BronyCon 2013: It's a wrap!

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,529]

left to right: NASCARFAN160, Artemis, Ice Storm, ~Chaotic Discord~, Apple Bloom (Elvis), Marco23p, Feld0, ~Shadow Wolf~ (Vinyl Blade)

 

Here I am, back in my bedroom, typing up a forum post after 14 hours of back-to-back meetings, working on a bunch of new servers, and trying to remember what this mysterious pastime called "gaming" was while making preparations to head off to university for the first time...

 

...in other words, it was just another day/night in Feld0's summer vacation.

 

It's taking its sweet time to sink in, but BronyCon 2013 has come to a close. Those precious few days, during which the brony community gathered in Baltimore for the largest FiM convention ever, were an amazing opportunity to connect Poniverse to the rest of the pony world - and for many of our own community members in attendance, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make numerous unforgettable memories. Many of us are quite accustomed to talking to each other online, but let me make this clear: nothing compares to the joy of meeting up face-to-face at a fountain to watch me hunt for outdoor power outlets, while counting down the hours to a presentation that will be broadcast and recorded for the world to see.

 

Six months of work preparing for BronyCon alone, built on nearly two years of service to the MLP Forums community... in some ways, our presence at BronyCon was the culmination of our community's and staff's contributions through all this time. But, with the dawn of Poniverse already upon us, it is only the beginning of something even greater.

 

 

Anyway... eloquent speech mode off for now. You'll get plenty more of those as all the Poniverse projects come online one-by-one. We, as Poniverse, announced quite a few things at BronyCon, and I'd like to take this opportunity to present a summarized recap of all the important sitely stuff that happened!

 

Onwards!

 

---

 

The Last Stand of Harmony Revealed to the World

 

During the Poniverse panel, we screened the first trailer for The Last Stand of Harmony, the brony fandom's first full-length feature film. As the official publisher and distributor of the project, Poniverse is working with Writers in Harmony, the wonderful team behind it, to recruit staff, manage resources, and eventually publish and distribute the finished movie.

 

Development on The Last Stand of Harmony began partway through FiM's first season, and production started in early 2013. You'll be hearing more about this project in the future as it comes together!

 

Pony.fm Beta 2 Revealed, with Release Date

 

Even with just a couple of months into beta, Pony.fm, the pony music hosting site, has already attracted an incredible amount of feedback from supportive users eager to shape the experience and features of what's quickly shaping up to be a really slick site. We revealed Pony.fm Beta 2, laid out its improvements over Beta 1 (the current version of the site), and announced our partnership with Celestia Radio. A live demo of Beta 2 was available at the Poniverse booth, guided by the most enthusiastic Nelson I've ever seen. He was on friggin' fire...

 

Pony.fm Beta 2 will be launched to the public in just a couple of weeks, on August 31! More details on what's new will be posted on the Pony.fm blog in the near future, and now's a great time to leave your wishes for the future of the site in the Pony.fm forum!

 

Equestrian Empire Roleplay opens its doors to canon characters

 

Ice Storm's ambitious new roleplay project, the Equestrian Empire, received a spotlight in the Poniverse panel, and made for a charismatic business card frenzy in BronyCon's LARP room and vendor hall. Applications for canon cast characters officially opened up, and many enthusiasts came to the panel and stopped by at our booth to get a taste of what this project will offer.

 

An awesome side note: the research that Writers in Harmony have made into Equestria's lore for their film has come in pretty handy for the Equestrian Empire as well. Cross-pollination like this is one of the most rewarding parts of working with Poniverse, and there will be lots more of it in the future!

 

Poniverse.net Detailed and Explained

 

Speaking of all this stuff going on with a Poniverse logo on it, what exactly is Poniverse.net itself? We sought to answer this question during our panel, and you're already experiencing its beginnings with unified logins across the network and centralized account management.

 

The full details could make for a few posts all their own, but at its core, Poniverse.net will serve as a hub to the Poniverse projects - or as I called it during the panel, your global pony dashboard. Perhaps more excitingly is the upcoming PoniBar: an on-site bar that will unify key functionality across all of our sites, like private messaging, status updates, notifications, and more. Using the PoniBar, you'll be able to keep up with people and content around the network no matter which part of it you happen to be exploring.

 

Equestria.tv Progress Report

 

Equestria.tv is currently in the process of being reimagined to turn from a weekly forum event into a vibrant video-sharing community all its own. With a variety of content sources to choose from, including YouTube, Dailymotion, Livestream, and Justin.tv, and more to be added in the future, it's well on its way to becoming a place where anyone can invite their friends and chill out with some great company while enjoying their favourite pony videos.

