Tips for Hosting My First Bitcoin Meetup? \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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Tips for Hosting My First Bitcoin Meetup?

543 sats \ 16 comments \ @LivingOnBitcoin 13h bitcoin

Hey everyone!

I’m finally taking the plunge and hosting my first (unofficial) Bitcoin meetup here in downtown State College, PA. I’m keeping it super casual—just hanging out at Doggie’s Pub in their beer garden on Sunday, July 27th, from 1-3 PM.

I’m calling it the “unofficial” meetup because I’ve never hosted anything like this before. My goal is to bring Bitcoiners and like-minded folks together, maybe share some stories about living on Bitcoin, and just vibe over a few beers and pizza slices.

It’s pay-your-own-tab (sadly, Doggie’s doesn’t accept BTC… yet!), but I’m totally open to swapping Sats for drinks if anyone wants to try some peer-to-peer payments.

I’d love some advice from folks who’ve done this before:

How do you break the ice at a Bitcoin meetup?
Any tips for encouraging conversation among strangers?
What’s the best way to balance casual fun with meaningful Bitcoin discussion?
Should I prepare any talking points or just let things flow?
Any major “don’ts” I should watch out for?

If you’ve hosted or attended Bitcoin meetups, I’d love your wisdom. Thanks in advance—and if you’re anywhere near State College, PA, feel free to swing by!

Nittany out!

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235 sats \ 1 reply \ @Scoresby 12h

Wow! So cool that you are doing this! Meetups have been so huge for how I learned about Bitcoin. I'm sure you are gonna make an outsize impact with the efforts you put into this!

Give-get is a good ice breaker that doesn't waste time: have each person introduce themselves and tell the group what they can give to the community and what they are looking to get from the community. It's better than just a casual ice breaker.
Sometimes it's easy to get "stuck" talking to one person. If the meetup organizer finds a way to force people move around and talk to new people it can be really great.
talking about bitcoin is fun!
If it's the first time the group is getting together, it might be a good idea to have some topic or subject that you are going to talk about. I really like how bitdevs meetups do a list of links to interesting bitcoin things and talk about as many of them as people seem interested in. If you expect a bigger turnout, presentations can be good.
My personal gripe is when meetup organizers are taking pictures. Even if you ask for permission, it's hard to make sure people aren't in the background. I always appreciate meetups that have a no picture policy.

102 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 11h

Wow, thank you so much for all that. I really appreciate and needed that info! I’m just hoping one or two other people show up, that would mean so much to me.

I’m for sure going to use that “give and take” ice breaker activity. That’s perfect! I always am good at chatting with people, I find it so easy and fun. I’ll make sure to make it a point to talk to each person who shows up as best as I can. Good point.

Talking about Bitcoin is so much fun and I look forward to our first meetup. I have some ideas for discussions, but I rather hear why people wanted to come in the first place and go from there.

Your last point is what I’m internally going back and forth with. I am a content creator by default, I’ll just take a step back and enjoy the moment without the camera. My thought was do an intro before, record one or two interviews (if that person is okay with it), maybe a p2p lightning transaction (record just our phones, if I can and am allowed to), and then a outro/recap after the fact.

Thanks again for the thoughtful reply. Wish me luck!

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @thecommoner 9h

Hey there - I run a Bitcoin Meet-up in Madison, WI :)

and much like LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow (back in the 80's or 90's)....you don't have to take my word for it! You can verify it by looking up Bitcoin Meet-up Madison, WI.

Now to answer your questions.... 1 - Say Hi....or Howdy, Hey, Hello, What up....etc... 2 - Generally speaking I think your problem may be keeping people quiet vs. getting them talking....Bitcoiner's Have lots to say :) 3 - This kind of just comes naturally... 4 - I have been helping to keep this meet-up running for about 3 years now and I rarely have talking points (as I like to keep things flowing naturally about what other people want to talk about)(though now the others in the group have decided they want more of an agenda or talking points....this is totally not needed though 5 - as for don'ts.... Don't Shit-coin!!!

Remember this is simply my recollection of how the meet-ups we have been organizing have been going...We are not trying to drive numbers...We are not getting a kick-back from anyone - We don't ask for anyone to pay for anything we decide to provide to others - We ensure to ask everyone to provide input to the others and we keep it Bitcoin - Not to say peeps don't bring up altcoins, we just don't focus on them!

