Thanks, Mark. I thought that it might not be easy to establish the right channel. True, if we are not careful, we will be attracting a lot of scammers. I have reached to my LinkedIn contacts in Cyprus but I do not have any in Greece itself.

Great idea, Mark. We all can use a break sometime. Wow 3 Emu friends. That is cool! They can be as tall as 6 feet and weight 120 pounds. I might even have a business plan from 20 years ago from someone trying to raise seed capital to start an Emu farm. I think there are a few in Illinois.

Chase, that is a great idea if we have the right channel of reaching out to the Greek communities outside of Greece. I will personally be happy to support a matching fund if we can come up with the right package.

Very wise comments, Mark. It is very much appreciated. Indeed, we are all working hard and we are waiting. If it takes a whole generation, we trust that some among of CRISP For Kids account holders will acknowledge that we gave them a good start. Thanks to Chase who came up with the brilliant idea of helping our children and grandchildren to start developing good savings habits early.

I wish I can be more optimistic as to what is happening in Greece. Serious financial hardship is the norm than the exception and it is getting worse. I wish there is a lesson learned. Perhaps. Diversification is always a good strategy for any balanced investment portfolio. No matter how small the percentage, I believe that it is prudent to include some Bitcoin and digital currency. Of course, I hope that Mark's greatest fear of the bank will never happen, at lease not in a uncontrollable large scale.

 

# 1 is my favorite. Great job Mochilles. Thank you very much.

Another week is gone. Very soon another month comes to an end. And on August 18, 2015, DNotes will be 18 months old (1&1/2 years). It will be great if DCEBrief is ready for launch. It is possible but may not be likely because a lot more work needs to be done. I will try to focus on it this week as much as possible and can use all the help I can get.

This past week has been particularly challenging. I don’t remember the last time I went to bed at 10:00 p.m. and the next thing I knew was 6:00 a.m. Guess I maxed out both physically and mentally. Daylilies in our gardens are at their peak bloom and a lot of them are one of a kind we created a few years ago. They are stunning but take a lot of hard work, just giving them minimum care. I hope Joe will have time to take a few pictures at the farm and share them with us; 38 acres of gorgeous daylilies with thousands of our own creations. That is easily 100 times more than what we have in our gardens.

I must have responded to over 300 emails last week. Quite a few were the result of my participation at the Inside Bitcoin convention in Chicago and the Chicago Bitcoin Meet-up. Most of them were from my LinkedIn network, which interestingly enough are getting an increasing number of requests from the media. Although most of them are just curious, that is still a very good sign.

Greece financial crises have been on my mind all week. Frankly, it is very frustrating and depressing to think that there are viable business solutions but since DNotes is still in its infancy, for all practical purposes, we are not in any position to be of help. Now that the European Union and the European Central Bank “own” Greece, adopting a digital currency is totally out of the question. I appreciate that at one point CCTV was interested to interview me on that interesting possibility. The interview is now on hold.

In my opinion what we have seen is the worse of mankind in exploiting the helplessly weak party on a large scale with no regards for the financial hardship and desperation of millions. I am deeply troubled and fear that its negative implications will be far reaching, affecting everyone worldwide in varying degree. This was what I said a few weeks ago, “This is a very sad and tragic situation. The rich may end up losing a vacation home in a foreign country but many of the less fortunate are at risk of losing their entire life savings, while being too old to rebuild their nest egg. It is even more depressing when no viable political solutions exist to give Greece’s citizens any hope of rebuilding their financial future”. This is how I feel about today, “There will be so many restrictions in the final agreement, it is going to be like forcing a patient in intensive care to donate blood”.

It is a harsh statement. The facts remain that political solutions are meant to bring relief to the creditors while squeezing those who can least afford to give up more. A better business solution would be to issue a “ground halt” on all payments due over the next three years with zero interest accumulation. Bring in volunteer entrepreneurs worldwide to work with local business owners and focus on viable business solutions. The European Union, ECB, IMF and other international organizations should focus on working with the Greek government to develop the most favorable business environment to promote local and international business and trade. A significant amount of the “relief funds” should be allocated to assist new business development. Adopt a digital currency like DNotes and make Greece the world headquarters of digital currency and blockchain technology.

