i think what the OP is trying to say is that soo many people sit on their hands and shout,
when will bitcoin go mainstream
when will bitcoin get noticed
when will bitcoin reach $xxxx

well, bitcoin is just code.. it has no voice, no arms no legs..
its the community. (you and me) that are the voice, arms and legs.. so for those asking when.. the answer is when they help themselves.

a prime example is a guy asking when his local shop will accept bitcoin.. like it will magically happen.. if he wants his local shop to accept bitcoin, he the person in the town, using that shop should go and ask that shop about bitcoin.. as a stranger 1000 miles away wont do it..

i dont think businesses need to verify to some government, just to set up a business.. but...
.. but.. if they are going to request customers funds and store/lookafter/mange peoples funds (online wallets/exchanges/escrows) then they need to get some insurance, and publicize their financial liability (coverage). as a basic fallback for consumer protection should the company decide to try legging it.

anyone can make a business look legit by spending $£50 for a state registration/companies house listing... but when it comes to storing funds.. insurance and consumer protections means alot more then any crappy registration application..

as for government regulation.. HA!
the government sit on their hands and leave it for the company to do the reporting/crime solving.. the only time they get involved to slap a company is when they receive a certain amount of complaints, but by this time, its too late.. also regulation is limited to the law of the small city/state that the company decides to register to, meaning if you are european. and the company is american.. your european customer protection laws may differ to the laws of america. and the regulator will only deal with the american law.

so regulation is not really 'consumer protection' either.. only insurance is the sure fire way to get redress if a problem arises,
but yes nothing is perfect

tell us a bit about your friends.. that way you can point out aspects of bitcoin that will 'it home' with them.

eg.. there is no point telling them that bitcoin is better then western union. if your 3 friends will and have never used or needed western union..

also do you have enough bitcoin your willing to spend on the meal..? look for places in your area that accept bitcoin and show them you buying something with bitcoin.
look on the bitcoin jobs listings to see any available jobs where people are paid in bitcoin. that way you can cover all the bases of rebuttles that bitcoin is not as useful as fiat.

if your friends are investors.. then do the comparison to gold speech, with all the benefits of bitcoin (deflation, limited supply, cost of production rising(mining)) to point out the huge rise potential.

mining wont cease.. there are 125 years worth of reasons for atleast 3people ->infinite people, to keep mining..

no one knows how many people will mine. no one knows how much the equipment will cost to mine.. but as long as 2 moral people or preferably 3 people mine bitcoin.. it will continue..

so relax, there are going to be enough financial incentive to keep mining going even for your great great great great grandkids to use bitcoin.

i would be more concerned about YOUR fiat retirement funds in the fiat market..
after all $2 bought 4 loaves of bread 30 years ago.. and now it only buys 1 loaf.. and in 30 years time it will be only a quarter of a loaf (in your lifetime), so worry more about fiat. as that quarter of a loaf for $2 is BEST case scenario for fiat.. as you may not even get a single slice of bread for $2..

your answer to the skeptic.. was weak.

id of said, "the cost of supply, vs the demand of the limited production"

as just saying supply and demand.. can be put against water, food, anything really. which has no limit and low cost to create. so its not really explaining the high 'value' by being that vague..

but with all that said, not everyone is an investor and not everyone wants to buy another currency just to hold for a profit..
lets say your skeptic is american.. i bet he knows the Euro is a valid currency, but he see's no benefit in holding euro just for the sake of it.

untill you talk to the restaurant you had a dinner meeting in.. and got them to accept bitcoin.. to show the guy first hand how fast you paid for your meal.
telling him the restaurant or their bank does not store your name address or bank details, so no hacking / identity fraud risks later.

and then on your way out, you stop buy a grocery store that accepts bitcoin and you buy toilet roll, bread, milk and baked beans.. to show bitcoin can be used for everyday things.. that skeptic would see more reasons for him to use it.

but even then, even if shops in america accepted euro.. your skeptic would still prefer to stick with the dollar..
the short answer is that there is no single way to explain bitcoin. not everyone is an investor, not everyone wants the hassle of swapping currency just to hold.
not everyone wants to swap currencies just to spend on things they can buy with native currencies, your never going to please everyone.. which is why its
best to learn about the people you are talking to. and highlight the bitcoin aspects that actually mean something personal to them

