Nasdaq bell tolls for Web Summit

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave on Wednesday rang the Nasdaq closing bell remotely from Dublin, which must be a great honour reserved for those held in high esteem by the business world.

Cosgrave's immediate predecessor as Nasdaq bell-ringer on Tuesday was the cartoon character Snoopy, Charlie Brown's pet dog in the Peanuts comic strip. The Peanuts Movie, a full length 3D caper, is released in the US today.

Nasdaq’s bell-ringing rules specifically request those present adhere to business attire with “no jeans or sneakers”. By rights, that should have ruled out the majority of Web Summit attendees. Snoopy, too.

Encouragement

Coincidentally, the opening bell ringer on Tuesday was Rock the Vote, an advocacy group that encourages young adults to go to the polls. Cosgrave once led an Irish version of Rock the Vote before a general election. That was back in 2007, when he was less angry with the establishment.

This year’s Web Summit really seemed to be a brilliant event, so it is a pity its founders saw fit to divert attention away from it by petulantly attacking many of the people they need to keep on board if it ever returns to Dublin.

The city’s hoteliers finally lost it yesterday with repeated accusations of price gouging, pointing out the average room rate during the event was a reasonable €155.

On Thursday, the summit’s website was reselling rooms in only one hotel – the Intercontinental – for €500. Single occupancy only, mind you. Double occupancy “may incur a charge”, said the summit. Meanwhile, double rooms in hotels all over the city were available for €120 on booking.com.

People in glass houses shouldn’t fire machine guns.