A diversified balanced portfolio invested for the long term is a good investing discipline. Keeping up with technology is never easy. In our rapidly changing world that is hyperconnected by increasingly more powerful smart phones giving billion more people computing power and communication at their finger-tips, something big is happening; bankers had tried to dispel but fighting a loosing battle. We are living in the digital age. With two smart phones or computers with internet connections you are your own bank. Digital currency and any digital asset can be sent and confirmed within minutes to anyone worldwide at near zero cost. Find out more and start here: “DNotes Will Be Known as the Currency with a Purpose”
http://cointelegraph.com/news/114557/dnotes-will-be-known-as-the-currency-with-a-purpose

Alan Yong,
July 18, 2015

I can envision that this site will become a "Goto" resource site for information and inspiration. We will make an attempt to define its mission next week to give us a better sense of directions. As technology evolves, mission statement also evolves over time. We just have to be very clear with our core mission. It is okay to keep adding resources and contents. However, we must be exceptionally careful not to "over clutter" the core messages we intend convey.

However, at this point we are collecting a shoe-box of ideas, and we can use a lot more. Keep them coming.

Imagine that we have a trusted global digital currency today that is available to everyone any where in the world and it represents 5% of the transaction in global commerce. Can you come up with a use case that may not be possible today, . ....................

Now what are the constraints we need to overcome to make the above possible. That will be a very important part of DCEBrief's core mission. That by the way, has been DNotes' goal from day one.

Thanks, Chase. Yes, we can use some "more powerful people quote". I will be devoting more time on this project starting next week. We also need to develop a list of the most important subject matters that should be included.

From CryptoMoms' Forum:

Quote from: Chase on July 16, 2015, 05:39:54 PM

The former Greek finance minister speaks out:


How Greece Was Lost: ‘We Were Set Up’ – Yanis Varoufakis

“[The Troika’s proposals were] absolutely impossible, totally non-viable and toxic … [they were] the kind of proposals you present to another side when you don’t want an agreement. This country must stop extending and pretending, we must stop taking on new loans pretending that we’ve solved the problem, when we haven’t; when we have made our debt even less sustainable on condition of further austerity that even further shrinks the economy; and shifts the burden further onto the have-nots, creating a humanitarian crisis.”

http://cointelegraph.com/news/114843/how-greece-was-lost-we-were-set-up-yanis-varoufakis

Quote From Shepherd Today:

It is a sad day in history. Position and power are relative as to whom does one has to measure up against. Essentially, it is about self-interest and the golden rule. (He who holds the gold, makes the rule.) Following is another interesting quote:

"FORCED TO ACCEPT"

Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, “ told lawmakers he had accepted a package he did not believe in and which would harm Greece, but the alternative was a disorderly bankruptcy that would be catastrophic.

"I acknowledge the fiscal measures are harsh, that they won't benefit the Greek economy, but I'm forced to accept them," he said before the vote.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/16/us-eurozone-greece-idUSKCN0PQ0GZ20150716

Those words coming from the Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras are disturbing. There had never been a viable option. Those who hold the gold are clearly making the rules.

This is what I said earlier, “This is a very sad and tragic situation. The rich may end up losing a vacation home in a foreign country but many of the less fortunate are at risk of losing their entire life savings, while being too old to rebuild their nest egg. It is even more depressing when no viable political solutions exist to give Greece’s citizens any hope of rebuilding their financial future”.

All indications are that DCEBrief will become a significant contribution to our industry. It has the potential to bring our industry together to focus on issues that matter. It is indeed a very exciting project and could be the most valuable catalyst for DNotes to be the global digital currency much sooner than it otherwise could.

Your anticipation of the site’s content is quite correct. We are still refining certain ideas and concepts. I plan to post more details in a few days. In the mean time it will indeed be very helpful if “We could come up with a shoebox of ideas / topics that members in the community could write short - 500-1000 word articles about, post them to a DNotes community writers e-mailing list for 'peer-review”. I would make that easier.  Just come with a list of titles and themes.