 

MLP Forums gets a spotlight on the world stage

 

Unlike most of our projects, which are currently in various stages of development, MLP Forums has already been up and running full force for quite a while. We spotlit its beginnings during our panel and highlighted the role it plays in supporting the newer Poniverse projects, as well as our friends at BronyCAN. We have a number of ideas we wish to bring to MLP Forums in the future to take the fan forum experience to the next level, but it's too early to announce any specific details on that just yet.

 

Poniverse donates its banner to BronyCAN's charity auction

 

We're donating the beautiful banner that hung at the Poniverse booth over the weekend to BronyCAN's charity auction. On Sunday, the third and final day of BronyCon, we grabbed a few Sharpies and toured it around the convention centre collecting signatures from everyone we could gather. Among them, you'll find everyone from the GCT regulars, to your beloved forum staff, to Odyssey and The Living Tombstone. Who knows how many more sigs it'll get before the gavel comes down!

 

Here, have a photo of the banner in its current state:

 

left to right: Silver Eagle (Ponyville Live!), Vexx3, Alex_Night, Apple Bloom (Elvis), Artemis, Feld0, NASCARFAN160, Ice Storm, ~Chaotic Discord~, ~Shadow Wolf~ (Vinyl Blade), NewCalamity

 

Poniverse gets Larsonbomb'd

 

You all saw the banner that went up Saturday night. On our way to BronyPalooza after the donors' dinner, we posed for a group photo when...

 

...suddenly, M.A. Larson!

left to right: Jonke, Zoop, Chigens, Luminescence, Lurpy (Lady Rarity Pony), ~Lugia~, NASCARFAN160, WingMcCallister, ILetThePoniesIn, Feld0, Marco23p, Morager, Artemis, ~Chaotic Discord~, M.A. FRIGGIN' LARSON!!, NewCalamity, Nelson LaQuet, Thereisnospoon303, Ice Storm, Vexx3, Apple Bloom (Elvis)

 

 

Booth registrants get a little gift!

 

left to right: Apple Bloom (Elvis), Nelson LaQuet, Marco23p, Feld0, Obsidian Winter

 

Everyone who stopped by at the Poniverse booth and registered an account (or already had one and just signed in) had their account flagged to signify that they met us at BronyCon 2013. Once Poniverse network profiles launch, everyone whose account has this flag will get a special badge - as part of the much-awaited achievement system - in memory of this occasion.

 

I'd like to take this moment to give a brohoof and kudos of cosmic proportions to Obsidian Winter from the BronyCon team (pictured), who invited us to the convention in the first place and arranged for our entire presence there. She's kind of the reason we went to BronyCon at all, and we look forward to working together in the future ahead!

 

And one more thing... for everyone who visited our booth, I apologize if you encountered any technical difficulties with the registration process or the Pony.fm demo. Unlike most vendors who have physical wares to display and demo, all of our "wares" were online - and thus, we were largely dependent on the obscenely expensive WiFi supplied by the convention centre. Due to a bureaucratic mess completely outside our control, we did not receive the dedicated bandwidth we paid for, leaving us with a flaky, temperamental line to the 'net at the best of times.

 

 

Fundraiser Conclusion

 

The fundraiser we ran to cover travel and other expenses played a huge role in making Poniverse's presence at BronyCon possible. The final amount raised, before processing fees, was $2150.91 CAD. The proceeds from the fundraiser were instrumental in covering several flights, hundreds of business cards, our power and WiFi bills from BronyCon, various printouts like the banner, and all kinds of other supplies. Even though the final costs ran over the estimated $2000 budget, the money that you, as a community, pooled together was able to cover most of the expenses that came up. Without your support, something Poniverse-related may still have happened at BronyCon, but we likely wouldn't have been in the position to keep firing on all cylinders for those three days and you wouldn't have had any fuel for Feld0 memes...

 

The Poniverse Panel

 

Titled Poniverse: Building a Supercommunity, our panel on Saturday was one of our many highlights from Bronycon. We were lucky enough to get one of the larger halls, which Everfree Network was stationed in to livestream and record from. The official recording from them is on its way, but we have an unofficial one already thanks to Lavoaster!

 

 

Experience Lord Bababa's comic exhaustion and enjoy the Mountain Dew shenanigans in their full glory right here, right now, from the comfort of your home whenever you want.

