Bitcoin Forum

Imagine you are standing alone right in front of the goal of the other team and some idiot from the other team throws the ball right into your hands.

I have been in strategic corporate communications for two decades and if last week you would have asked me as a PR-guy what the best thing would be to happen to Bitcoin to show people what advantages Bitcoin has, I would probably have answered "the first country to start confiscating people's savings." I have to admit I could not have imagined that this could happen so fast.

This is just one rare great opportunity to trigger interest in Bitcoin. Just spread the meme 'Bitcoin user not affected'. People are talking about this everywhere and realise, that what happens in Cyprus can happen in their own country everywhere and anytime and that when it happens, it will be done without any notice and without any chance to withdraw their funds beforehand.

It is a point where you don't have to go through all the difficulties trying to explain crypto-currency alltogether, it is just enough to mention that the only people who escaped this plunder are the ones who keep their wealth in unseizable and unconfiscatable currency, namely Bitcoin. That alone will do to make people go "Wait, what!?" and go out to try to find out more.

So spread the word in any discussion with friends and workmates and plaster the comment-sections of news-sites reporting about this or on your favorite precious metals-forum or wherever.

I am reposting this image from the other thread on Cyprus, credits go out to whoever made it.

http://i.qkme.me/3te8jo.jpg

So carpe diem and spread the word!

Joe

I guess we'll see this meme more and more over the coming months and years looking at the global financial markets and the economy in Europe and the US. Especially with governments looking into your financials more than ever...

i hate this face

Everyone is just going to want to kick that guy in the teeth, it isn't good advertising imo.

Also, being "unaffected" isn't really anyone's goal. My dead great grandmother was not affected by the Cyprus robbery either.

this meme sucks, forcing it just makes it worse

Yeah to be honest it looks like "Ha ha! Those idiots just got robbed!". I guess we could go on with this "Bitcoin user not affected" meme but using different images depending on the event.

Diversifying could be a good thing, not putting everything in bitcoin.

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3teq6a/

-MarkM-

Let me check it in the books...

Yep, already done.

This meme spreads like wildfire.

There, fixed that for you:
http://i.qkme.me/3teq6a.jpg

Please: that was the pic that was around and that's why I used it.

It does not matter if you use that pic or another or none at all, this is about

THE FACT THAT NO GOVERNMENT CAN SEIZE BITCOINS IF PROPERLY SECURED.

The advantage of a currency not being confiscatable has so far been an abstract and theoretical issue to most people in the western world. They would usually see that as spreading FUD by paranoid conspiracy folks.

THIS HAS CHANGED NOW, as it is happening in front of the world for everybody to see, thus the actual possibility of this to happen enters the reality of populations in so called democratic countries.

We (the Bitcoin community) are not a corporation with a Chief Corporate Identity Officer who decides what pic or claim to use, use anything that suites you and that you feel comfortable with.

The community has communicated this property of Bitcoin as one of it's major advantages over other kinds of money for years now but to actually make people understand what that means in real life and for their own lifes:

now's the fuckin' time.


That's at least my 5 Satoshis.

Joe

I like that bitcoin meme, the face is epic, because it is so true. It express what a bitcoin user think. A government steal money from people saving? Ahahah, i have bitcoin, they can't steal them.

Ok, so the face looks like ignorant nerd? Is that the message you want to transport?

I actually just shared this meme as it is to be taken with a grain of salt but my facebook friends will have that grain of salt.

Brilliant Idea

Maybe the tag line can be

Govt cannot Haz my Bit coins

BITCOIN =1
CYPRUS = 0
GREECE =?
..list of other countries
or flags

That Guy (as in Don't Be That Guy) is the Alfred E. Newman of the Bitcoin milieu. "What, me worry?"

Fucking geil, as we would say here, I was actually really LOL!

Joe

Turkey invades Cyprus because Greece is LOL.

Bitcoin user still affected.

Hey, you geeks can speak for yourselves:

https://i.imgur.com/muLX7.gif

Bitcoin user not affected.

