Cheerleader Tryouts, Bitcoin & YOU! (pony up)

The bitcoin card thread that kept getting deleted inspires this question in my newfound enthusiastic quest to absorb bitcoin like a drug. Least, I can see the addiction thing trying to kick up.

What I've noticed in browsing all these awesome sleep depriving threads is something bitcoin is lacking.

Consider all of us are long since acclimated to the concept of brownie points - we got gold stars for good behavior in school, free passes, credits, miles, green stamps - the whole thing, so this isn't a new concept to anyone. Brownie points have long since evolved though into the widely popular and immediately accepted gamification through social networks.

Bitcoin initially suffers from bad PR and could seriously benefit from a Public Relations Campaign overhaul.

There can always be a single company that throws money at it but it would be better for the network itself to adopt a full blown PR campaign for bitcoin that takes it mainstream like nobody's business. If various entities (and governments/media) can artificially screw with the purchase and value of bitcoin, then it says bitcoin is always at the mercy of media, government, or whatever which is the exact opposite of what it was created to do.

If the entire community pooled its bitcoin resources and worked together to create a bitcoin card, bitcoind points, and gamify the whole concept as a gateway into investing in bitcoin as a payment system, a currency, and a secure long term investment option, it would easily control public opinion over and above ignorant whore media and skittish governments, no longer at its mercy.

The community itself could trade exclusively in bitcoin to develop and air media campaigns, commercials, radio spots, fun treasure hunt websites (and real world) - and use those measures familiar to people to get them excited and interested in bitcoin as a familiar "points" currency to help them understand the entire concept without fear. Bitcoin owners could create an official bitcoin logo, sticker, and media kit of sorts that can be freely downloaded amongst the community itself and passed around locally to businesses to get them excited and educated about bitcoin. If it's true and factual that bitcoin's value increases as it's bought and sold, then everyone who owns bitcoin or units should pony up as a network to fund these cards (as a gateway IN, not indefinitely)...so new people can pick up a card, buy some stuff, and enter the network with ease.

Make it fun, familiar, commonplace and easy in order to remove the threat of "sleazy black market counterfiet bs" the media/gov has painted it as and the people will begin to embrace it in droves...and then it really will be unstoppable.

The bitcoin network - the same ones who mine, trade, invest, and spend - pools their *wealth* as currency and the work to take 100% control over the future of bitcoin and make it mainstream.

Nobody gave a shit about facebook or twitter until they recognized the social value and gamification of them, then they went ballistic in popularity.

In my honest opinion from just 2.5 days in learning more, this is one area I think bitcoin needs some serious ass to even be able to go mainstream. After reading a good chunk of the 5k page thread on the trends and the utter mercy you all seem to be in with the market, not knowing if the IRS or China news is going to drop the bottom out and crucify bitcoin or if it'll spike to the moon, it's clear that you've all left the future of bitcoin at the mercy of external forces instead of taking control over the direction, trajectory, momentum and adoptability of the product created to solve the problem to begin with. I sincerely hope you will - as a community of bitcoin owners, users, traders and assorted enthusiasts and fangirls/boys - stop waiting on the market to correct itself and instead make the market your bitch...because bitcoin is a solid solution whose time has come.

Just sayin...hopefully enough of the community sees the solution and works to make that happen.