The future of Polkadot events

[Birdo]

With this forum post, I want to not only document my feedback and suggestions for Decoded but also open the conversation for the future of events in the Polkadot ecosystem (and beyond).

Firstly my feedback from Decoded, overall I believe the event was very professional and well run. The interior was skillfully put together and had many spaces for discussion, impromptu events, and meetings. The main stage lighting, screens, and effects were awesome. The ChaosDAO bar was excellent and a natural meeting spot for many people. The tables and meeting area off to the side were also well-used throughout both days.

One of the stages that had high traffic for the majority of the day was the pitch stage, I believe this was a smart introduction this year. The videography and streaming worked almost flawlessly, many of my friends watched the live stream which I heard was mostly performant (when is live streaming perfect?!). The speakers were sufficiently organised (I saw the internal chats as I was also a speaker), and the events team was in constant communication. All the staff that I met were friendly and inviting. I want to thank the Decentered Studios team for their hard work and for pulling off a great community event, there were many new people that I met from inside and outside the ecosystem.

I wanted to share some of my thoughts about how we could improve events in general moving forward:

• Conceptually I believe we should be aiming more towards “grassroots” vs “corporate”. After attending Decoded for the last three years, I believe we are trending in the corpo direction. Evan has already shared his views about a different direction that events could take in our space which I would recommend reading. x.com
• MUCH smaller venues. It is better to sell out and cram in people at overcapacity than to have big empty rooms. A venue 1/4 of the size would have been max bullish for the audience we had at Decoded. Many of the talks at EthCC, Decoded and side events were poorly attended. See: x.com
• Bringing other ecosystems together. We learn more by sharing knowledge with others and by having our views and opinions challenged. While not always possible, it would be nice to see less insular events.
• Less stages, less talks. While talks are important, especially for recorded content for socials / youtube, etc, I believe the majority of people are attending crypto conferences for networking and meeting people face to face.
• Speakers should be more strongly curated. IMO a centralised approach here is fine, so long as there is some community involvement and engagement with known ecosystem agents. For example, ensuring that we have key speakers from the biggest entities in the ecosystem lined up, before opening up registration for additional speakers.
• Similar to what Evan wrote above, I would like to see some more creativity brought to events. This is from all aspects including the layout, food, merch etc. I would love to see more exciting merch than “logo” on t-shirt. As a major fan of the Talisman merch, let’s work with designers to make some interesting designs! More creativity in the event space could be interesting to explore. While I didn’t attend (only saw photos and video), I loved the bubble huts for the talks at Sub0 in 2023 (can’t find a picture).
• Free food and drinks - If the treasury is paying AND individuals are purchasing a ticket, food and drink should be free, and ideally, this should be in the venue. I understand this is a tricky balancing act and catering at events is more expensive than restaurant pricing.
• Opening / Closing parties should be an extension of the conference, with a focus on further networking, rather than having to travel 20+ minutes in an Uber to a loud club where you have to yell to be heard. Music as a feature, but not the main act.
• Transparency on budgets and expenses. I believe similar to many (all?) treasury proposals, we should have greater transparency on spending and how funds are being budgeted. Yes, people need to make money and charge for their time, I have no issue with people making a profit. Event organisers should post a recap after the event, detailing spending and lessons learned for future events. While this is old, this is a good example write up, EthCC : Balancing the Budget of a Community Conference | by Jerome de Tychey | EthCC | Medium

Some other ideas I’ve seen in the last few days are things like having Decoded and Sub0 at the same time back to back. Adding hackathons / hacker-houses to events for teams to come together and hack out problems in the ecosystem. I would like to also see other event companies pitching to run events, competition breeds creativity.

What would you like to see for future events? I’d like to invite others to also post their thoughts and constructive views.

[hashwarlock]

I agree here. I am also interested in pushing for hacker house/hackathon combined with the event venue. It is easy to create an atmosphere that embraces new ideas, unique products, and exposure to the products available today from various parachains/system chains/SDKs.

There is a lot of value in what has been built here from a tech perspective, and this gets lost in the noise of governance and presentations that overlap each other. There’s a lot of potential here, and I am happy to provide my observations over the years to help push these types of initiatives forward.

We have the technology here today. Why not embrace it and put funding towards getting builders knowledgable about whats possible from SDKs to System Chains to Parachains to Cores? If we continue to alienate the teams that have provided exponential value to Polkadot then it will be hard to convince future teams to build on Polkadot.

[ThePhunky1]

Really well said, Birdo. Those last three points really hit home for me, especially after attending both Consensus and Decoded where the closing parties had me scratching my head a bit.