 

---

 

BronyCon left us all feeling pretty bushed, but it was an unforgettable weekend in Baltimore for all of us. Even though only about 70 of our own forum members were there, the community spirit was in full swing with thousands of fans' collective support. Thank you to everyone who came out and did their part to make BronyCon a blast. Thank you to everyone who tuned in online to the events and shenanigans that transpired. And finally, thank you to every single one of you who has supported MLP Forums and Poniverse as we work to bring fans, projects, and talent together in all-new ways.

 

This little presence at BronyCon may have been the culmination of everything we've accomplished as a community thus far, but it also legitimized the Poniverse network as the beginning of something even greater...

 

...the brony supercommunity.

 

Stick around, 'cause it's gonna be a fun ride!

[Nas 2,874]

Heck yeah. BronyCon was one of the best experiences I ever had, and it was epic seeing everyone there. I think this is one of the best things to happen to Poniverse as well, everything went amazingly, and I think there's an ever-bring future in store for us. Thank you, Feld0, for making this awesome.

 

Dem pics... <3

[Scootalove 10,692]

A fun ride indeed! This community has grown so much over the last few years, and it was a blast watching everypony have fun at this years BronyCon. All I have to say is keep calm, stay strong, and stay pony my friends!

 

Just a random meme.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Scootalove

[---------------------- 1,645]

That was beautiful :')

 

Bronycon was a weekend to remember, it still feels weird not being under pressure for bronycon, but we kicked some flank at the con! It was a lot of fun, no doubt, after going in 2012, I knew I had to go again. It was an amazing convention and I think everyone should go if they can.

 

Feld, getting to meet you was awesome, same goes for the rest of the staff and everyone else I met up with.

 

I really see a bright future for Poniverse, and I am glad I get to be part of this awesome experience!

 

Feld, thanks for building a community that essentially changed my life, I appreciate it a lot. And of course, let's not forget about Kurtiss, both of you guys created one of the best things this fandom has seen.

 

 

Also, I look really awkward in that last picture 

Edited August 16, 2013 by Marco ~ Ace Attorney

[Proton 565]

Seems you guys had a great time there. Oh, how I despise the fact that I seem to be the only brony in my entire country 3:<

 

Also, Feld0 FTW

[Fox 5,331]

Great time at BronyCon. Wish it was longer, but things like this are too expensive when your poor, and live far away. The people who know this feel I feel your pain. Except I actually went, so this sounds stupid.

 

Just a random meme.

Not random enough. It reminds me of

 

I mean great time at BronyCon. Look at this picture of Feld0 smiling. It's so cute.

lul lurpy wah u doin?

Edited August 16, 2013 by Fox

[Jokuc 8,175]

But I also want a special achievement thingy D:

 

Sounds cool I guess I'm glad you guys are trying to expand the community with poniverse and all this. Though I'd mostly be on the forums myself.

 

Oh and I think pony.fm looks way better in beta 2.

[Lavo 786]

Awesome stuff, I need to make it next year for sure!

 

While they all had their fun at BronyCon, I was here dealing with exploding sites and servers... (And a motherload of support tickets)

[NavelColt 22,883]

I look like such a spazz in the first picture, but, I suppose it's made up for in the outdoor steps picture with the banner.

 

Truly a memorable experience on a personal level, and on a work level for the site, and the network of bronies it's turning into. Look forward to the coming months ahead.

 

By the way, like I've said elsewhere: I'll pay someone $20 to cosplay as Feld0 next year, from glasses to shirt to Mountain Dew bottle to laptop.

[Lavo 786]

By the way, like I've said elsewhere: I'll pay someone $20 to cosplay as Feld0 next year, from glasses to shirt to Mountain Dew bottle to laptop.

 

So If I just make myself look like Feld, get a laptop and don some glasses I can get $20? Do I get extra for actually being able to code, server admin and manage websites too?

[NavelColt 22,883]

So If I just make myself look like Feld, get a laptop and don some glasses I can get $20? Do I get extra for actually being able to code, server admin and manage websites too?

 

Need to get your picture taken with him as well, and that's gotta be posted on the site somewhere. Then, yes. And, who knows. If I'm feeling generous.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,529]

So If I just make myself look like Feld, get a laptop and don some glasses I can get $20? Do I get extra for actually being able to code, server admin and manage websites too?

 

That would actually let you do a pretty damn realistic cosplay. Just drop the British accent for a weekend and you're all set!

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,894]

I look like such a spazz in the first picture

I know the feel. Look at me in the last picture Fox's post. I don't know what the hell kind of facial expression is even on my face.