We talk about everything happening in the Bitcoin ecosystem and stay humble and stack sats!

If you are trying to drive attendance you will likely need a different model -

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 9h

I appreciate all that you’re doing and for sharing your thoughts. I’m more in the camp of see where it goes, step in where I need to, and overall see how it goes. I’m very good with people, I practically can talk to a wall. It comes as second nature to me. Cheers!

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @_stacktoshi 10h

Just be you with everybody. When others show up, just go around and introduce them to everyone you just met to make them feel welcome and to help engrain their names into your noggin (sucks to be the last one!). Then just say a little about yourself and then ask what brought them to the meetup.
I've never had any problems getting newcomers to get engaged in the convo. Most of us work regular jobs and have friends and family who never want to talk about bitcoin, so we're all just sponges for other perspectives and experiences. Sometimes it's hard to get people to talk about one specific thing though. Don't have any advice there except sending out an agenda before hand, but I'd just keep it very short.
We struggle with this. Our plan is to start having separate technical meetups because when we all get together after work, people just want to have fun eating and drinking. But we haven't gotten very far there yet.
Let things flow at first. Probably important to gauge the experience levels of everyone there so you can select interesting topics in subsequent meetings.
Keep background questions to a minimum to avoid giving off a scammer or fed vibe. Don't wear anything with a bitcoin logo; bitcoin adjacent stuff is going to help ppl find you though.

Regarding the tab and paying in bitcoin, you or some other volunteer should offer to pay the whole tab in fiat (use something like fold or gemini card to get sats back) and use something like this app my friend made. You can scan the tab with your camera and then split the items for each attendee who wants to repay you in sats. It handles the tip as well. Very slick when the OCR works (~90%). Requires an LN address though. They get experience paying on LN and privacy from the fiat panopticon, you get their sats, and the network gets stronger.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 10h

I am really good at being myself and I love meeting new people whenever I get the chance. I definitely like the agenda idea and I will most likely share a short idea of what I hope for regarding to the meetup. I really hope we have a wide range of experience levels at the meetup, I myself fall somewhere in the middle. I am glad you mentioned number #5, I have a Bitcoin hat that I was planning on wearing. Any reason why I shouldn't wear it?

Lastly, thank you so much for the reply. That is chalk full of great tips and tricks. I especially love the app your friend made. I definitely will consider utilizing it when I decide to settle the tab. Cheers!

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @denlillaapan 9h

not much experience in that department... just do it, I guess, and learn from it. Make it chill and welcoming, not nerdy and overtechnical

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 9h

Thats my plan, just chilling and meeting other likeminded individuals.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bitcoiner1 11h

Do your homework and prepare a basic presentation, then answer questions. Share useful resources for learning more about BTC.

The price is not relevant!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 11h

I have done my prep work, however I’m not presenting anything besides an ice breaker, meet and greet focused on getting to know the local community of Bitcoiners, how I live on Bitcoin, Q&A, and then whatever else comes up during the meetup. It’s really informal and that’s OKAY!

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @unschooled 9h

ive hosted a few meet ups, also new to it, but I can share what I gained.

definitely be prepared to explain the difference between bitcoin and crypto.
dont overprepare
keep it casual, as others already mentioned
change up the location, from time to time
if people enjoyed it, ask them to give back by bringing a friend to the next one.
be consistent

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 9h

Appreciate the advice. You kept it short and sweet, love it!

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @carter 9h

Are you going to have a strict "no altcoin" policy?

35 sats \ 2 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 9h

I really want this meetup to be focused on Bitcoin-only. I hope you can understand.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @carter 9h

I have found the "bitcoin only" to be much higher quality... people will shill FARTcoin and such if not. My favorite one they basically shun people if they start talking about other chains and I think that's a good culture

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @LivingOnBitcoin OP 9h

I definitely understand how focusing on one topic can be provide higher quality. If someone comes, mentioned BCH, XRP, and or meme coins, I’ll gentle move the conversation back to Bitcoin. If it gets juicy or rough, I’ll grab security. I know the owners, I used to work there in college.