Bitcoin Forum

Well, title say all to be honest. How would you introduce them to Bitcoin? Let's say they don't exactly have the technical know-how. I've been with Bitcoin for a while, but still don't understand it fully either, so this will help me as well along the way.
Thank you

I would help them make a BTC wallet.  Teach a little about security on it.  I would start with a hot wallet and don't send much money.

I would then send a little money to them so they have a little BTC to play with.

Good question!

1. If they had no technical knowledge, i'll introduce by price comparison and will give some bits to start ;) to do something which way they want (gambling, trading, investing on ponzi's, etc.,)

2. If they had some technical knowledge, i'll explain by its advantages and disadvantages with its security system along with how this stuff works... ;)


~Rude Boy

You would introduce family and friends to ponzi's! Gambling! wow you sound like a real good friend.

I would not introduce anyone to it now the time has passed you will be making sure they are the new fools what this needs to continue, i would simply share a few articles on my facebook or ask them if they have heard of internet funny money?

If they have no need to go any further if they haven't no need to go any further, introducing family and friends will not end well if they end up losing a nice amount of money.

So i never have.

I would just explain the basics of Bitcoin to them and some of the benefits (i.e. it's internet money, low fees, decentralized, etc.). If they sound interested, I'll go more in depth into it, and maybe start them out with a wallet and a few satoshis. If not, I'll just change the subject. :D

I will explain what is bitcoin & advantage using bitcoin compared with fiat
I also give some example how i use bitcoin

So far, my friends & family already understand about bitcoin
But, none of them are interested :'(

Thank you for the helpful replies. It seems like I need to explain the advantages. If they like it so far, then some of the 'bad' things about Bitcoin (ponzis, scams...) and see if they're going to be alert. If they start to be unsure, assure them that it's just like normal currency. Should I start like that?

Are you crazy?
I'm not introduce only to Ponzi's but also ponzi's read it carefully(mentioned above).
And yes! Most of my earnings are only from ponzi's. Actually i'm follwing this "Make hay while sun shines", means "earn while ponzi's exist."
NOTE: I'm not a scammer.

~Rude Boy

Also you might get a usb stick miner.  With that you can teach mining to them for cheap.   You will not make money off of it.  But it will be a good way for them to learn.

Actually I just done it with my family last week
This is how I do it
At first I ask them to make wallet from blockchain and then they ask me tons of questions. After that I just show them the result that I got from trading and compare it to others then they suddenly become silent and then I start to explain them one by one and after that they start do their trading and now they seem ok altough they still not fully understand and got so many questions

May be it will help you guys

I got 5-7(3 of them dont know about technical know-how) friends into bitcoin after i explain how bitcoin works. First i created a wallet for them, i created blockchain wallet(because this easy to use for beginners), actually i recommeded to them to use desktop wallet like electrum because dont need to download data. After that i introduce about faucet(for them understand how bitcoin transaction) and for more details i show this link to them: https://bitcoin.org/id/faq and bitcoin pdf: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf


~iki

It's a tough question, I think the best way is to keep it simple and not use too much technical jargon. I struggled in the past to explain it to non-tech friends (some of them hadn't even heard of a ledger before), in the end I just emailed them a few links to some bitcoin videos on Youtube.

At the first point , I'm explained why would be better choose bitcoin rather than our currency. (fast transaction * lowest fee )
Then, bitcoin has quite big value against any currency (since ever reach $ 1000)
After that, I'm explained how secure bitcoin is and how it can be used as investation like a gold....

just talk about it in simple words. and then show them how to use BTC and install a wallet on their phone. play with it.

Show it to them.  Purchase something.  Take them somewhere that accepts BTC and pay with your mobile.  Trade on an exchange.  Let them see it in action.

A Sunday.

Me: Send me money today.
Them: How can I send today?
Me: Why not?
Them: Banks are closed on weekends.
Me: Not anymore.
Them: What do you mean?
Me: Let me show you. It will only take less than 15 minutes to send money to any place in the world.
Them: You are joking, uh?
Me: Nope, welcome to Bitcoin.

;)

Best to start would be by explaining them that Bitcoin is "Virtual Money" and it must be kept in a "wallet".
I would open a wallet for them and send them 100k satoshi to start with :)
I would refer them to the forum and make them surf the forum the whole day.
Next day?
They would be teaching me how Bitcoin works :P

The easiest way to introduce bitcoins to people who doesn't have the knowledge to understand technical stuff is through a casual conversation on how money works; what are the pros and cons of using fiat money and what are the other alternatives on how to send it. Surely, you don't want to shove your idea on someone that doesn't even know how does money works; you first need to help them understand how fiat money works in general. Slowly, you will now tell them things which they think isn't that good in fiat, like the hassles of sending money to other parts of the world, being controlled by banks etc. Then after that, introduce them the basics of bitcoin--how it works, why is it created, and the advantages of it over using fiat money. In time, they will ask you more often on different things regarding bitcoin, and when that time comes, you know that you have done a job well done.

In order to let people know about bitcoins, you don't need to force them on learning this things. Instead, show the pros and cons of fiat and bitcoins as well. Then let them decide which of the two works better than the other. No one wants to accept something that is being forced to them; that's a part of a man's nature.

I will say them if they want to send a lot of money to anywhere that some country has max limit to send money some where, then you can use bitcoins.
Secondly if you want to earn good amount of money let's try btc.
Thirdly few people use to trade $ which is less effective than btc. BTC is good platform to trade and earn good money but if you are good trader.

well, you have same problem with me. when we try explain bitcoin especially about the technical bitcoin most of my friend didn't understand.
Then i figure it out about the benefit of using bitcoin. and then they have more interest.
most of people didn't really care how bitcoin work. they only care if they can make more money with bitcoin or they can use bitcoin as alternative currency.

As irfan_pak above mentioned, i would explain to them a little bit about the digital money, and then i would tell them that they can send / receive money anytime, no depending on banks anymore.

I would help them to get their first wallet, but most important, i would help them to buy something they need via bitcoin payment, so they can really understand how things are working.