"The Purse marketplace will allow anyone to sell their goods online without the need for a merchant account from a payment processor"

"Purse will also be taking advantage of the blockchain and multisignature addresses to act as an escrow agent for all transactions on their new platform."


translation.. purse will be the manager of the funds... lets call them paypal, a merchant account payment processor. because without purse/paypal.. you cant escrow..

secondly, " their new platform." lets call that ebay.

im guessing to give ratings, people are going to need to have a username and password to advertise their goods. and that usernname will be linked to the escrow part.. hmmmm can anyone else say 'merchant account' especially when delivery details need exchanging

much easier to have a system where people can just post their adverts to facebook, twitter, craigslist. with a direct link to an escrow service, purely for the payment handling.

the problem..

52961

that number.. means only one user on that day can make 10 transactions.

what about the million of other people that want to create a number?
lets say 987,998 people want to receive a tx tomorrow
98799852961: short address for one person
98799752961: short address for another person
98799652961: short address for yet another person

just one digit out makes the difference between a few people.. yea, it will get confusing
and then them same 3 people receive a tx tomorrow
98799852971: short address for one person
98799752971: short address for another person
98799652971: short address for yet another person

what about other people putting that same number into their own address(cloning the short address), confusing the blockchain explorer to mistake who the intended recipient is vs anyone else trying to clone the number.

even more so, if all the funds are suppose to end up in the same address, 16LhF57EJszKUKfo3iEvsdsGX5JKo5pqAA.. then why even have the short address changing per tx.. after all the real bitcoin address is not changing, so no need to change the short number.. and also it makes it irritating for the recipient to keep making new transactions just to create/display the new number for the next day so that its valid..

a far better system is ofcourse usernames..

and the 1990's star trek franchise preddicted the apple ipad


the 1970's star trek predicted the flip phone


also the 1970's predicted bluetooth headsets


and 1940's charlie chaplin predicted obama and david cameron and the current economic and social environment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBpX0pkWKDY

wel bitcoin is not a ponzi, but if your rebuttle to those that claim it is, is to tell them to wait it out for 2019.. thats not really discrediting their lack of knowledge.

inform them that if they think its a ponzi. then gold is too..

after all if your gonna play the wait it out argument. they can easily win the argument with a few examples
Forever living aloe vera recruitment fee
avon recruitment fee
and many other MLM schemes that have been running for decades.

so try to explain bitcoin not as a 'investment' as thats what many see bitcoin as.. show them its a currency.. show them Dell accepting it. and the other 100,000 retailers around the world..

then ask them how many shops accept aloe vera or makeup as a form of currency

so if i walked up to you in a coffee shop. no names, i gave you $20, you gave me btc..

tell me what government database will show my name against that transaction..

next i send the funds to 4 addresses
1abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba
1azbycxdwevfugthsirjqkplomn
1zabcydefghxijklmnwopqrsvtu

now tell me.. one of them is for a friend in the bahama's. what government database tells which one is my friend.

now. can my friend by knowing the transaction links..(taint). know the name of the person i met in the coffee shop.
now can the guy in the coffee shop know the name of my friend.

?? ?? the answer is no

bitcoin was $250, now its $360

will it go up..

Mr. Miagi has the answer:

uppp
dooown
uppp
dooown
uppp
dooown

every bank note is an IOU

and thus bank balances are ONLY a list of liabilities..
banks do not list ASSETS.. FIAT is not an asset, but credit, no longer backed by the promise of gold..

bitcoin is an ASSET. it needs no backing.. just like gold is an asset and needs no backing..

its fiat that needs backing..