Dear Saver:

The Euro is an experimental currency.  Use at your own risk.  Don't invest more into the Euro than you can afford to lose.

Regardless of whether you want to kick that nerd's face or not, OP has a great point. This is a great moment for Bitcoin.

If I were MtGox, Bitcoin-central, or any other SEPA-zone exchange, I'd be considering making some advertising on Cypriot television. Perhaps these exchanges could group together to pay for a collective ad. Something briefly explaining why Bitcoin is not affected by such confiscation ("decentralized network not controlled by any single authority, be it bankers or governments").

I'm not into marketing so I'm probably not the best person to come up with such ad. But I'm sure there are talented people around here that could create a great one.

This is the moment to start hitting some "mainstream" folks, at least in Cyprus!

A bit late for that I'd guess. If they have partially locked accounts for transfers and withdrawals, why would it be different for SEPA transfers?

It can't remain locked forever. And there are multiple ways to move money around. Localbitcoins could see some increasing traffic from Cyprus, if only Cypriots were more aware of Bitcoin... (and a good part of the money being sold via localbitcoins would likely have been bought via exchanges, so they could still profit from some advertising)

download to iphone galaxy etc and show it to people lol

Cypriot television?! Last I knew, there were two channels. There's the Turkish channel, and the Greek channel. That place is dirt-poor. We wouldn't hear about it if NATO didn't use it for military/diplomatic operations. Christ, they probably don't even have cable! The blockchain would have to be delivered by ferry!

ham radio ?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=154060.0

There's no national TV you mean? There must be at least a national radio, then?

(Doing the advertising on a Greek TV channel that happens to be broadcasted in Cyprus too wouldn't be bad at all either... it would kill two birds with a single stone... granted, a more expensive stone, but likely worthwhile...)

Roger ver already has radio and Youtube videos made.

it s too late for them to save their money the amount of the tax has been fixed before they can withdraw...
And they are not so poor they ll probably keep a bitter taste in mouth so i bet a bitcoin association could catch-up!
Anybody from cyprius here???

IMO better version:

https://i.imgur.com/xSDDHVD.png

Also:

If you guys want to scare away potential Bitcoin users, keep sending them memes.   Would you want to trust your money in a system that promotes goofy tag lines and even goofier-looking meme characters?  Start presenting BTC in a professional manner, people will take notice.

Oh lighten up. Let the nerds have their day. It won't be long before they replace their youthful indiscretions with the responsibilities of life. Bitcoin doesn't care either because it stands on it's own merit as the bad boy rock-star and doesn't need anyone to dress it up in big boy clothes.

Wrong.

You haven't considered that every type of "thing" is for different type of audience. Memes, for example are targetted at young people who understand the internet.

It's quite obvious that they won't be effective in getting older and/or more serious people into Bitcoin. For them, we have different arguments.

https://i.imgur.com/xSDDHVD.png

It's a nasty face.

Ok, I'm thinking the "audience" just lost about 6-10% of bank savings.  Now they might not have access to funds until Thursday.  The last thing they need is some grinning fucko telling them "Ha ha, if you would have seen this stupid meme a week ago, you might be able to make that pesky mortgage payment.  Good luck on ya!". 

It spans all ages. 

hahahaha there are not many people in under 25 lucky enough to have mortgages in my country.


First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.

I think the meme is perfect.  Its a fucking annoying nerd who got in before you taunting you with the knowledge that if you only had your money in bitcoins you would be better off.  You just want to kick him in the teeth.  But you can only be mad at your self because you know hes right. 

This one rocks!

+1

+1

Well done Joe. I logged in to post the Cyprus incident, but your already on the case. I couldn't have put it better myself, so credit to you. I think significant history in the making for Bitcoin. And another chink in the armour and erosion of faith for the conventional financial system. Bitcoin has some genuine strengths it can demonstrate to the wider audience under this circumstance. So, spread the word people. Bitcoin is going to surpass $1000 bucks faster than we thought

Ok... I should have thought outside the box for you....