[madeline_dstudio]

Hey Birdo,

Thank you for your constructive feedback and for opening up this discussion. We are eager to hear from the community so we can improve our events in the future.

We are grateful to hear that you found Polkadot Decoded to be professional and well-run. Your positive comments are much appreciated.

We have taken note of your suggestions and are committed to implementing changes to enhance our events. Here are some specific points addressing your feedback:

1. Grassroots Vibe: We can definitely shift the vibe of our events to be more grassroots rather than corporate. We agree that a more intimate, community-focused atmosphere can foster better interactions and engagement.
2. Smaller Venues: We have heard the feedback regarding the venue size. For future events, we will prioritize smaller venues to create a more dynamic and energetic environment. This approach will also help lower production costs, which can benefit our budget.
3. Attracting Other Ecosystems: We are very open to further discussion and feedback on how to attract participants from other ecosystems. As a team of four, we specialize in event execution rather than marketing. We welcome any support and ideas from the community in this area. We see Decentered Studio more as an events execution team, and we would love to work more collaboratively with the community on setting metrics, goals, and strategies for our events.
4. Content and Speakers: We appreciate your feedback on the event content. If the majority of the community agrees, we are open to scaling back on the number of speakers and talks. Additionally, we are open to curating a more focused speaker list. It is important to clarify that Decentered Studio does not choose the agenda or speakers. We work with a community advisory board that helps curate the agenda after the call for speakers process. Moving forward, we are open to having the advisory board first curate key speakers and then open a call for additional speakers if necessary. We believe the advisory board is crucial as it represents various teams and projects within the community and has extensive knowledge of the ecosystem.
5. Free Food and Drinks: We will revisit the idea of providing free food and drinks with a purchased ticket. We understand the importance of making the event experience as enjoyable as possible for attendees.
6. Budget Transparency: As mentioned in our pre-funding proposal for Polkadot Decoded, we are already planning an external review of the budget. Paradox and Mellow Yellow have both agreed to conduct independent reviews. We are currently preparing our post-event report and the second tranche for Polkadot Decoded 2024, which will include our success metrics.

[Birdo]

Thanks for the reply!
Just to note, these are my ideas and thoughts only - it might not be representative of the DAO.
I would suggest some of these items we propose via opengov and vote on the ideas as a community

[ninabreznik]

These are very good points.

I personally really like the WebZero’s approach with a more un-conference style. It maybe feels like you can’t do that on scale but take a look at the Chaos Computer Club Congress, organized in Hamburg’s congress center which brings together over 5000 people each year. They basically provide this massive venue, but inside different communities create their own parallel sub-venues/villages. It is a top down approach combined with a grassroots/bottom up approach and it makes you really feel like it is made for you with love, because each community really puts in all the care and creativity. Not to mention, that each of the ‘villages’ have their own kitchen with volunteers preparing food, so attendees can donate for the food or help prepare it and get it free. This is really a bit more of an anarchist style, but we could definitely copy some good ideas from these grassroots community gatherings and make our events more fun, more creative and more accessible.

If we go this route, we would probably need to rethink the financing. In this model, the core organizer would split a share with all the sub-organizers, but we would get a more decentralized and genuine approach imho.

[erin]

I like this approach @ninabreznik (and Evan’s as Birdo mentioned in his post), but I think a greater issue is determining the audience of these events. A grassroots, volunteer-led approach really works extremely well for a sort of “ingroup” audience (where many participants already know each other and are looking to mostly meet up and talk a bit of shop, which I believe forms a large part of current ecosystem events) but doesn’t work as well for newcomers or people who may be looking to start business ventures, as these small fragmented events may appear more disorganized/“unprofessional” than presenting a common face, and message, to a wider attendee group. I think there is place for both, and I definitely prefer the grassroots kind; however, in our industry, which is tangent to business-types, there needs to be something business-friendly and clean cut as well. Not my vibe personally, but I think we can (and should) do both - but more importantly, execute with clear intent.

[joepetrowski]

@Birdo

Less stages, less talks. While talks are important, especially for recorded content for socials / youtube, etc, I believe the majority of people are attending crypto conferences for networking and meeting people face to face.

I would go even further on this. The talks are more-or-less only important for recorded content, so why not just make that the format?

Live Talks: One main stage, maybe 2 hours max of presentations for the entire conference (e.g. four 30-minute talks). These should be for major announcements, things people really want to see live.