.. really think the FT are hiring people that dont have a clue about basic economics.. which is strange for a financial media outlet.

though i love the hyperthetical.. i prefer reality.. ignore the 7billion population.. as some of them are people who have medical issues, in prison, or are babies/toddlers.. (unable to be part of economic society)

so atmost you would see a 5billion population of actual people playing with and making free choices about spending.
we also know that upto 1mill coins are already lost.. gone..

so the potential free flowing bitcoin cap is 20mill coins..

now if everyone was equally given X bitcoin.. it would work out as 0.004btc per person.

now the hyperthetical exageration..
bitcoin being the only on world currency..

well at the moment average 'savings' are $45,000/person.
meaning 0.004btc=$45,000.. or put simply
in the dream utopia of bitcoin being the one world currency, with no other options. 1btc would be worth ATLEAST $11,250,000 per btc.

so now you have the utopian, wet dream perceived value of bitcoin..
can we now put the dreams and the speculation aside.. and just get on with getting retailers to accept bitcoin. you know.. make bitcoin actually more useful for everyday purchases of toilet roll and bread.. instead of specialist stuff..

the main thing to ask yourself..
in the 1980's you could buy a loaf of bread for 50c.. today it's $2
in the 1980's you could buy gallon of gasoline for $1.20c.. today it's $4~
ref: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70yearsofpricechange.html

so $2.00 thirty years ago would have bought you, 4 loaves of bread.. today.. just 1..

imagine what your money today will buy you in 2045..
quarter of a loaf?, just one slice?

so is storing $260,000 today worth it.. when you would only get about $65k of todays buying power.
now if you think that is scary, research the zimbabwe dollar.. and you will see the worst case scenario
(1980) 500 ZWD bought 3 loaves of bread
(2007) 30000ZWD bought 1 loaf of bread

people think that instead of just storing funds for retirement is bad and thus they put them into investment funds.. letting some stranger
in wallstreet trade your funds in the hope of atleast 5% yearly profit.. to keep ahead of inflation.. but the problem isnt that $260k might still be $260k in
30 years.. it might actually be $0.. as there is risks you can lose the lot..

and thus
its better to put atleast some of those funds into deflationary investments.. bitcoin, gold, real estate, etc.. to protect you against inflation..

to: RealBitcoin.
about PR
give me examples of what message you want to advertise..
give me 2 sentences

about advertising
what are you advertising. is it a straight forward, easy, legal, and safe way for people to purchase bitcoin..
after all there is no point advertising pizza if the customer asks how can they pay, and the pizza shop says we dont accept bank notes or credit cards. only wire transfers to x,y,z who ask for your life story.

so im all for expanding bitcoins usefulness. i have helped many projects,,many businesses and many individuals.. but lets see your idea's in action and i can point yo in the right direction and tell you if your trying to broadcast the right message to the right demograph of the population.

maybe because you are not showing them how they can buy toilet paper at your nearest store. or baked beans or any lifestyle stuff.. but i guess thats because you have no local store which accepts it..

so if your talking to people who dont really invest, about some new money maker that you are literally screaming that it is a guaranteed win.. it will sound like a ponzi..

so learn who you are talking to, and how they actually spend their money.. then SHOW them something they usually do, but done via bitcoin..
dont exaggerate bitcoins potentials to people that will never use those potentials.

and if all you can say is that the price rise will make them $$$$ profit... then that would burst any statements that bitcoin will take over fiat..
after all if fiat dies, there wont be a $$ .. because fiats dead!!

simple answer:
wait

reason:
right now think about your friends and families lives.. how they earn their income and what do they spend it on.
are there any shops in your city that will accept bitcoin. who will sell car fuel, toilet paper, cigarettes, alcohol, baked beans, meat, clothing.

ask yourself do any of your relatives shop online. and if so do those online stores accept bitcoin..

now the real question.. if you just handed them 1BTC, how useful would that bitcoin be to give your friend and family something to live on and pay the bills for a week..

now, if its not useful as a real world lifestyle currency right now in your city.. dont explain bitcoin as the worlds best currency.. they wont see it..

however
if they are not natives (thus foreign ancestry) and they send funds oversee's to relatives.
if they just go abroad alot and are sick of the exchange rates/transfer fee's of fiat
if they are in business and want to accept international customers without said exchange rates/transfer fee's
if they are interested in investments.

then that would be your key discussion topic.. showing, not telling.. showing them how less stressful bitcoin is compared to fiat money movements.

as for investments. i would say for the complete sceptic, just throwing $200 at an investment is a safe risk.. as its only a few days of wages and not a big deal.
dont be trying to overstate and exagerate bitcoins current position trying to coax people into multi-thousand dollar investments.