Then i would tell them about anonymity, decentralization, etc

And at the end i would tell them about exchanges, how they can trade for possible profit, and how they  can might be millionaires in the future when the price go to the moon  ;D

Just tell them next time they want to send money to someone using paypal they can do it with bitcoin with no fees.

I wouldn't. From that moment on, from them being hacked to the price plunging, every single occurrence will forever be your fault.

Let them find it for themselves. If they mention it in that light then offer some advice and leave it be.

When I talk about bitcoin with my friends or my family I start always in this way: It will be the currency of the future. Anyway, I introduce in different way, it depends from the people whose I speak (there are some people which looks bitcoin only for earning and other people for the technical part).

Give .01 paper wallet to each, choose the ones that seem interested and explain it to them, if the others dont get atracted you can always get the .01 when btc 100000 :D, or you could just show to them the video of bitcoin and the photo of bitcoin vs western union.

If you give them a bit they won't be worried about losing it or price difference. Who cares - it was free!

you can at least explain them why the price is so volatile. if they really understand how things work then it won't be a big issue as everything at the beginning is shaky.

Nah. I'll leave it well alone. People adore finding someone to blame even when it's precisely nothing to actually do with them.

The best way to introduce someone to something is to show him the actual benefits of having and using it.
If you want to persuade someone to buy a fast car just take them for a ride in one. :)

But some people like our parents like mine wont believe it altough we already show them that actual benefits. They will say that this is just a scam or anything like that because they dont believe something like that exist in this world  ;D

Another version when I want to charge / top up service.
This ever happen when I'm running out of my phone's balance on Sunday night. I really need anyone or any site that can recharge my phone.
Luckily I found pikko (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=780248.0) (online recharge service) and it accept bitcoin. At same time, I have some bitcoin so I can recharge with bitcoin on Sunday night.
That's very helpful and I think this will help us to introduce to someone & how valuable bitcoin is  :)

I would not say never.  At first I was only one in family mining.  But I can say a few of my family members got interested in bitcoin through me.  It's really a neat thing if you have someone to talk about to in your family about it.

For us, true Bitcoin fanatics, explaining Bitcoin to the friends can be challenging and often as effective as talking to a wall. Here are 5 ways that could help you thrive if you are looking to turn your fellows to Bitcoin lovers:

1. It’s money, but on the Internet!
The easiest way to explain it is by referring to Bitcoin as “Internet money” that has no physical state, and every transaction is processed using an Internet connection.

2. You are your own bank.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that does not require keeping your funds in a bank account. Your Bitcoins are kept securely in a wallet stored on your computer, however, there are also online wallets that are more secure that do not require downloading.

3. The future is now!
An average Bitcoin enthusiast would explain Bitcoin with the freedom of transaction and anonymity in a currency. Want to go to a different country without ridiculous travel fees? Bitcoin allows you to do so. Annoyed with having to keep track of endless debit/ credit cards? With Bitcoin all you need to remember is your wallet password.

4. Give your friends paper wallets.
More of an ideal way to introduce friends into Bitcoin is by making them figure it out alone. You could hand out paper wallets containing a simple dollar or two with a few easy to understand instructions on where/ how they can use Bitcoin. Watching them be the person to ask every store if they accept Bitcoin or not would be better for a change.

5. The traditional way that leads to puzzled faces and ultimate confusion.
Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized digital currency. The transactions are instant, and there are zero to low processing fees. Transactions are processed by miners. Miners confirm waiting transactions, included in the block chain which then enforces a chronological order. The block chain allows Bitcoin wallets to calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be confirmed as spendable Bitcoins. Wallets work similar to Internet banking but are much easier to use.

Firstly I will say them to use bitcoin if they want to earn good amount for working at home, No need to go to offices.
Secondly If they want to earn good amount by trade you can also go to the bitcoin because it a good volatile currency to trade.

I am overwhelmed by the amount of views and helpful replies posted in this thread so far! Thank you!

Anyways, there seems to be a few members who suggested not to introduce people to Bitcoin. However, the majority have provided ways to introducing Bitcoin to friends and family. So this leaves me in sort of a predicament. I am not sure whether to introduce them to Bitcoin. Will it help the Bitcoin community and economy if there are more people using Bitcoin? Will it positively affect it or negatively affect it? I guess this is all about people's opinions, but I do like to know what people are thinking! :)

I think that getting more people interested in Bitcoin is a good thing because if more people know about Bitcoin then more coins will be bought and the price will most likely rise, so our coins will be worth more. :D

I've already tried to introduce Bitcoin for some of my non-techie friends and family members. The thing is if they don't see an option to use Bitcoin in their daily life they lose interest very fast. And for longterm investment, the risk is too high for them.

You are 101% true! Bitcoin is declared illegal in our country  :'(! There's no place where I see "Bitcoin" leave alone "Bitcoin, Accepted Here"!
Even though I have introduced it to some of my friends they don't care at all! Maybe they don't care because "its not used anywhere" or its too complex to understand  :-[

But my lovely country wont even care at all about bitcoin and it seems that still low amount of people know about it, thats why its still hard to talk to them and may be I need to try again to explain it to them somedays after bitcoin spread wider in my country

The best way to do it, is to explain to them how the traditional banking system work first. {Believe me, when I say... loads of people do not know how it works}..... Start with the electronic ledger banks use, to show how much fiat everyone have. 

Then explain to them, how Bitcoin does this better and how it use a decentralized transparent ledger.

They do not need to know the details about the Open source code in the Bitcoin protocol .... just tell them, that everyone can see the code and they can change the code, but nobody would be able to use it, if there were NOT consensus between the majority of the nodes to use it.

Keep it simple.  ;)

It depends on who are you going to explain it, if you start to explain to your family like your dad and mom about traditional banking system they will be more confused, and they will ask you a lot of questions more. This is too much for parents to go deep inside if they didnt even have a basic with protocol and things like that

It is hard to describe Bitcoin because it is hard to describe how money is created in general. How many people understand fractional reserves, the difference between minted money and bank generated money? We are kept in the dark about how money is created in a society, so it should be no surprise that understanding bitcoin is difficult. For something so important to our daily lives, how many people have studied these concepts in secondary school? The good news is that cryptocurrencies has opened a discussion and little by little the masses are starting to understand how money is created in a society and how this effects wealth – starting the discussion on how better this process can better serve humanity, rather than just accept it for what it is.

