Bitcoin Forum

I purpose to start a thread to come up with a concise selling pitch to Joe Public for Bitcoin.
Something that explains in the shortest amount of time what bitcoin  is.
No more than 1-3 lines.

Example
Bitcoin is a peer to peer digital currency that you can send from your computer to someone else's without using a middleman.

Lets Sex Up Bitcoin.. ;)



Edit


Folks So far so good. I am loving what I see.


Bitcoins.
Thunder.
I'm alive.

Not getting that one too much...


Bitcoin is a peer to peer digital currency that you can send from your computer  Android phone to someone else's without using a middleman for free.

Like it a lot and so true.


Do you believe that your money is yours and should belong to you, instead of being controlled by banks and governments who can tax, devalue, and even confiscate it at their whim?  Do you believe you should be able to send money to whomever you wish, anywhere in the world, quickly cheaply and easily?  Do you believe there could be a better way?  There is...

Just a tad long. But powerful.


Governed by math,
controlled by no-one,
freedom to spend.

Very Nice


Bitcoins are electricity converted into dollars.

Very Smart..


Bitcoin is a money with limited supply of 21 millions until 2140
lots of merchants started to accept the bitcoin online and some restaurants accept it, too. The price of bitcoin has appreciated a lot again us dollar.
As the fiat money can be printed as much as government  want, the number of people who dislike inflation and adopt bitcoin is increasing very fast.

Bit long for me dose get some of the facts across.


Bitcoin is a digital currency free from control and owned by everyone. It protects your privacy by allowing transfers with no 'middleman'. Best of all most transfers are free!

Another nice one.


It's like PayPal, but it's free.

Love it. but its not..


Bitcoin is noble.
Bitcoin is global.
Bitcoin is mobile.

I thought Shakespeare was dead.


In SHA we trust.


I didnt know what SHA was.
But when i found out  I cracked up. Nice one.
Bit difficult to explaine.

Bitcoins.
Thunder.
I'm alive.

In SHA we trust.

 Bitcoin is a peer to peer digital currency that you can send from your computer  Android phone to someone else's without using a middleman for free.

Do you believe that your money is yours and should belong to you, instead of being controlled by banks and governments who can tax, devalue, and even confiscate it at their whim?  Do you believe you should be able to send money to whomever you wish, anywhere in the world, quickly cheaply and easily?  Do you believe there could be a better way?  There is...

I vote for this.

Burmashave

Governed by math,
controlled by no-one,
freedom to spend.

Bitcoins are electricity converted into dollars.

bitcoin is a money with limited supply of 21 millions until 2140
lots of merchants started to accept the bitcoin online and some restaurants accept it, too. The price of bitcoin has appreciated a lot again us dollar.
 As the fiat money can be printed as much as government  want, the number of people who dislike inflation and adopt bitcoin is increasing very fast

My thoughts - don't use 'peer to peer' which is strongly asscoiated with 'file-sharing' aka 'downloading songs and movies'.
Need to think about other words that convey a similar sense, perhaps 'community'?

Lets start with what are the core features we wish to convey? Here are some I think might be important.
1. Decentralised
2. Pseudoanonymous direct transfers
3. No fees on most transactions

A random example
Bitcoin is a digital currency free from control and owned by everyone. It protects your privacy by allowing transfers with no removing the 'middleman'. Best of all most transfers are free!

Hmm needs work, especially that last sentence. *edit* simplified

the one i've heard that i like the best is:

it's like PayPal, but it's free.

Tiger's Blood.
Hashing.
Winning.

i feast on the bones of trolls.

well, i know all that.  but the thread title asked for a 'selling pitch'.

in case you've never done it (sell), you gotta get your foot in the door...

EDIT:  ok, ok:  it's better than PayPal, and it's free.

+1

A well hashed Haiku.

Another well hashed haiku.

Not that I know what a haiku is..
but that should be..

Bitcoin is noble.
Bitcoin is global.
Bitcoin is mobile.

Coinvestor (Ryan)

My attempt #2.  OK, I got a bit carried away and it turned into a TV ad instead of a slogan.  I guess it's a bit off-topic, but if it was done right it could be a 1-minute teaser to get people interested... So, I'm posting it anyway just to add to the idea pool:

[voiceover in a somewhat spooky or sardonic voice ... i.e. not total doom and gloom, perhaps almost silently laughing at the doom and gloom
 but with brooding ambient background music, deep -- orchestral basses/cellos/bassoon etc]

The world's economy is in turmoil.  The people struggle while the fat-cats grow ever richer.
Governments, banks, and credit card companies control your money.
Heavy fees and taxes, the power to freeze or confiscate your savings at their whim;
they decide how much your money is worth and how you may spend it,
and it's only going to get worse...

[voiceover keeps with the same style but changes to a more uplifting tone
 with change in music key + higher timbres including triangle & bell-tree (ch-ching... maybe even go full-on cheese like the simpsons intro chord :))]

...or is it?
There is a growing community of ordinary people, who know a better way.
Who believe that your money should be yours to do with as you please.
Now, you can send and receive money, quickly, easily, and safely, anywhere in the world, with transaction fees that are next to nothing.
It's the new global currency, which gives control back to you.

Bitcoin.  The future of money is here.  Join us.

