Bitcoin Mindset: Pro-Economy vs. Pro-Profit

[kenerwin88]

When I first discovered Bitcoin, it was right around the same time that I discovered Tor, and both technologies seemed incredible (and still do).  Bitcoins were about $2.50 each, and while I thought they’d probably increase in price, I was solely interested in them because I was intrigued.
Not much later, I returned to see how they BTC was doing, it was up to $6!  I kept thinking that I could have more than doubled my money, and it was at this moment that my mind switched to a complete pro-profit mindset. I bought a decent amount at $7, and finally sold all of them at $12, overjoyed at the time at how well I had done.

Fast forward a year, check back, the price has skyrocketed.  I started speculating again, and ended up even buying a bunch of LTC for a few cents, that oddly shot up to a few dollars apiece a week later.  I checked BTC-E constantly, selling, trading, but all of this time my goal had been to gain more US $.

One day though, (and I think its right around the day we wrote our first insurance policy with Bitcoin) I realized that at this point, I care more about Bitcoin surviving, and the economy flourishing.  The idea behind it is incredible, and I truly feel that it’s something that I should be working towards helping.  This has changed how I’ve felt about a lot of things, below are several:
Alternate Cryptocurrencies:  I know there is room for as many of these as can be thought-up, but I really feel like overall it is diluting the image of bitcoin, at least right now.  I view nearly all of the other coins (NMC, PPC, etc) as having little to no chance of surviving as anything other than a pump and dump.  And while I am probably wrong, I realize that I have been using these SOLELY for speculation, there is absolutely nothing that I can or want to buy with anything other than BTC (And even that is hard at the moment).
Selling BTC: I don’t want to sell my BTC on exchanges anymore, I want to spend them on other things within the BTC economy.  I am trying to stop seeing BTC’s value in USD amounts, when I spend it, I want to spend it in its BTC form.  I hope that makes sense.  I just found out a dental office not far from where I live is now accepting Bitcoins, and just knowing that about them is enough for me to want to use them just to support BTC’s growth.

Purchasing BTC: For better or worse, the easiest way for me to obtain BTC right now has been to transfer money to Dwolla then to MtGox.  I have NOTHING against MtGox and actually love using them.  However I feel that a tremendous weakness for Bitcoin is centralization and a reliance on very few exchanges.  I am a system admin, my goal is to eliminate any single points of failure.  Mtgox is almost, but not quite, a single point right now for BTC.  I realize there are other exchanges, but the price would crash substantially if something were to happen to MtGox.  I will be buying from other exchanges as often as possible to fix this, I actually just used Coinbase and it worked out very well. 
Conversations: I have been reluctant to bring up Bitcoin for a long time to most people, however recently this has completely changed for me.  I believe in this, I really feel like this is something that is going to change the world, and I am proud to be a part of it.  I am doing my best to promote BTC’s acceptance anytime that I can.

Anyway, that’s just how I’ve been feeling.  Does anyone else have any ideas on promoting Bitcoin’s growth?

Thanks!

Ken 

[tmbp]

People are riding the Bitcoin economy like she's the last whore

[cdog]

I think if you are interested in buying and holding for profit (and not just speculating/trading), then by definition you are pro-economic growth.

These things take time. We are used to technological adoption happening fast, but half the people I try to explain BTC cant grasp it.

And 75% of the ones who do grasp it are like, "Oh thats cool. Good luck with that. Enjoy your 'digital bitcoin e-currency.'" 

So basically I dont bother explaining it to people unless they are very intelligent have and a hybrid libertarian/computer geek streak or a degree in economics.

[RenegadeMind]

...half the people I try to explain BTC cant grasp it.

And 75% of the ones who do grasp it are like, "Oh thats cool. Good luck with that. Enjoy your 'digital bitcoin e-currency.'" 

So basically I dont bother explaining it to people unless they are very intelligent have and a hybrid libertarian/computer geek streak or a degree in economics.

I sit outside reading a fair bit, and one of my neighbours drops by to chat every so often. He's older (around 68?), and loves all the stuff he can do on his computer, but has a hard time with some pretty basic stuff.

We talk about all kinds of things, including current economics and bitcoin.

He's actually interested and has asked me about how to get some bitcoins. He doesn't really understand all the mumbo jumbo, but he understands enough about the way the world is and that this could be a good thing.

I thought it was pretty cool that he's interested in BTC.

It all really depends on who the people are, and what your relationship is like with them.

I got my parents to buy some BTC (well, I bought it for them). My mom was all, "Oh, that's ok... don't worry... we're not worried about the money..." as if it was lost and gone. (They listen to the news a bit too much and actually believe most of it despite my admonitions to the contrary.) I told her how much she was up, and asked her if she'd ever managed to get those kinds of returns ever in her life. "No." She laughed! (My parents aren't really the type to go for bitcoin, or at least without my strong urging.)

So I think that there are possibilities for reaching people.

I've been working on a friend that has been procrastinating with it. Had to jazz him about it today as he'd have been up very nicely had he done anything when I mentioned that he should. He'll jump on board. He trades forex even, so he's well acquainted with the markets, but this is pretty alien for him.

Another friend of mine makes his living purely off of forex. He works a half hour or hour in the mornings and that's all. He's not jumped on board yet, but we'll see. He's the smartest person I know when it comes to this specific topic -- exchange. I know he understands this, but he's got enough money anyways that it just doesn't really matter for him.



But, I think the entire concept of bitcoin is fantastic. It's worth promoting to friends and family simply to help advance a free currency that isn't raped by central banksters.

I'm on board for more than just profit. And I think that's what's going to sell some people - the ideology.