So, I tried to introduce my friend to Bitcoin. I explained to him how it was 'magic internet money' (that's exaggerated). Blah blah blah, skip to the part where I gave him an address. The first thing he told me was "Is this spam?" I was surprised! Anyways, he's using faucets and things like that to get some starting Bitcoin. I suggested making a Bitcointalk account, and join a sig campaign to earn more, but he said no. This was because he did not know much, and wanted to learn more. So he's researching more about Bitcoin and stuff. So yeah! Just one of the funny tales of when you introduce somebody to Bitcoin and something hilarious happens. (It was funny to me) :P

This is a great explanation, honestly!!! :) :) :) :) I don`t think that parents should know more in the very beginning

I would send them some bitcoins as a gift and get them up and running with there own wallet and the basics of buying and selling and trading, then leave them to buy items on using Bitcoin hopefully they will see how easy the currency can be used.

I know people love to buy gold as a means of investment..I show my friends nude girls porn..and say them that if you wanna fuck them in future and if the rates go high then you will not be able to fuck them..and you will left with just shaking hands..so better is the time that is bitcoin..invest in bitcoin and keep making profit as bitcoin rates goes high and keep fuming girls..
Actually I can explain them in other ways also but they are always exotic so can't find a better idea than this..

Of course I would introduce Bitcoin to them.. actually I did and here is how:

With friends it was quite easy because I was (and still am btw) big fan of crypto in general not to mention that mining was my hobby and they knew it about me. From time to time they asked what's new and I liked to talk about what's going on. They didn't understand any technical aspect of Bitcoin though. If they didn't care I simply changed the topic of discussion and that's it.
I think they are too lazy to learn and find out what blockchain is and how it works by themselves. Not to mention that most of them don't care about politics/ central banking/ creation and distribution of money in general.. They like their credit cards and that's all - I accept it. It is important not to force them and sometimes let them think that I'm just crazy and laugh with them :D Bitcoin itself won't save the world for sure. But for me, it's not just about BTC/USD price and greed and I still think it's game changer. The first thing I usually tell them is that it's process and if they want to be involved they should be patient, careful and most important thing: not to expect miracles. I recommend them to use it as currency - buy and sell things/ services, learn how (and where) to trade it and simply enjoy having this "digital cash" as I like to call Bitcoin sometimes, by trying different wallets/ web services just for fun.

With colleagues - programmers it was surprisingly hard but I wanted them to be curious at least so few times I mentioned Bitcoin and when they asked about some technical details I was ready to discuss them. However some of them still don't get it at all and I honestly don't know why. Some of them think that mining is waste of electricity or that Bitcoin is just a tool for cyber criminals and/or drug addicts, noting more. I respect their opinions. Maybe when Bitcoin will be more adopted they will change them. I'm looking forward to this by the way, maybe it won't be Bitcoin (I think it will though) but it will be some other crypto currency. Decentralization is necessary and secure global crypto currency is the future no matter what imho.

With (close) family it was quite different story: I gave them small amounts of Bitcoin on paper wallets together with their christmas presents and told them that if they want to spend it they should learn how :) As soon as they will want to buy something with their coins I am ready to help. At first I was sad because to my surprise they didn't care even with their own paper wallets it their hands. They thought that it's just some sort of fancy certificate but now when they see that I'm still interested in crypto they became curious and want to learn more and more. We discuss crypto (not technical aspects, mostly news..) and the most important thing: now they use their paper wallets as "piggy banks" - They give me cash and I fund their wallets with BTC - small amounts of course. They don't want to install classic wallets or use online services at all because they are worried about security - This is simply because I told them some (scary) stories about mt gox/ stolen coins/ backdoors/ scams/ ponzi schemes/ hacking etc. They still think that real money should be stored in the bank but now when they (to some degree) understand how safe their paper wallets (created and printed offline with live-cd linux of course..) really are they like them.

So my advice is: Describe Bitcoin as digital cash, tell them about secure paper wallets (or cold storage in general..) Mention open source, small/no fees and decentralization (or simply tell them that it's just like torrents but for banking) Maybe they will get it right when you show them directly how easy to use Bitcoin really is. Sometimes it's even important to mention that alternative to central banking is necessary and that they can use this "money of the future" right now if they want. Sorry for my poor english - it's not my native language.

Wow! That was a very detailed post! Don't worry, I understood your post just fine. Your English isn't poor at all. :)

Thanks for mentioning the word 'future'. I think it might be one of the key words in defining Bitcoin, other than decentralized, open source, cryptocurrency and that stuff. I totally forgot about how Bitcoin is the future of how sending money to and from one another.

for my experience, best way to introduce bitcoin is using mobile wallet like mycellium mobile wallet
ask your friend to install it and create wallet, and try to send small amount of bitcoin to your friends for testing.
and explain how bitcoin transaction works in easy language :D we can send money to other people in other place in the world, with small fee and fast transaction, etc...
It's better if you purchase some digital goods from website/merchant which accept bitcoin as payment, try to buy it while at the same time you explain how it works with your friends. If the transaction is success, high possibility your friends will interested with bitcoin and find more information about bitcoin :)
Another way, tell how easy to make money with bitcoin.If your friends interested making money online, he will learn about bitcoin :)

Physical Bitcoin helped me sell the concept of bitcoin to my environment. It seems that people can't imagine the value, unless they see something physical and shiny :) Just my 2 cents :) My experience is not to get to technicall, you'll see them drift away once you start talking about the blockchain and such :)

Explaining how it works, teaching them how to send and receive money, explaining to them the benefits of being your own bank, sending them some Satoshis to begin to try, this is how I do it. Although there are many more things to do.

I told my family about Bitcoin a long time ago, but I'm not putting any pressure on them. I'm keeping them updated on Bitcoin events and what I'm doing with it tho.

I'm not giving away coins for free, because they are valuable to me and I think they'd just have no idea what to do with them.