Presentations: But people want to share what they’re working on, it’s valid. Online is just a much better forum though. I did not go to a single talk at Decoded except for the opening (which we were kind of cat herded into). There’s no way I’m using one of my few times per year to meet people in person by watching talks that I can watch later on YouTube. I love what Jay does with Space Monkeys and I watch every episode. If there were a presentation-style channel that had one or two 45-60 minute presentations from the ecosystem per week, I’d also be watching every one of those.

[xcavate]

A very well written and balanced view I feel Birdo. I have only attended three Decoded events the first remote / virtually, the second in person at Copenhagen and this last one. These are my points.

1. For me it lacked a common thread and a direction of travel for Polkadot… if JAM is the future then why aren’t we setting out events that bring together the community and the ideas to make this a reality… less web3 and more cohesion and problem solving & discussion on what JAM is and why it will be better than what is available now… this should encourage more crossover from web2 community. I like panel discussions and then a networking element after to allow the audience and panel to carry on in an inclusive manner.
2. I agree totally about the opening & closing parties… but I just thought it was my age!
3. What do we believe in and how can we attract others that believe the same… focus less on the “what” and more on the “why”… less trust more truth drew me towards Polkadot versus other ecosystem’s I would like to feel that in future events.

Hope my comments were useful - they were meant as a critical friend of Polkadot not a critic.

Cheers

Richard

[Muharem]

One additional point I’d like to voice is the value of project booths at conferences.

These booths are the only solution that allows me (and hopefully others) to approach team representatives, ask straight for a brief overview, and get answers to specific questions. This includes clarifying what they mean when saying something, asking for use case examples, discussing business metrics, and understanding technical decisions. I find this interaction very helpful, especially since reading project websites often gives me little insight into their work.

It would be hard to ask so many questions to representatives from 15 teams in two days without this format, where the teams expect and are prepared for such direct conversations.

[ninabreznik]

Yes, I agree completely. We need to make sure all of our audiences are served. How to do this best is still a question, maybe what we have with WebZero and other side events is already good, but maybe we can further improve and add some of bottom up features also to the main venue.

I haven’t spent too much time thinking about all this, my comment wasmerely based on my personal experience as a developer type of audience

[MetalHorse]

Hey Madeline, if you see Decentered Studio more as an “events execution team,” then why exactly does the community need DS? We could easily have local agencies to handle the same execution tasks for better rates and tap into regional expertise. Frankly, having you and Joern running the shows seems like an overpaid and subpar choice.

[tomi]

Very good points @Birdo @joepetrowski and @ninabreznik - would be cool to have Day 1 - Announcements & Space Monkeys Live, Day 2 - Open Space / Unconference, Day 3 - Follow-up (how will we work together afterwards).

My own experience was great because I focused on a) Belgian beer, b) hanging out with people I chose to hang out with, and c) working on things that I feel are important. But I got no value from the loud parties. I skipped the opening party and attended the closing party for 30 minutes. Not my kinda scene. Whose scene is it?

As a member of the team who helped to sponsor active community members to the event, I must say our biggest pain point was the tickets. One had to register for the free virtual ticket and then it got converted to a General Admission ticket (that we had paid for) but not without hiccups. Why are we using subpar Web2 tools in organizing a Web3 conference? Why not an NFT?

Finally, and most importantly, if the community wants to take over everything else except the production of recorded talks, can we do it @madeline_dstudio? If so, we need to start planning now so that we can choose the place and get the funding in good time. Let’s sponsor a whole lot more people to attend or at least make sure the tickets are reimbursed for everyone. Then, let’s make sure people have time to get their visas.

There has been a push NOT to have Decoded in Europe again next year. Someone said Istanbul is already decided. If so, at least Decoded 2026 should be on African continent. That’s where the need is for decentralized peer-to-peer solutions, that’s where the natural growth is (from 1 billion to 3 billion people) and that’s the continent that dictates global direction: leapfrog to sustainable future or repeat the same mistakes we’ve done before in the so-called “west”.

[joepetrowski]

There is no need for personal attacks. The thread is about how we can create better events, and if Madeline and Jörn can execute on them, that’s fine. People are free to make competing proposals and convince the community that they can pull off something better, but Madeline and Jörn are equally free to participate in that competition and show that they’ve responded to feedback.

[MetalHorse]

I don’t see my comment as a personal attack. It’s a legitimate inquiry based on practical experience regarding the quality of their work. It’s fair for the community to seek evidence of Madeline and Jörn’s capabilities. Establishing clear expectations and demonstrating their ability to meet them is crucial for us to have confidence in entrusting them with future events. Given the current scrutiny on event spending, understanding the value they bring is essential. Therefore, my question remains: ‘Why exactly does the community need DS when they seem like an overpaid and subpar choice?’