 

I assume/hope that I was goofing around for the one moment, and not that my face just happened to do that.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Lady Rarity Pony

[King 5,626]

Dammit Feld0 why can't you ever pose for a nice photo... you must be a photographers worst nightmare

 

Seriously though, I look forward to attending next years Bronycon with all of you, hopefully then you can have some extra Dawn Rider in all your pictures

 

The Poniverse is turning out fantastic and I for one am proud to not only watch it grow, but to be some minor part in the team helping bring it to life and staff it all

 

Congratulations to everyone

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,894]

Need to get your picture taken with him as well, and that's gotta be posted on the site somewhere. Then, yes. And, who knows. If I'm feeling generous.

Edit: Wait, my mistake. That "last picture" I mentioned was posted by Fox in this thread, which I mistook for the original post.

 

Edit again: Crap, this was supposed to go to the end of my previous post. :V

Edited August 16, 2013 by Lady Rarity Pony

[~Chaos~ 3,972]

Looks like you all had an awesome time!

 

Good to get information of all these projects out there to the general brony public! I'm going to settle in and watch the Poniverse @ Bronycon video, I'm sure it will be quite entertaining and informative.

 

Keep making this community more and more enjoyable!

[An Old Head 4,816]

Even though I haven't been here as long as some of those first-day members, it's so great to see this community grow and develop as it has been doing. Big-up to the staff members for doing a really great panel, we livestream viewers thoroughly enjoyed it and even managed to spawn a brilliant meme from it

 

Can't wait to see this supercommunity form! It's great that it's got the good reception from the rest of the fandom that it has

Edited August 16, 2013 by Flipturn Amaterasu

[Lost Profile 644]

Bronycon was one hell of an awesome time! I even got some footage of our little herd... (Even tho I kept disappearing) and even tho I live close to you feld0... I finally got to meet you in person...

 

The videos that mlp forums are in are Preregistration day part 2, and day 1 part 1 and 2... I think... Idk around thoes numbers...

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMZ85wbO98EOEby9-4QnB_DSqdv35al4Z

Anyways... Il be seeing you at bronycan!

[DusK 1,264]

I noticed Feld0's not wearing his new BronyCon avatar. Lucky you guys have good ol' DusK here to remind you of what must be done.

 

[Betez 1,735]

 

What's that on your arm? (In the signed banner picture?)

 

Anyway, glad Poniverse is working out. I wish I could have been there, but I wasn't able to. Can't wait to see what else Poniverse is doing. I know it'll be awesome.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Betez

[Yellow Diamond 7,578]

Dammit Feld0 why can't you ever pose for a nice photo... you must be a photographers worst nightmare

 

Feld0 loves running around and doing business oriented tasks. Even as one of the admins I had to wait for the right openings to get his attention. I don't think I've elevated it to an art form as of yet, but we'll have to learn to how to best intercept Feld0 while he's in the midst of converting the dirty masses over to Poniverse.

 

I jest, of course -- for the most part, anyway. (Feld0 was indeed extremely busy!) I had a lot of fun with you guys, even if I didn't spend the entire convention with the bulk of you. Hopefully next year will be even more fruitful, fun, and full of surprises. Who knows? Maybe we'll get photobombed by more members of the MLP staff. It's hard to top MA Larson, though.

[Zygen 6,066]

Wait Larpy's a guy? O_o.

Haha, looks like y'all had a great time! I wish i could've gone, but well lots of complications.

 

I wonder if it've been weird seeing as i'm only 16 to .

 

Oh well, maybe in a few years when i'm on my own i'll have the chance to go or something. Hopefully i can go someday, and hopefully its still a good con by the time i get to.

 

Of course its kinda expensive, so who knows.

 

Regardless, glad to hear y'all had a good time! And looks like poniverse is coming together nicely! I look forward to whats in store in the future for it!

 

And i'm glad to have been a member here the time I have! I haven't even been here a year, but I've enjoyed being here so much! 

 

Can't wait for the time I eventually hopefully get to go to a bronycon or something someday. And meet y'all.

[Zoop 8,384]

It was a good time. I hope to see Poniverse present at next year's Bronycon - hopefully with twice as much Mountain Dew moments.

 

I'm probably a bit late to the show with the Feld0 memes, but better late than never, right? Don't worry, I'll be back to the glorious pink pegasus before too long.

[Princess Periwinkle 3,777]

 

 

 

 

I seem to be losing. I always lose. :'(

 

Anyhoo~ Looks like you guys had an awesome time and I'm super excited for the future. I will be at bronycon next year. *choughhopefullycough*

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,529]

What's that on your arm? (In the signed banner picture?)

 

That would be the scar tissue from a skin graft, which was the aftermath of a set of burns I had when I was little. I'm honestly surprised more people at the con didn't ask about it.