["Bitcoin.  The future of money.", logo, and url on screen]


(...or something like that)

Obviously bitcoin is not ready for this kind of thing yet -- it needs to pass the "grandma" test for ease of (secure) use first. 
Also I'm not sure about the introduction being "doom and gloom" -- I think it would have to be done just right to grab and hold people's attention, hence the almost humorous "spooky" voice, rather than the vibe of yet-another-bloody-depressing-news-story. 

On the other hand, maybe this is the wrong approach altogether -- it has a more "anti-authority" approach than some would like, I suppose...

Thoughts?

Will Work for BITCOINS  ;)

Is the value of your home going under water?
Move into bitcoins and stay a float

not bad.

the anti-authority approach worked for Apple (the 1984 ad was huge) - but of course they're quite authoritarian.  maybe it works best for folks like that.

as an ad though, i like it.

EDIT:  i especially like:


assumptive success is good.

I want Bitcoins Now

BTC comes with free beer and steak, makes supermodels want to have sex with you, and will fill your bank account with and endless supply of money....

.....what?

thats what I was told....   ;D


now....which one of you has my steak, and who here is a supermodel?   

I really like this

Way too confusing

It's a shot in the dark, but here I go!

Bitcoin. Like the US dollar or the Japanese yen, but completely online.
Or
Notice how everything has been getting a lot more expensive lately? Not if you're using bitcoin, the currency that lives on the internet!

I find that a lot of people don't understand anything about money or where it really comes from. Trying to tell them about decentralization and middlemen is a waste of time! It has to be about the convenience, ease of use, and security!!!

I want to say one thing, I am just amazed at the thought and effort that people put into this. There are  some quality suggestions there. I have never had something looked at 450 times before. It gives me hope for the future of Bitcoin. :) :) :)   Thanks

BITCHES DON'T KNOW BOUT MY BTCOINS!

I'm not sure if I agree with this or not :)  Certainly, if one uses terms such as "decentralization" and "inflation" and "market cap" etc, most people's eyes will glaze.  If it's presented in a different way, however, maybe it can very much hit home with your average joe.  The section of this song I've quoted below is one example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqxnm6t3QMw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqxnm6t3QMw)


One further thing though, directed at this topic of conversation in general rather than your post: After reading the threads about TV ads etc, I agree with the comments in there which are along the lines of, 'Bitcoin isn't ready for advertising yet -- until there are serious improvements to security (for stupid), and UI usability (for stupid), there will be chaos if everyone jumps on board right now.  Stolen wallets and all sorts of scamming, resulting in a loss of public confidence.'  I don't want to be a buzzkill, I believe this situation will most certainly change, but we're not there yet...

I think what I posted in my thread works rather well and is even informative:
Bitcoin is the perfect form of digitized cash. It is anonymous, easy to use, secure, fast, and can be accepted anywhere at any time.

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=26322.0

I like it.  I agree with everything in the above statement, but, it's those damn technical details...

• It can be anonymous, but only if you know what you're doing.
• It is secure and easy to use, but not easy to use securely.
• It's a fast compared to international wire transfers, but too slow for day-to-day use. (e.g., 10-60 minutes is too long to wait for a burger).
• It can't be accepted where there is no internet connection, or where people have no clue.

All of these things can and will be fixed; I just feel that it is important to be careful at this early stage, when talking about ways to "let the world know" about bitcoin, not to make it sound better than it is (yet).  It could be quite bad for public confidence if there was for example a wave of adoption followed by a wave of wallet theft due to ignorance...

How about:

"Bitcoin.  You're not ready."
"Bitcoin is a doorway; your mind is the only key."
"It is like a finger pointing at a coin..."
"Bitcoin is awesome but you totally wouldn't get it."

 ;)

Why don't you use adages of previous generation of adopters [Bitcoin in 15 Words for Laymen (http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=1574.0;all)]:

It is not like paypal, as it not a payment processor. It's digital currency, and payment processors will surely be built upon it.

It is not free, as the network must carry the costs of the collectively maintained transaction database and security. Currently this is done largely through monetary inflation (mining), and in the future will be done through transaction fees.

This is great.

I would make that

Governed by math,
Controlled by you,
Spent in freedom

or spent with privacy?
but that's of lesser concern to people
and less true because of transaction tracking

First online cash-like currency kept constant by a publicly known equation.

It's global money that you can give to anyone through the internet.

It's Paypal without Paypal.

crazy-cool cryptographer-created cash-like coin currency kept constant.

LOL

Mining our own business, since 2009.

(disclaimer: i didn't come up with this myself, and i'm quite opposed to associating bitcoin with mining in any public relations)

WIN  ;D

WIN +2

n.b.,  there are a lot of clever and true things posted here that just won't do:


  and even:


to which i will repeat myself:


no geekinesss.  at all.

put your head into thanksgiving-at-grammaw's-house mode.

think of your aunt tillie - what she wants, what she knows, and what she's capable of learning easily.  sell her.

Bitcoin; Trusted by more paranoids than any other currency.

Bitcoin; You don't have to trust me, just that 1+1=2.

Bitcoin; Don't bother if your happy not to own your money.

Bitcoin; When was the last time you where happy with your bank?

Bitcoin; When was the last time you where happy with your governments financial ruling?

that one.

LoL also

"For every $1,000 you invest in my company I'll give you $200 a month for a year" Thats what I said to all my investors and its how I made all my mining rigs.

Gullible people are gullible.