I have a very long list of writers (300 +) LinkedIn connections who could be invited to participate and be given 5,000 DNotes for submitting an article based on our list of titles and format. They will be paid more if the article is selected and published. Outstanding writers will be invited to write additional articles.

Hey, Nele. I am delighted to hear from you. I am sure the rest of our community are too. Very smart to hang on to those DNotes. We are just getting started and have a long way to go. I was at a meeting last night with about 40 Bitcoin supporters from the Chicago area. I have met some of them once or twice before. It was very rewarding to me to sense an increasing level of respect and appreciation for what DNotes has been doing.

One young man had a laptop with him. He is not a DNotes supporter yet but have heard of us. He pulled the DNotes long term chart as I continued to explain that DNotes is more than just a digital currency. We have been developing our own ecosystem, including our large family of CRISPs. As he examined the chart, I heard him said, "Wow, that is amazing. It has always been trending up with higher highs and higher lows". Everyone else nodded in agreement. With due respect, I must add that some of these people are hardcore Bitcoin supporters who don't care to know much more beyond Bitcoin and Litecoin. The potential of the industry is huge. We believe in doing our part to make it a better industry for everyone. We like to objectively identify industry challenges and help provide provide viable solutions one at a time. That is how DNotes will become the trusted global digital currency for everyone.

Thanks for your support, Nele. We wish you and your family our very best regards.

DNotes’ entire Bitcointalk forum can be condensed to be the greatest case study for MBA and Behavioral Science classes. I certainly hope that one day someone will do just that.

Most people are not skilled communicators or good listeners. They are also insensitive to the listener’s view point. A lot of people have the bad habit of falling into the trap of continuously talking without listening.

The article is correct in that it is easier to get people to listen to you in conversation they share the same view. Sharing that common view immediately creates common ground and common bond. That is hugely important if you want to make a sale.

In most cases, it is not that hard to find common ground. You can talk about many other subjects outside of what you are promoting. In the case of Bitcoin or digital currency, it is significantly more challenging because of many negative headlines that have already created false misconceptions.

The most effective ways that I found and used successfully is to ask questions and listen, in order to establish the listener’s point of view: “Have you heard of Bitcoin?  What do you think?”  Knowing where the other party is coming from is extremely important in effective communication.  

That was a four hour meeting and we went over a little. It was a good opportunity for me to catch up with a few people I met before as well as some new friends. Great meeting. Over 40 people showed up.

I will be gone the rest of the day to attend a Bitcoin/Blockchain meeting in Chicago. I will check in tomorrow morning.

CRISP For Students to be the 1st video is the right order. I like the interview format. Dressing up as typical students sounds good. Follow the key points of our press release, not necessary in the same order. I would go for the 3+ verses 3- minutes.

The general theme of our PR campaign is going to be shifting from an awareness campaign to education and with a focus on persuasive and compelling statements why is matters. Our first campaign target will be students and educators. Others to follow will be small business owners and their employees, Professional women and small business women and others. All these will be done with multiple press releases in conjunction with the launching of DCEBrief.

As an update, there is now a deal to work out a formal agreement.  Let me guess. At best, the final agreement will include many bad options, considered the least worse options from a bucket full of horrible options. Without a viable business solution this will sink Greece’s economy into a depression very quickly. It will not remain as a Greece problem but will evolve to become an expensive international problem.

Congratulations, Michael. I am one of your fans. Consistently great reporting.


Former WSJ Reporter to Advise MIT Media Lab on Bitcoin

Yessi Bello Perez (@yessi_kbello) | Published on July 9, 2015 at 13:22 BST

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Casey has been appointed senior advisor of MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative to help raise bitcoin awareness.

The journalist, known for his work with Paul Vigna on The Age of Cryptocurrency and their regular WSJ column BitBeat – which covered developments in the crypto space – will take up his post at the beginning of September.

After 23 years in journalism, Casey's change of career is largely due to the transformative potential of digital currencies, he said in a statement.