I once ordered pizza with Bitcoin when I visited my brother  - especially his girlfriend was very impressed.

Yeah it a good idea to introduce our friends who are not using bitcoin and making them realize the usefullness of it. It is a very good way of earning and it is going to have a bright future so all must be related to it !!!

Tell them about bitcoin & how important it may be in the future.
I got my younger brother involved by just telling him all about it.

He now buys & HODL's just like me :)

I have told them about the main advantages compared to traditional payment solutions. They send money from time to time with PayPal and some times with Western Union.

They have used Bitcoin a while ago and they like it, but the reason for them to not keep using it is the volatility. Which I can understand.

Tell them volatility works both ways. They can wake up the next day and be able to buy more with their coins. This feature isn't that bad and doesn't discourage people from using Bitcoin instead of Western Union for example. What discourages people is that to get fiat they have to go to a private exchange and deposit their money hoping they won't get robbed or run with it.

I'll compare it with more mainstream payment processor like paypal & western union and tell advantage of bitcoin over those payment processor. Give an example is better explanation for new user

most of my family members are non tech people who are not really interested in it. they say why do i need to buy bitcoin in order to buy something with it if i can buy anything with fiat right now.

You try to tell them once but normally they will ...
-think it's a joke and not "real money"
-not understand it
-not be interested in it
-be very sceptical
-suspect you are doing something illegal
-come to you and ask for money once the price is up



so, no, you're not talking to people about it normally.

Volatility might be a good opportunity for us to make profit, but not everyone is thinking like that. Normal people want to pay and get paid without having to worry about fluctuations.

As far as getting people involved in it, I haven't had much success. They don't see it having any direct use for them on a short term basis. Also, even if I show them how simple it is to get some, they see it as an extra hassle just to buy things they can find much more easily elsewhere (e.g. having to by gift certificates on https://www.gyft.com/ (https://www.gyft.com/) before buying elsewhere). It's an extra step they prefer to skip.

What I'm currently trying is to increase visibility indirectly and make Bitcoin seem like a normal accepted idea before any conversation about it has occurred. For example, my buddy makes good looking designs themed around Bitcoin for t-shirts and we're hoping that just wearing them (us looking like normal guys and not anonymous online human traffickers) will make the notion of digital currency seep into people's minds as part of everyday life, even if they themselves don't use it yet.

Also, I just got http://theageofcryptocurrency.com/ (http://theageofcryptocurrency.com/) and I try to have it in my hands or close to me as much as possible even when not reading just so people I'm with will notice it.

These actions might seem small, but many people have less than positive preconceptions about Bitcoin, and seeing it accepted by those around them will help to open them up to it.

Investing is a game and the volatility is part of the game, most people do not want to risk and prefer the traditional money.

It's a high risk and high reward investment.  You can have a huge percent of return compared to normal investments, but can also have a huge percent of loss.

If you compare it to buying something like AAA Bonds, yes it's no where near as stable.  But the return comparing the two can be huge.

Yeah, I've experience the "It's not real" reply from some people I have tried to introduce it to them. They think it it similar to the currency you get from in-app purchases on mobile games. So I just change the subject, as somebody suggested earlier on in this thread. Also, when I explain the risks with gambling and the likes, they suddenly become uninterested. i try to explain that it is just like any other currency.

Gee, it's hard, but it is fascinating to listen to what other people have to say about Bitcoin and their reactions. :)

Whenever someone mentions a banking problem, explain how Bitcoin would solve it. For example, a friend wanted to start a business, had to deal with a million paperworks. I Explained and shown him a video of how easy it would be to create a BTC address and start recieving payments like that.

Another day a friend needed to send cash to another friend to pick up a taxi, he was screwed up since it was at the middle of the night. He was visiting spain where they have apps like btcpoint and bit2me, I explained them to him. He told him to download the app which allows you to withdraw money from practically any ATM, and he converted the bitcoin to cash, in the middle of the night, only with a smartphone, and in a foreign country (he was a tourist). This is the future and this is why BTC will go to millions. It does previously impossible things.

I'd show them the video on WeUseCoins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2en3nHxA4
And while this is going on, I'd explain each and every aspect and compare it to fiat and let them know about the advantages. Then, I'd focus on the blockchain a bit and if they're interested, they'll be browsing weusecoins on their own, or else, ill setup a blockchain.info wallet for them and then perform a few transactions, and I'd let them know about changetip and how they can tip people and stuff.

Sharing video is the most easiest way to explain instead using 1000 word with mouth ;D
Plus I'm also shared how I can made $1 into $10 by gambling.So when looking for BTC, I'm explain about there's a local exchanger that able to change local currency into bitcoin. I show them how I can win some bucks from gambling to attract my friend and family.

Yeah..... videos/visuals get much more engagement from teh audience and with over 10 million views(both version 1 and version 2) of the WeUseCoins videos, that is just amazing, a perfect summary of the benefits.

I would simply ask them to watch video on youtube named The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin.
This will definitely help them to understand the concept of bitcoin as it clearly defines  bitcoin since its inception it give clear picture including technical knowhow.

That is a long movie, so maybe first the WeUseCoins video and then the documentary

As the family and friends would not be that technology friendly so it's better to explain them in a layman's language. Because everyone is so busy with their job they resist in a change and as they are not aware of the concept of time they will not show any interest unless basic things are made clear to them.

It is a great documentary, and I have watched it many times in the past. But the problem is that the movie was created when Bitcoin was trading at $1,000+ levels, and before the Mt Gox robbery happened. It is a bit outdated. We need something which is more recent.

First of all i would ask them are you aware about the bitcoins??

If the answer is Yes, then it will be easy for me to explain them about the bitcoins. But if the answer is No then it requires to explain them since its origin and history Generally those who are not aware about bitcoins will not get attract to it quickly.

Introducing bitcoin to friends and family is a really tough job to do i guess.

You can introduce it only if you have the best knowledge of it and even if you are a beginner and learning from someone else its better not to introduce to them. Technical know-how is very important in bitcoin so i prefer that i learn everything and then introduce it to my friends & family.

