dublin but the whole country as revenue is spread across the country and of course the more traffic we have coming into Ireland the better for the coffers. I know nothing about the summit in general its neither in my expertise or interest but i could see the real financial benefit of it last year.

sierraecho · 23-09-2015 01:35PM

Not surprised at all by this news at all. I'd imagine it was always the intention really if he was serious about growing it.

Was there last year but opted out of going this year as didn't feal it was worth the cost of the ticket. Didn't take much from it apart from Über being the big success there and lots of degrudeing of Spotify.

One for the media publications I guess.

All in all still a loss for the country. If it continues to grow ever year it would have been good for the country.

arayess · 23-09-2015 01:53PM

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Yes, it's glee. A selection of quotes below.

Glee and sneering. Sad.

It's a fricking conference people. They're like this all over the world. But we manage to build a successful one from the ground up, at home in Ireland, in only a few years, and when we lose it we get the comments above.

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.

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.

you quoted me (all above) in a few of those.

Calling it a social media wankfest isn't gleeful at its' exit. Its (imo) a factual statement but a dig at social media as opposed to the event itself . although the event organisers no doubt encouraged this wankfest,.

I never once was delighted it was gone . I'm not sad it is more neutral.
I object to the "we're doomed" line that is being trotted out.

Like this ****€r
http://lovindublin.com/opinion/****-wifi-and-600-hotel-price-hikes-can-you-really-blame-paddy-cosgrave-for-pulling-out-of-dublin

Fear, caution and an austerity mindset led us to scupper one of the best opportunities we've ever been given

oh FCUK OFF with the hyperbolic wailing... :rolleyes:

Sheeps · 23-09-2015 02:05PM

Regardless of whether people think it's a smug fest or not, it was the premier event in Ireland for IT and start up networking and there have been countless success stories that have come off the back of it. Not only at the conference itself but through out the entire week of web summit in the other social events that happen as part of the whole ordeal. The way in which CI labs have more or less re-invented the conference has put them at the forefront of event organizing and the fact that it wont be hosted in Dublin is tragic.

I've been out to their offices a couple of times to see their operation and the way the generate interest and the tools they've built and utilized in order to grow and make the whole thing a success is cutting edge.

gandalf · 23-09-2015 02:12PM

To be honest this leaves a massive opening for a more relevant, focussed start up centric event. What the Web Summit has proven is that there is an appetite for a Dublin based event of this type. From attending last year and the stories of colleagues who attended the year before its obvious the event has totally detached from its roots.

The Corinthian · 23-09-2015 02:20PM

The thing is that after close to 20 years in the business you tend to see things for what they are. Web Summit is no doubt a well organized event, but it really is not of much use business-wise.

I say this as someone who's gone to networking events for many years. Some, like GSM World are incredible events where you line up your meetings beforehand and are making deals nonstop for the days you're there. Others, like Wireless Wednesday are a waste of my time. The talks are rarely more than companies pitching their solution and it's just a bunch of people in the same sector largely trying to the sell the same stuff to each other.

The thing to remember is that these things are run by people who are often not actually in the business. Their business is event management, not IT, the Internet or mobile. If they can produce something useful, then cool. If not, no worries, unsubscribe and get on with your life and let them try to earn their own crust of bread.

Web Summit does not offer much to me presently. Maybe it creates an environment for startups to meet up with VC's, but TBH, there are much better ways to do this and Ireland is not the country to go to for VC anyway.

The speeches are utterly mediocre, but then again all of these speeches are (TED just makes me want to disembowel myself after two sessions) - I've not heard anything interesting at these things in ten years. In reality, they're CV padding for consultants and 'gurus' who want to use speaking at such an event to promote themselves and charge even higher rates for doing PowerPoint presentations - I've done this myself.

The network opportunities are minimal. It's only value is for large companies who want to be seen attending and executives who know it's fück all business value but they can get a junket out of it, but would never spend such money if it was their own business - again, I've done this myself.

The loss of Web Summit will result in the loss of a small to medium sized conference event and associated value to the local economy. It will make fück all difference to companies locating to Dublin or Ireland. Bottom line.

This is not to put them down - they fill a niche. If I move jobs and go work again for one of the big opco's, in the future, I'll be sure to attend it in Dublin, Lisbon or wherever. And if they got a better deal in Lisbon - good for them. But let's not exaggerate their importance to anyone either.

suicide_circus · 23-09-2015 02:30PM

Hope they enjoy the level of service they receive in Lisbon which is nothing less than shocking. If you want to know what it feels like to be an inconvenience try paying for something in a shop in Lisbon.

donegaLroad · 23-09-2015 02:48PM

I had Joe Duffy on in the car during lunch.. some callers said that the system where foreign IT contract staff have to queue through the night for a work permit is known internationally, and that this sytem hasn't changed in over 15 years.

There is only 1 office in Dublin which deals with issuing temporary work visas, and that it deals with over 100,000 people every year.

MadsL · 23-09-2015 03:48PM

But, but...
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/discovery/2010/09/18/digital-economy-is-the-winner-at-your-country-your-call

create as many as 45,000 digital media jobs over the next 10 years.

How's that going Neil? 100 Grand spent already? Oh. Never mind eh?

Tiddlypeeps · 23-09-2015 03:55PM

MadsL wrote: »

But, but...
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/discovery/2010/09/18/digital-economy-is-the-winner-at-your-country-your-call

How's that going Neil? 100 Grand spent already? Oh. Never mind eh?

2010? You've been holding on to that one...

Is that related to the Web Summit, or are you just pointing out failed tech start ups?

Dyr · 23-09-2015 03:56PM

MadsL wrote: »

But, but...
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/discovery/2010/09/18/digital-economy-is-the-winner-at-your-country-your-call

How's that going Neil? 100 Grand spent already? Oh. Never mind eh?

Digital republic is still going?

Weird

Web Summit quits Dublin

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