"Leaving the Wall Street Journal after 18 years is not a decision I took lightly. What it does reflect is my belief that digital currency is on the cusp of becoming a major transformative force in society."

In his role as senior advisor, Casey will work with both students and professors on social impact projects, focusing on raising the profile of digital currencies.

MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative was launched in April and is headed by Brian Forde, a former White House senior advisor.

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/former-wsj-reporter-to-advise-mit-media-lab-on-bitcoin/

"How often will there be new material published on the site?" We may not want to disclose our target. However, once the site get established, we expect a pipe line of articles waiting to be published.

I love your idea of "Executive Award for Excellence in Journalism" and "hall of fame style" Not sure about the monthly winners, though. This could turn out to be a very popular site. We will take our time to develop it and make sure that we have very high quality contents. We will be very selective.

From CryptoMoms' Forum:


Quote from: DNotes on Today at 07:32:14 AM

DCEBrief.com is up for feedback on the design.

It will prompt you for a login, enter daylily for the username and daylily for the password (it will prompt you to login twice).

Nothing is finalized, please feel free to comment on any aspect of the site. Whether you love it, hate it, or its just ok, I want to hear your comments.

Also, the content was just thrown in. The executive briefs were quickly written for demonstration purposes.

The executive brief for each story will be on the homepage, or category specific page (Business, Finance, Technology, Regulation, DNotes). So if you only wish to read the executive briefs, you wont have to click any further. If you wish to read more, you can click into the story, at the top you will be provided with the executive brief, and below will be the full story. Do you feel this is the best solution?

Also, the categorization of content may be a little tricky. I'm guessing we don't want to say "politicians click here" or "investors click here", to direct them the appropriate content. Is categorizing them as Business, Finance, Technology, Regulation, DNotes, the best solution?

The logo up there doesn't look bad, but it is essentially just a placeholder. I know some of you liked Mochilles logo's, once I get the source files I will tweak them and provide screen shots for everyone to decide.

Quote from: Chase on Today at 06:23:39 PM

The site looks great!

I agree with clicking more for the whole story, the categories, and using our 'in-house designer' Mochilles' logo.   

You may want to change the "About Alan Yong" where it says that DNotes is the most stable currency before we get called out on it by someone from Wall Street.  Perhaps something like "DNotes has demonstrated the most consistent growth when compared to it's competitors".

I love the rolling quotes! 

I was really impressed with what the Canadian Senate has done regarding regulation and maybe a few of their regulations as quotes would be appropriate.  For example:

“Digital Currency: You Can’t Flip This Coin! Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.”
Recommendation 1 (page 13)
The federal government, in considering any legislation, regulation and policies, create an environment that fosters innovation for digital currencies and their associated technologies. As such, the government should exercise a regulatory “light touch” that minimizes actions that might stifle the development of these new technologies.

Recommendation 2 (page 14)
The federal government consider the use of blockchain technology when advantageous to deliver government services and to enhance the security of private information.

Recommendation 4 (page 15)
The federal government, on an active and ongoing basis, work with other countries to formulate global guidelines for digital currencies while respecting the “light touch” premise outlined in Recommendation 1 above.


This was posted on our forum (Bitcointalk) June 20th and is also a good one:

“We believe that the best strategy for dealing with crypto-currencies is to monitor the situation as the technology evolves; that Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) must prepare to navigate and use block chain technology; that this technology offers new ways to protect the personal information of Canadians; and, finally, that this technology requires a light regulatory touch – almost a hands off approach. In other words, not necessarily regulation, but regulation as necessary.

From Shepherd today:

Chase, great observations and recommendations. Please take good notes so that we won't forget some of the most important points. We will make this a great site. We may want to offer a huge competitive challenge to member of the press with DNotes as prizes if we publish their articles on subject of our selection. Every article must have an "Executive Summary" We will define the format. Every "qualified" writer who submitted an article based on our approved subject and format will receive 5,000 DNotes. I know that you are excellent on this kind of project. Please help us give it more thought. I have been quite overwhelmed, to put it mildly. I have been building very good network with great contacts around the world. It is demanding to communicate with so many people, including some fairly high level people.