I would rather say my cousin that btcs are something that are going up down and again up down..
And I am sure he will love to hear that..and soon he will be investing in it.. :P

I just tell them that bitcoin is a virtual currency and I did not know they understand it or not and they just nodded haha

basically my family and my friends already know about bitcoin and how it work besides my mom and dad because they never care about this and now to learn about bitcoin its very easy many site introduce how and what is bitcoin and in my place bitcoin more and
more people already know everyday

1.) Trigger 'PDM (Proper Distraction Method)' at appropriate time.
2.) Snatch up friends Android or iPhone on sly.
3.) Excuse yourself and go to the little girls room (or boy depending:p)
4.) Install a lightweight Bitcoin client application on their phone
5.) Once it has synced up shoot them a couple of bit pennies.
6.) Slyly slip the phone back if possible or just come clean and tell them you hacked their phone.
Easy Peasy.

Yup there are many sites that introduces what bitcoin is but there are many people who haven't heard a word called 'Bitcoin' So at that stage it would really become difficult to introduce and explain them the concept and the old generation will never invest in bitcoins as they are very much comfortable with fiat money.

I suppose you need to make them understand everything one step at a time rather than shoving up everything all at once. The main aim should be to get them interested

That's true that you start from basics and let them understand step by step or else it would be havoc.
Because the older generation would not get attracted with bitcoins as they see risk factor involved in it and also as they don't have adequate knowledge about it so rather they would prefer to play safe.

I would prefer to let them be told to come here and learn by themselves, and nothing's a better experience than learning it on their own...
It ain't about any complex like "it was not taught to me by someone, so why should I teach anyone?" but it's like I have myself felt that learning it alone and asking everyone here to the community is far better then letting them know everything, even starting through basics...

As if we go through basics, then too they will only grab 25-30% of what we taught them, and won't be satisfied, so I prefer doing it themselves is better than us letting them know anything about it... I ain't saying we shouldn't help them, of course we might help them with all their queries, but not in one go, let them learn everything one by one and become a wise member of the Bitcoin Community... :)

I personally think a lot of bitcoin is a community.   You help each other, you can find info look for info.    I think you should help them get into it.   I'm not saying do it all for them but help them get into it.

I know I was able to get a family member into bitcoins.  It's actually a lot of fun to be able to talk to them with it.   Share the knowledge you will be surprised how much fun it is.

First of all I would know that are they really willing to take part in knowing the concept of bitcoin or not?? As the older generation would not be that keen as compared to friends in knowing about the bitcoin so I would explain them bitcoin as a whole since its inception and also refer them few videos on youtube.

I just wanna say, bitcoin is cryptocurrency and good to use for online shop or buy product via online.

I would show them the benefits of bitcoin at the primary level. Like suppose you travel different countries you don't need to convert your currency into foreign curreny everytime you visit. So its saves the transaction costs and you don't need to withdraw money from ATM if any purchases are to me made.

I would not introduce without them asking.

It sucks when someone wants to force you into something you don't want and they might see BTC as a pyramid that needs to attract more people if you want to profit

Basic concepts must be made clear at the initial stage. If the basic concepts are not clear like its history,its origin,its inventor the purpose behind inventing it,the benefits of it, the loopholes attached with it this basic things made to be clear and ultimate decision is of friends and family whether to accept it or not.

Ofcourse you will not force it on them.  Normally family into technology or finance are the people who might be interested.

I would talk to them first before normally.  But a gift of BTC is always welcome.  I think it's a fun gift to those who like technology or finance.

How much do you think would be a good amount to give to a brand new person? How much would be classified as too much? This is because if you give them something such as 1 satoshi, that wouldn't be useful to them would it? I think the amount needs to be just enough to be able to be spent on something.

Of course not something as 1 satoshi.  I think it needs to be enough for them to do something with it.   Buy something or watch it.   How much would really have more to do with your means.

I would prefer of letting them know the benefits of bitcoins at the initial stage as my parents travels a lot but they are not aware about the bitcoins so i would tell them the benefit that attract them the most like if they use bitcoin they don't to have pay anything for converting the currrency into foreign currency.

My Family would not get attracted with bitcoins as they are very much aware about the frauds and scams taking place over the internet and they very much trust the fiat money so they would not show willingness to learn so it would be waste of time to introduce them to bitcoins.

i usually open with something along the lines of "hey guys id like you to meet  and then i continue with something actually witty and funny and everyone laughs.. it is about this point i usually realize im daydreaming and that  is in fact my only friend, but i consider it more like family anyways. together we make quite the family, tho conversations can be cryptic.. get it ? ahahaa

First will say them its unanimous, you can send money every where without of being telling about you. You can send money now from one country to another with out much extra charges, as you were facing now with $.

I will just say the magic words"Want to Earn More Money" then explain the meaning of bitcoin if they are interested.

That's what we called it as an generation gap. That's true that they believe in traditional currency rather then adopting new technologies. They believe in taking least risk or say no risk while making payments they don't even trust credit cards and would prefer to pay in cash.

My mom is not able to send SMS. She is not ready to listen about Bitcoin.

you should inscribe a wallet address on some old driftwood or something.. she might get it then.. old people can get weirded out by technological wizardry

I completely agree with you. Same is the case with my family. They resist change I mean they are so used to pay in cash since their inception they resist in adopting new techonology somehow they have started to use credit cards for payments being aware that it's safe.

I guess that is not magic word like you easily to said but that is just a common word. If you tell them that word, they will think you are doing bad things or may be gambling or anything that might happend. We need to explain to them carefully so they will understand what you are really do

:) I'm using guerrilla method..so I printed lot of paper wallets, distributed them and told people to keep..I'm time to time even tipping waiters in clubs with wallets. Last time (yesterday) I gave one to young cool assistant of my dentist..

Haha :P Do you just give them the paper wallet and that's it? Or do you give them some kind of information about the wallet, bitcoin...?

Both hopefully they will learn about it and enjoy it.  I so far have just turned one in my family into a fellow bitcoin enthusiast.