dont try over stating and overagerating the future..

keep to reality and keep to the discussion of your friends/families understanding level. using real life examples where appropriate.

that said bitcoin is still in the innovation era, and has a long way to go before granpa and granma would use it to buy their knitting needles and Y-front underwear using bitcoin.

so use some eye-wash to clear away the glaze of bitcoins potential and think long and hard about bitcoins reality, and tailor that to your friends/families needs..
if there is no solution to families needs. then wait it out until bitcoin expands.. and even better, you yourself fill that void. getting your local stores to accept bitcoin while you wait.. after all its your local store. in your town. so you would be perfect to get your local stores to accept bitcoin, to expand its usefulness

yes bitcoin, like gold works based on their own uniqueness.(bitcoins code and golds unique mineral type)
but people need to stop hailing bitcoin or gold as the sole future means of wealth..
id say at most bitcoin would hit 10% world usage.. which is far far better then USD, which is only 5% world usage. (350mill pop/7bill pop)
this does not mean FIAT will die.. it does not mean bitcoin wont last.. it just means logically that bitcoin can be great alongside fiat.

the issue right now is that while the reality of under 10,000 getting a regular wage out of bitcoin.. and out of them not all can buy toilet roll using their bitcoin locally.. shows that bitcoins usefulness is not quite there to hail it as 'god'

the reality is that in just 6 years there have been more victims then occassional users. and much higher odds compared to people living fully on bitcoin.
so the lives positively affected by bitcoin. does not outweigh the lives negatively affected.

so bitcoin has the potential for soo much. your right, the code proves it.. but bitcoin ECONOMY is more than just the code.. its businesses, exchanges, users, projects, idea's, personal choices.
so right now casting bitcoin as the one world currency, without actually doing anything so that people can buy toilet roll and bread with bitcoin. is not going to sway people to ignore the negative..

infact casting it as a big thing.. and then when new users struggle to find a legit place to convert FIAT to btc.. and then find local places in their neighbourhood to spend it.. is such a struggle, that it makes bitcoins potential claims feel false because 99% of people wont look at or care about the code.. they want to see what they can DO with bitcoin..

i think people need to hold back, calm down and work on getting bitcoin more useful (i personally have, but see many sitting on their hands waiting).

so lets not give a crap about media's positives or negatives.. its not time yet to go mainstream and definitely not time to make grandpa or the computer dysfunctional folk get involved.. lets get bitcoin more useful and userfriendly before trying to hail it as the one world currency, that many people pray for

sorry but bitcoin wont be the only currency for 7billion people..
i think people need to stop overexagerating their bitcoin faith. and instead stick to the realities.

when bitcoin gets more then a few thousand people recieving a wage in bitcoin. (remote working/ international work) and a few million use it regular..
lets say 20mill-100mill.. then bitcoin will be successful..

try not to exagerate bitcoin to be the cure for cancer or the end of poverty.. bitcoin has its place in the world and a large place at that.. but hailing it as the second coming and saying it will be everything the world dreams.. can actually put people off as much as the ransomware.

try sticking to logic and reality, have a fair balance of good or bad.. talk about bitcoins actual positive usefulnesses. and not its supposed god like potential..

i see many people going too far overboard with bitcoins future.. that it actually compares to media going overboard with the negatives..

i think a few people need to take a step back and stop praying for the miracle of a one world currency. and instead look at the logical future..

lets say that 1million people USE bitcoin regularly
lets say that 10,000 people get paid a regular and proper wage in bitcoin..

with many media items saying that mtgox has stolen from thousands of users people. or trendon shavers stole from thousands of users. or the ransomware cryptolock has affected millions of non-users. or the bitcoin ponzi schemes, bad investments. and the closures of mintpal, cryptorush, bitcoinica, and many other exchanges..

the victim rate far exceeds the user rate. and the amount of people receiving a wage and fully living on bitcoin (without pre conversion to fiat) is so low that the positives do not white out the negatives.

for all those that want to defend bitcoin. you probably also defend your home, or country to that same honour and respect no matter what is said..
so..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMqcLUqYqrs
bitcoin is not the greatest currency in the world... but it can be!!
atleast be honest, that way it can be fixed