TechCrunch50 starts next Monday in San Francisco. We’re on track to sell out the 1,500 available tickets sometime in the next 48 hours. We’ll have a bunch of updates for attendees here and on the TC50 blog over the next few days.
Here are two updates now: We need more student volunteers, and we’re opening up the last five demopit spots to non-TC50 applicants.
Student Volunteers: Here’s the deal – work a day for us and enjoy the other two days free. Alternatively you can register for all three days for just $150 and skip the work. Frankly, volunteering for a day is actually fun, and you get to see the inner workings of a conference (ever hear about making sausage?). Either way, it’s great to have a lot of students at the event to round out the audience. Plus, everyone is trying to hire you. If you want to volunteer, email Tanya at TechCrunch dot com.
DemoPit: The TechCrunch DemoPit is a way for the 1000+ startups that applied to TechCrunch50 but didn’t make the final cut to participate. You get tickets for half the normal price and you also get to exhibit your company for one of the three days. Just like last year, you collect poker chips from attendees and whoever gets the most gets the last spot on stage at the end of the conference. We’ve sold most of these spots, but five are left and available to startups who want to pitch something new. Email Dan at TechCrunch dot com if you want to be considered, no later than Tuesday afternoon. After that we go to the printers for signage, and we need some time to review the requests.
More news soon. See you next Monday.
This is great! I am a student too!
http://www.KidT...ru.blogspot.com
Totally wish this was held in August so students outside the area could attend. School just started back up here at RIT, and I’d love to attend/volunteer. Ever think about moving it back in the future, or does that royally screw things up?
Why limit it to students????
A good volunteer is a good volunteer REGARDLESS of age or occupation
I would like to come as student (undergrad) and help out, but can’t afford the flight ticket/accomodation.
But maybe next year.
This is great! I am a student too!
This is great! I am a student!
I would like to volunteer!
Mike, with all the diatribe that you and Calacanis spewed out about conference payola, why not pay people for work they do you cheapskate. You are making money on this thing so why not pay people, last time I checked most real companies pay for their interns/casuals etc
we pay a ton of people union wages to work there. But a lot of students really want to attend and can’t pay even the $150 student rate. Or they want to learn about how conferences work. Or whatever. Go away.
Wow…..some people really do not know how to respond on public comment boards.
Lets see….
TechCrunch is THE best tech blog out there and they are in this to make money. They are doing students a huge favor by allowing them to attend at such discounted rates ($150). I am sure that TechCrunch can afford to let students in for free but this fee of $150 filters out 90% of the students who would not be serious enough to attend the conference and makes the other 10% people apply.
This ensures that TechCrunch has fewer applications to sort through and the applications are from people who are serious about attending.
Hope that helps in clarifying things
Sudhanshu,
In Michaels defense, a lot of people have been very hard on Michael and TechCrunch for the profits they are expected to generate from the conference.
For instance: http://www.inqu...x-disingenuous/
And that is from Duncan who used to work at TechCrunch writing all the awesome reviews of everything new and exciting. The Job that Michael tells us he really wants, his ideal job. Yet when Duncan leaves he tells Duncan that one day he would like to buy his new company. So maybe Duncan is still upset about that, not being seen as an equal?
But this article was originally written by the New York Times, its a newspaper in New York. And its pretty hard on Michael and TC50 for making a bunch of money on the startup kids. So Gideon was probably just referencing his agitation and inability to eloquently mutter disapproval.
http://www.nyti...amp;oref=slogin
Sudhanshu if you really want to protect Michael and TC50, you most likely would do a much greater service going after the New York TImes and Duncan Riley for stirring the pot. I agreed TC50 is better for the world then Demo and Michael could afford to fly Michael Jung in from where ever and still make a profit from the conference.
To quote Michael, “Go away.” He can handle his own battles.