I talked about it enough, the family member learned about it and read on his own.  I paid off a debt to him in bitcoin  :).  We both left happy and yes BTC is higher now then when I paid him. 

So positive experience in my case for sure.

How come you giving tip with bitcoin? Are they going to believe what is that paper wallet? Are you going to make them curious so you can try to explain them in details and ask them to join. Is that your trick?

That's a really cool method. I think I am gonna try this for some family members too  ;D What were the reactions when you handed the wallet papers to people that has not heard about Bitcoin yet?

How old is your mom? I've never met anyone who's parents can't send a text message. Heck, my grandparents can do that. I wouldn't trust either of them with bitcoins, though  ;D.

Well my mum (or mom) is in her 50s and the only thing she knows is how to answer calls, make calls and end calls. She can't even check her messages, even though I've tried to show her how to do it countless times. Oh well.

For me it was grandma like this.  I remember writing sticky notes on how to switch on satellite... log into emails... list goes on and on.  Needless to say I got good with making guides on sticky notes.... maybe I owe all those times for me enjoying doing mining guides now.  Looking back it actually was a lot of the same principles when making one.  

But I agree there are some that will never use BTC ever.  I know one grandparent who would not do credit cards, just did not believe in it.  Used cash.... and only a few years ago started debit card.  Were talking waiting into 2010's +.   Just a different generation and went through a lot of experiences us younger ones haven't.

I hope generally down the road we get more and more people to know about BTC and accept it.  But I do realize there are some that never will.

i would make a secure and attractive paper wallet and deposit some amount of bitcoin in it. then gift it to someone i want to introduce Bitcoin to. then help them set up a wallet and teach them how to buy and spend bitcoin.

I introduced my wife to it by buying her something, then I explained that bitcoin paid for it.   Then I tried to ACTUALLY explain BTC.  Then smoke started to come out of her ears.

Do you like the Internet?

Do you despise every devalued fiat money, inflation, taxes and the goverment?

Welcome to the Internet of Money, Bitcoin!

That's how I'd try to razzle dazzle them...

I didn't, they will treat me as a freak :D
The reason bitcoin got a bad reputation in my country, sure they just can't understand it.

I think there is no such a reputation in every country because this bitcoin is nothing ilegal so it wont be bad like you said. Which country are you now? There is some regulation that proof that this bitcoin is legal thing to do and why does it be illegal about trading?

That mainly depends on the friends and family whether they are interested in bitcoins or not. And if yes then would start with the basic concepts rather then going technically as every coins has two sides so need to tell them both the advantages and the loopholes associtated with the bitcoins.

It's sooo simple.  Have them watch this video from Mike Maloney 

(Hidden Secrets of Money Pt.4)
https://youtu.be/iFDe5kUUyT0

Then ask them if they want to be a part of that cycle.   If they don't then say Voila' "Bitcoin"

I would prefer to go with the basics take them to some shopping mall and show them how can we pay by bitcoin and if it attracts them then would go for some technical knowledge as like what is wallet how can we buy bitcoins where can we invest it and what are the advantages of using bitcoin.

at first they consider all ido to get bitcoin as a "wasting time" in my case i don't believe that i can persude them that betcoins is the future so what i have to do is to let him to a day when bitcoin have a more good positionitcoin (large space and place where we can deal with b) between world currency

Buy some pizza with BTC and then explain how bitcoins work whilst eating the pizza.

Everyone loves free pizza and will tolerate you boring them as long as you are feeding them  ;)

Nowadays when I meet bitcoin skeptics I'm not even trying to tell them that bitcoin is good. I'm telling them (except for my family and close friends) about bitcoin short selling "if you think it's not a good idea you can make money off that".

My father is considering getting a few BTC, but he's hesitant, because he doesn't fully understand it. He's not really tech-savvy and I think investment vehicles like GBTC are better suited for people like him for investment.

Maybe I could get him to use a platform like Coinbase or Circle.

if I want to introduce bitcoin to any of my friends or family I would do exactly how it was introduced to me.
I would set teach them how to set up a secure wallet, and send them some amount of bitcoin and teach them how and where they can spend it.

The latest event that just happened on bitcointalk.org that saw the site compromised and down for quite a number of days would've scared off new people interested in Bitcoin. This would lead them to think that the whole Bitcoin network is open to hacks, even though this is wrong. This would also catch media attention, causing people to go and talk about how 'Bitcoin is bad' because is has been 'hacked'. This is not how we want it at all, as it is all wrong. I hope the future of the forum, and Bitcoin in general, would not encounter such problems anymore.

Anyways, with that out of the way, a question: Should you tell the person you're introducing Bitcoin to about the forum? If yes, then they might find out about the hack. But then the forum is a place for support for them. So should you or should you not?

Tell then that the forum being hacked won't mean that their Bitcoins will also be hacked. Many websites get hacked and Bitcointalk is no exception.

I don't try to convince. For one, people tend to assume that I have something to gain. Like I'm going to collect a commission or something. And for two, I don't want them to have any reason to be mad at me if they fuck up and lose their BTC.

Better clear the preconception that they think you gain comission.

Well introducing it to the "elders" is much more difficult than to younger ones, for those that when you talk about investment expect less than 1% on monthly rate and a certain stability the btc "dream" that already achived more than 100% in just some month and with some mining options giving the most secure one (not ponzi) around 5% per month seens hard to belive... But the young tends to be much more entusiasmed around the whole idea.. they usually buy the btc "dream" the only problem i see on them is that they go way to hunger without considering the risks we all know any kind of invesment, expecially crypto, can have.

I trade Bitcoin and i try to introudcing bitcoin to my family but my mother say
"don't use bitcoin, that not real money, that money laundry, you will be arrested, and blablabla"

very hard to introducing internet technology and Bitcoin
now iam still trade and use bitcoin but i will'nt try to introducing again  :D

I think a lot of it is if you have "techie" friends or family to be honest.  I was able to get a family member interested in BTC but he was techie so it was natural.

There are those people who have had that VCR blinking 12:00 for the past 15 years.  Those are are slim chance of liking BTC.

It is fun to get them involved gives you someone to talk to about bitcoin.   It is a very nice thing and worth the time.