- your parents cant make their mortgage payment?
- you can't make your student loan payment?
- you can't make your car/apartment rent payment?

Get it?  Just because you might be under 25 years old in an affected country doesnt mean you rub salt in their wounds.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Like my dead great-grandmother never got affected by the Fukushima desaster because she never lived in Japan and at another time alltogether.

And therefore, it is probably no Japanese person's "goal" to be "unaffected" by the meltdown.

So neither people in Japan nor on Cyprus (they still cannot access their bank accounts as of now untill maybe sometime next week) should have any worries since neither your nor my great grandmother were affected by their problems.

Your logic is unbeatable and it looks like it is a solution for any problem of anyone living anywhere in this world right now.

What a pity that noone on this planet has seen your solution yet, but I bet it's time will come! ;)

Joe

Thanks for all the contributions and respect for the creativity all around! This is awesome, excellent, hilarious and at the same time some of the best guerilla marketing ever seen. Thousand of new Bitcoin users in Spain are self speaking.

Now that it turns ou the haircut _will_ happen (16% off everything above 100k, that includes retirement savings accounts and the money saved up to pay the kid's university and so on) we can use that meme in all it's different expressions and visualisations even further.

I run a little bar in Berlin that does quite a good job at promoting Bitcoin and bringing it nearer to a lot of people.

I would love to blow up and color-print out all of the images posted here and hang them up at the walls of our place. I would also print leaflets explaining what these pictures are about and that unconfiscatable money _obviously_ is a good idea nowadays.

I would call this something like "the first exhibition of grassroots art by members of the decentralised Bitcoin community" or so and I would of course credit any forum member who contributed on the bottom of each printout.

So here's my questions:

Do you think that would be a good idea?
Would you mind me using your image?

HAVE YOU GOT ANY MORE TO GIVE? :)

Joe

https://i.imgur.com/Zfbq2lL.jpg


--------------------------------------
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donations accepted with bitcoin at 1HSLVaXo5ujxqHd6DhwPDXojJwgmz3MLS3

any donation amount = 25 track album download link :)

Think so too.

Had printed myself a t-shirt with it today, wearing it right now. Do I remember correctly that this is Boromir?

Amazing how many people around here get it without further explanation and start laughing.

Joe

Sounds like a great idea, I'm not sure about the copyright on some of the images I used but other than that anything I post is GNU unless otherwise stated. :-)


http://i.qkme.me/3ti0td.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img819/8862/finfascism600.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/819/finfascism600.jpg/)

Some one has to do a voice over and put it on youtube

How much do ads cost on Youtube?

Maybe we could pledge to add this 4s video as an ad targeting Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland.
Actually, we could put 2 memes, the one of the irritating geek, then this one One Does Not Simply...

What do you think?

It would be particularly interesting if you can pay incrementally (the more you pay, more views you get, but you can start small).

With a translated text of course, which complicates things. Spanish is "Uno no entra simplemente caminando a Mordor", literally "One does not enter simply walking into Mordor", and we'd have to remove the verb "entra" from that place, ruining the entire construct.

Well, translating is less important for now. Bitcoins is still not that user friendly. People that can't read English would likely have a hard time learning enough about Bitcoin.

And plus, you can't translate memes. ;)

I was thinking of the following: the ad starts with the geek meme "Government steals bank deposits... Bitcoin User Not Affected". Then, the One Does Not Simply Confiscate Bitcoins meme. Both narrated in English. Then, if the user keeps watching, we concatenate the we use coins video - this one could come with subtitles.

I'm not sure Google would accept Bitcoin ads

Why not?

haircut is 40% now

LULZ !!

I want a t-shirt with this on, how do I do that ? anyone offering it ? it's the most awesome meme I've ever seen"

http://www.piehole.co.uk/ has voice over for about $100 per minute.

Many copy shops do that in full color and bad quality. For good quality plotted shapes via http://mangacorta.cl/ or http://www.spreadshirt.com/ for example, you would have to stylize the full color image though I guess.