[jeo.ric]

Hey everyone,

While we are currently focusing on finalizing the post event summary for Decoded 2024 including a full and transparent spend report, we also believe that the major concern is around setting strategic directions for Polkadot’s flagship events.

The missing link is a body (perhaps a committee) that can align on major directions instead of us proposing a ready concept based in conversations or on-chain votes (remember that Brussels has been voted for on Townhall). In the past we already worked with a content curation committee made of various community members whom volunteered to be a part of the Advisory Board to select speaker proposals and build the agenda. We think that worked quite well.

We believe it would be a good timing to reevaluate/revisit the decision process for more than just the programming. There are so many valid ideas right now to bring Polkadot flagship events further and our team of just 4 individuals would be happy to focus more on the pure production side, so executing up on strategic directions from the community. As always in our ecosystem it won’t be easy to align on a body that can set those types of directions - but there are good examples in other Polkadot marketing initiatives.

So in a nutshell it could look like this:

• Flagship Event body/committee
  -defines future dates
  -future locations
  -curates content
  -defines ticketing approach
  -decides over partnerships with other ecosystems

• Production team can then execute and looks after
  -technical production
  -catering
  -furniture rentals
  -branding (online and offline)
  -polkadot events app
  -polkadot event platform
  -marketing / Media/PR (jointly with Distractive)
  -ticketing/registration roll out
  -attendee comms
  -onsite staff hiring
  -onsite execution

[natalie]

This is a super interesting discussion, thanks for opening it @Birdo !

Before jumping to tactics, I’d urge the community to think about the purpose of these events, building on what @erin said:

@erin

a greater issue is determining the audience of these events

Conferences like Decoded are the flagship events of protocols and are mid- to late-funnel. The biggest chunk of the guests are people contributing to the ecosystem, showcasing what they work on. The goal is for people to

a) find out what key areas of development are,
b) learn about success cases,
c) find out who’s involved in either of them,
d) connect a face to the projects,
e) approach them after the talks,
f) have video snippets to be used for marketing material.

Also, it leads projects to bring partners or prospects who are not already in the ecosystem.

If we think about these goals, we can start tackling tactics.

• The point about smaller venue, more networking, smaller stages + ushering people into front seats is a great one for many of the points.
• Only networking is also not a great solution. If you have been in the ecosystem for a long time, you might already have connections, but it’s hard to form new ones if there are no talks. They are a way to present yourself, your interest, and a starting point for new connections.
• Online won’t work as well because of f) as well as the proximity of speakers and talks. People join talks because they are already closeby, and they approach people because they have just listened to a talk.
• Too grassroots is also just for a specific audience. A more professional, neutral vibe has no downsides
• More creativity = yes - isn’t the swag what we want people to wear?
• Food and drink = yes.

For more early-funnel activities, where we want to generate brand awareness, we have to go to third-party conferences like ethCC with a talk or a booth, and if we combine Decoded with it, make the conference, side events, or parties appealing to outsiders.

Again, thinking about the purpose: If we say music & entertainment is one of our key 4 industries, we are already in Brussels, then let’s organise a party where we invite KOLs from that industry, with great DJs and showcases of our work in entertainment. Then, unfortunately, networking for the pure Decoded crowd isn’t the main purpose, but then it should be free to everyone.

I hope you see what I mean, let’s think about purpose first and then agree on tactics

---

On another note, one thing that is a hygiene factor for the execution team: Test and try the user journey for the material we hand out. A few things from the top of my head:

• The QR code for Wifi didn’t work
• The QR code that said “get a POAP for attending this event” just led me to a newsletter
• The events app… There are so many improvements (like being able to add events to GCal, seeing an overall view of all talks instead of split by stages, not show me the “get a ticket” popup every time I open the app where I’m already logged in with a ticket), but its main purpose was to see and create your own agenda, and no one could access the “my agenda” part.
• etc. - I think if we used the things that we show to guests first, the experience would have been so much less bumpy

---

Overall though, it was a super professional event. I attended a few others and have to say the look and feel was amongst the top ones.

[Matjaz]

To sum all my thoughts after reading your and @XCAstronaut post

How about we go the other way around like in tradional businesses.

Once we, the biggest DAO, have reached a consensus about the final location, we specify the needs and wishes for an event and issue an RFP (request for proposal)

The events bounty reviews all the different proposal based on offering and price and the final winner gets awarded the event.

Traditionally, we have to define weighted criteria on what has more points over the other such as variety of food offering over price, location of venue vs entertainment.

Some food for thought