My parents didn't really understand Bitcoin at all until they read an article in the local newspaper about it. That helped them understand the basic idea behind it, but they still didn't quite understand how the whole thing worked.

Then I showed them this awesome analogy which helped to clear things up quite a bit:

http://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/04/26/bitcoin-analogy/

I am unemployed and I was always in front of the computer and my mother's strange why I can get money I said I get money from bitcoin and then I explain what it is bitcoin and my mother still did not understand haha

i explained them what bitcoin is step by step in easy language. if you see they start to understand the basics you can then slowly talk to them about technical aspects.

By easy language do you mean something like this?
Bitcoin is magic Internet money that is like real money but digital.
Or
Bitcoin is a digital currency that you can trade, earn from verifying transactions (mining)...

a few days back was the bitcoin pizza day.
it was a good opportunity for anyone to introduce bitcion to friends and family. i took advantage of this situation and bought a pizza with my bitcoin and introduced the whole cryptocurrency world to one of my close friends.
now he is hooked up :)

I'm bet your father ever use internet before so he still can use bitcoin. My father was different. He never learn about internet on his childhood. So although I've explained about how bitcoin works, My father still difficult to understand it and he also advise me to stay away for bitcoin because it's unstable price.

"If it hits a hundred bucks, buy it."

I explained that bitcoin can be exchanged into money, then they are very enthusiastic want to try to find the bitcoin and how. My first explains how to create a wallet. but then I confused the site what it is worth to them looking for bitcoin? I do not recommend faucet, because the reward is very small. so I try to tell to play the signature campaign  ;D ;D

and they wont even listen you then, i think the best way is to make people try it out and see its benefits

ya right, if they know that the benefits of bitcoin can turn into money then they will attempt to find, like when my friend introduced me bitcoin  :)

I really like teaching from mining.  I know one family member I was able to show my miners to, talk to them about BTC in general.  Eventually it rubbed off and the family member enjoyed learning more and more.   

Also talking about and helping set up a secure cold wallet is good for learning.  It was another good thing that showed the person a different side of BTC.

But lots of topics come and go, and in the end I have a family member who loves BTC as well.  So my story ends good. 

Well, when I first introduced Bitcoin to my family, I did it very casually. When I explained it, I avoided technological terminology to the best of my ability. What I basically told them is this: Bitcoin allows them to be in control of their own money, and they can freely, instantly access their money at any time they want. Then I went over some pros and cons of using Bitcoin. Most of my family members were positive towards Bitcoin.

I will give them paper wallet with some amount of BTC, and say its a new form of money.

On other side of paper wallet, I will wrote links to Bitcoin Wiki and Bitcointalk,
so he can educate and learn about BTCBTCBTC

I would say them this (i actually said this in real life)

"Hey you loser, you want to work all day as a slave for a few bucks working 15 hours/day or do you want to join bitcoin and become rich in 2-3 years!!"

I hope it wasnt that harsh, but those nutjobs didnt got it, so nobody joined bitcoin from my friends yet.

is starting to get easier to introduce people to bitcoins, but it is still pretty intimidating for someone who isn't that tech savvy to wrap their head around the entire concept.
I have explained it  as a universal currency that can be used worldwide

teach the basics and let people make their own decisions!
A simple explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qaIJed_w4
Don't force it on them, like most people do with religion...

People will try to interest on bitcoin when we who had known bitcoin before knew how to spend bitcoin just like our local currency.
Here's my example : When I'm can earn some bitcoin , i'm decide to gamble a bit. At the end , I'm able to win big. So i'm decide to treat my classmate some foods. Ofcourse they will ask, why you're so generous to treat us ? Because of Bitcoin, I can treat you guys  :)

I said that can send money anywhere in the world almost instantaneously without it costing very much money.  I've also compared it to precious metals as it is a storage of value

I even explained Bitcoin to my Grandmother and she was very interested about. :D

I buy a new product with my bitcoins and use it in front of my friends and family. Those who are interested ask where I got it, and then ask how much I spent on it. My response is in bitcoins. eg it was just 0.10 bitcoins very decent deal.

And when they will compare with other site they will find its very less price and tell how bitcoin is very popular and how to transfer money in second anyware in the world

I teach my friends, and they can't understand what I said.., ;D
I think need to teach the basic of bitcoin first.. :)

I explained bitcoin to my classmates and they all are interested in bitcoin and want to join this forum. They are very inspire by bitcoin.

they only start paying attention by the time I mention it can increase in value and they can win money.
;D

you can just tell them how it works as soon as they may need to use it.
If they understand bitcoin and how to use it properly then they will less likely do something that would cause their coins to be stolen when they start using it.

ha ha nice , Higher number of bitcoin owners/users, greater its potential value. I recommend it to everyone I get the chance

The neat thing is sharing bitcoin with family really happened during some of the lows.   And now they are seeing actual gains on their BTC.

When someone is making money it will make them interested.  So I guess mine is a happy story :)

Great effort i think, it's same as like me when i introduce to my friends, they can't understand except who know about basic programming and who to know about "make money online". I just told them(who can't understand) to this site: https://bitcoin.org/id/faq ;D
The things is must do is make their interest to bitcoin first, in my case i just tell story about bitcoin and the price, and i get their interest.

I actually wouldnt introduce it at all. I mean my family knows i am into bitcoin thing, but they are not really interested in that. So i dont see the point in introducing them into it :P If they suddenly would like to know something they know whom to ask :D

Very easy. First I tell them that bitcoin is a internet money that can be used only in internet. Then I will present them how much is its value in confront of us dollar. This can be interesting. Then I will explain them how is produced and which has created it. At this point I will try to create a fond with which I will buy bitcoins for all the family explaining them that the value of them is expected (with high probability) to be increased. If the bitcoins are bought everything is done. The bitcoin is explained, understated and invested. Who want more can made a search in internet and learn everything he/she want.

I'm lazy when it comes to explaining things so I'll just tell them that bitcoin is money, and they will do the rest :) Google is just there.

it is so hard to convince others to use bitcoin , especially the older people who dont want to change

Do not even burden them with that technicall details that you can not understand too :D. It was easy to teach how to work with bitcoins for my brother, also my father now know it, but mom  ???  ;D.