Hello Mike,
I am sure you remember me. I am the guy who knocked on your door on May 30th and told you about gloofi.com. I also told you that I never give up and after our 3000 Miles move from Florida to Sunnyvale including Hurricane interruption and car breakdown we are finaly here;-)
I would be happy to help as a volunteer so I am able to meet people and get info on how to bring my idea forward (And work of course). Since I work 2 projects to pay bills, I am not able to spent money on getting a Demo Pit but when I see what other companies in the search business are doing (Cuil, Wikia Search for example) I am sure I do not have to be shy with what I did so far, alone with no investment.
So, make an exception and allow me to be a “student” to volunteer at this event;-)
Best,
Martin
I feel your pain.
hey matk,
I’m willing to throw some time your way for the even. And no, I’m far from being a student!! I’m actually a manager (older, much older) but I live in the East Bay Area, and can lend some time to the event!
You have my email, so let me know if you need/want help from someone who’s been in the game for 20+ years!
peace
Why not offer one or two of those demo pit spots for free to TC50 companies that couldn’t afford to pay the fee? Presumably you already know the companies b/c you offered the opportunity in the first place. At least none of the other companies in TC50 would feel someone got in without going through the proper channels.
I would have jumped on the opportunity myself in a heartbeat, but with travel etc, there was no way for me to afford it. The goodwill would be worth the price you forego. I know I’d be drinking the TC koolaid if I could get a break like that.
I would really like to volunteer some time/attend the conference. However, I graduated with my BA in May, and thus am not a student at the moment. Does this completely invalidate me from being a volunteer, or can I still volunteer? Please let me know what you think.
Yes, we will also accept non-students as volunteers. We are just giving priority access to students first as a learning opportunity. Please contact tanya AT techcrunch DOT com if you’re interested in being a volunteer. Thanks!
Hi Heather,
I sent an email to tanya AT techcrunch DOT com yesterday at 10 am saying I was interested in being a volunteer.
Still no news.
Can you sign me up!?!
Hello Heather,
I emailed Tanya a couple days ago, and have still received no reply. While I understand that everyone at TechCrunch must be overloaded with things to do in the run-up to the conference, I really do need a response soon. My plan is to fly out for the conference if I can get in as a volunteer, but to do that I need to make travel reservations and arrange accommodations. Do you have any advice for moving forward with this? The conference looks like a great opportunity, and I would hate to unnecessarily miss out on it. Thanks!
I’m a student at the university of florida… Let me volunteer. Please!!
I’m a Stanford Junior and I’m right in the area … would love to volunteer.
I would love to volunteer.
Already sent tanya an email.
Waiting to hear back.
You mention opening up the last five demopit spots to non-TC50 applicants…how is a request sent to be one of the five?
Michael,
I love your blog, but have to say, as recovered Indie Film producer, now aspiring social media guy, who just graduated from USC where all the under-grads are so plugging in to the Matrix (I would sit in the quad and count how many sin su iPhone or cell and the # was always around 10%), to read your embrace of Hollywood and the hip-new-media crowd is troubling and then to “hit” up volunteers.
The Free Culture movement will be having a conference at Berkeley in October and it would be great if you could attend.
The digital commons movement is too important to buy into the Hollywood two-step and hype machine.
Here’s an example of the two-step: http://uscpubd5...-yourspace.html
has anyone heard back about volunteering?
I am the founder of QuestBid. I will be in the DemoPit to showcase my application. I need a volunteer to help me out. So If you like my idea and you are sharp, contact me and you will learn a lot from this event.
Kevin
BTW, I am local in South bay, so I will provide transportation from South bay to the city, meals plus whatever TC offers here.
Hey I’m interested…
send me an email : ssyed “AT” stanford.edu
They haven’t gotten back to me either. I’m pissed that they would get our hopes up like this.
Don’t ask for volunteers if you aren’t going to even respond to their emails!
Dear Friends,
We can arrange Nepalese students, please let us know the probablities
Regards,
Adhikari
adhikari@wlink.com.np
foreign.employment@gmail.com