Well first I tell how bitcoin works. With some animation is really for early explanation. And then I introduce this forum , I can earn some bits by posting. In my country, this is very unique. I explained them that with bitcoin I can purchase just like normal currency with some advantage ( fast transaction and low fee ). Bitcoin also can be complement just like gold with still it's price still unstable rather than gold

I tried but i failed, nobody in my community gives a damn about bitcoin.

Oh well, who's gonna laugh when their fiat money turns into dust  :D

+ Hey look that's a new currency worths a lot.
- How so? What's it's country?
+ It's not classical money, just buy it & wait a few years.

If they are into tech you have a better shot at getting them excited in it.   I suggest talking about it, and showing how it can be a investment.

I was able to share with a family member.  Went great fun to talk to family about bitcoins.  I shared it when it was low 200's.... so profit!  You will find if the people you share with make some profit they will like it even more.   

Hard part is getting them to keep it long term.  But try to show how its very early for digital currency and the potential of long term holding.  If you can get them to hold long term you have done a good job sharing bitcoin.

I agree, this is a good idea to show them the price change of bitcoin because they have to know what kind of market they are investing in and see the potential and risk at the same time.

Because im not an expert on this bitcoin world, i will introduce bitcoin to my inner circle as a new world currency that can use in real life for anythings, but i will  told but for now bitcoin  cn be use for online transaction, and to make this bitcoin look real and exist, i will asking them to choose and install any android bitcoin wallet app..

Id introduce it to them by showing gyft.com first by buying a giftcard.

And have them learn how to acquire which would be, me as their supplier. That and obviously show about localbitcoins.com as well being there with them.

I asked a cousin of mine to help me by looking into bitcoin. I think I have a good handle on bitcoin, I understand the basics. I don't really need help understanding bitcoin, but getting her to look into it and understand it on her own is much better than trying to sit her down and explain it all to her.

I'll tell them it's a fairly new kind of internet money. then I'll point them to some sites and tell them to ask me if they have some questions. works most of the time.

My friends dont laugh at me nor do they agree bitcoin is this amazing thing. I just try to explain the benefits and potential of bitcoin. Just let them have their own opinion

the most people that know of it only see it in a negative light, aka used for the silk road. Also it seems that most people get confused on the mining process, Keep it simple when you tell people about btc

I think those who dont want to know about bitcoin will later regret it, i mean there are plenty of ignorant people out there.

Not everyone is opportunist / alpha-investor / sane person , most people are just lazy, non-caring and they dont give a damn about what happens out in the big world. Sometimes they look into new things only after all their friends tried it out, and the social pressure is too big that they need to adopt it.

I know this because i`m am like this in many fields, but not when it comes to money. When it's about money, i`m between the first people in the line.



I just guess society breaks down between alpha and beta personalities, and not everyone can be first ;)

>> RELATING TO THE TOPIC:  Well i`ve told all my family and friends about bitcoin and nobody was interested. I had good intentions so that in case they were unlucky and didnt heard of it before, so that they can hear about it now. But no response, well i guess more opportunity for me then.
I wont be harassing them with bitcoin, if they dont want it, bad luck, more opportunity for the rest of us :)

it was easy
first i went and asked them; "have you heard about the Bitcoins? yet?"
and when they said "no" i walked away
those people have never had any "vision" and their financial acumen is in the toilet.

now they come and ask me about bitcoin.

i tell em to f%^& off, but not before i point them at these bitcointalk forums here first.

my friends, like people i actually like and share a mutual respect with...
they are well aware of btc
but mostly lacking the time or willingness to learn the tech side of it to get in. they seem content to sit by the wayside, its weird.

i have considered doing it for them , for a percentage fee... but that even is fraught with concerns... besides... if they cant figure it out for themselves (i did and I'm not 'puter wiz) then that's their tough luck.

you can lead a horse to water, but its pretty hard to make a fish ride a bicycle.

Well I would not pose bitcoin to them normally. I would wait for someone to get frustrated with fiat system one day then introduce a solution via bitcoin. :D

just tell that bitcoin can turn into money and they ask how to get it, and I did not answer because I do not know many ways to get bitcoin, I just play the signature campaign  :)

this is very tricky, because usually my friends and family are somehow satisfied with their banks, mobile banking applications and whole financial sector is quite stable here (so far)

anyway, I did it with something calling "guerilla method" so I gave them 0.1BTC on papers wallets, told them about value and ask them to spend it..

People are usually content with what they have, if it is working for them. People seem to even ignore better options that are out there.
By the way, 0.1BTC? That's actually quite a lot to give, especially as you're giving it to many people. What if they just do not know what to do with it? Would you leave the exploring to them?

The problem right now is you need to be able to think to understand Bitcoin is awesome. Most people can't think.

Well, because if you give them 0.000nothing, they will simply don't care but if you told them: hey, this is bitcoin fraction worth ~25USD do anything what you want with it, you will motivate them to observe what is going on:)

and sorry, but using bitcoin is simply not better option these days. I dunno where are you from, but on my place (~400k town in central Europe), you can't literally buy anything with it..(I mean real goods and services locally, not some service via web...)

Thats a mirage in the desert.

The fact that they stand 2 centimeters away from the abyss ,while other countries are 1 centimeter away, brings false sense of comfort :D

All global financial institutions, based on fiat money (which is 99.99% of them) will fall in one way or another in the upcoming 5-15 years.

So either they are ignorant, or uneducated, or lazy to educate themseves, or a combination of the previous.


If I were you I`d tell them to visit this site (pick your country from there)
http://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/

And ask them to think again :) Those debts are irreversible.

It's a good way of introducing it to them. So they will understand everything :)

its a bit hard since most of my family members are jaded for introducing mlm to them, so i doubt they would hear me out on other stuff.

but i told them about bitcoin and just told them to watch a video. no reply yet..

I use bittorrent as an example to show them how it's decentralized. Most of my friends know about bitcoin by now though :)