Everyone who's going to hear about bitcoin has heard about it

[jehst]

You're not going to find a middle class guy who is remotely tuned in to CNBC or Yahoo/Google Finance who hasn't heard of bitcoin by now.

In the past, bitcoin expanded into new demographics. It started with the Slashdot crowd in 2009. Then the Wired/Silk Road article crowd in 2011. Then expanding more towards the VICE/Reddit/CNBC crowd in early 2013. By late 2013, it was on major network television in places like China, Russia, India, etc. You can't be a Wall Street Journal reader or a Google Finance reader without having read about bitcoin. It's been on the front page multiple times.

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

[fdylstyx]

Can't argue with that.

[gentlemand]

True, but there's a universe of difference between hearing a word and actually knowing all it entails.

I obtained my first mobile phone around fifteen years after becoming aware of them. I had heard of the internet many years before i actually got on there and realised the potential.

I first read of btc in 2009 but didn't bother to comprehend it until 2012/13.

[MicroGuy]

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

Today's Satoshi's are working in the altcoin sector. The next big push will probably come from there.

[Eastfist]

You're not going to find a middle class guy who is remotely tuned in to CNBC or Yahoo/Google Finance who hasn't heard of bitcoin by now.

In the past, bitcoin expanded into new demographics. It started with the Slashdot crowd in 2009. Then the Wired/Silk Road article crowd in 2011. Then expanding more towards the VICE/Reddit/CNBC crowd in early 2013. By late 2013, it was on major network television in places like China, Russia, India, etc. You can't be a Wall Street Journal reader or a Google Finance reader without having read about bitcoin. It's been on the front page multiple times.

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

Very observant. I got a mass communications degree. You're spot on.

[darlidada]

jehst always post good stuff

[dopecoindude]

You're not going to find a middle class guy who is remotely tuned in to CNBC or Yahoo/Google Finance who hasn't heard of bitcoin by now.

In the past, bitcoin expanded into new demographics. It started with the Slashdot crowd in 2009. Then the Wired/Silk Road article crowd in 2011. Then expanding more towards the VICE/Reddit/CNBC crowd in early 2013. By late 2013, it was on major network television in places like China, Russia, India, etc. You can't be a Wall Street Journal reader or a Google Finance reader without having read about bitcoin. It's been on the front page multiple times.

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

This is actually a good point. Hopefully, Bitcoin can re-stablish itself somewhere and bring in the people that matter.

[cryptoart.com]

You're not going to find a middle class guy who is remotely tuned in to CNBC or Yahoo/Google Finance who hasn't heard of bitcoin by now.

In the past, bitcoin expanded into new demographics. It started with the Slashdot crowd in 2009. Then the Wired/Silk Road article crowd in 2011. Then expanding more towards the VICE/Reddit/CNBC crowd in early 2013. By late 2013, it was on major network television in places like China, Russia, India, etc. You can't be a Wall Street Journal reader or a Google Finance reader without having read about bitcoin. It's been on the front page multiple times.

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

Thought I might chime in on this.

We setup a pop-up gallery at SXSW --> 90%+ had heard of Bitcoin.   

A couple weeks ago, we setup a pop-up gallery in Memorial City Mall in Houston -->  10% had heard of Bitcoin. 



These numbers are anecdotal of course.  Memorial City is in a wealthy part of Houston, but has a diverse crowd. 

Most of those that had heard of Bitcoin didn't have animosity towards it, they just hadn't taken the imitative to get involved.  This seems to support your last point.

-Troy

[futureofbitcoin]

People have heard about bitcoin, but doesn't really know what it is. So in that sense, they still need to "hear" about "what" it is.

But yeah, bitcoin needs more big names for the general population to have any chance of trusting it.

[Kaneki]

people's behind Bitcoin development should have to begin to think of technology innovation for a new push to the front so that bitcoin is not only the demographics

[Kprawn]

A while ago, I thought the same thing... Then Microsoft on the console side, started to accept Bitcoin as a payment method.

A bunch of us on Reddit, went into the Xbox sub-reddit and went on a tipping spree to celebrate it, and to introduce more people to Bitcoin.

I got PM's for a couple of week after that, from people on that sub-reddit, who wanted to know more about Bitcoin. I had to create a custom reply to these PM's with links to resources on Youtube and forums like this, to answer them.

So there are still a lot of people, who have not heard of Bitcoin. 

[Amph]

True, but there's a universe of difference between hearing a word and actually knowing all it entails.

and there is also another difference between hearing about a thing, and actually use it to discover how it really work

i doubt that even the 10% who heard about it, are using it

[futureofbitcoin]

True, but there's a universe of difference between hearing a word and actually knowing all it entails.

and there is also another difference between hearing about a thing, and actually use it to discover how it really work

i doubt that even the 90% who heard about it, are using it

Er that's exactly the OP's point... most people have heard about it, yet bitcoin is still quite small. How do we fix that?

I think that if every single person who has heard of bitcoin uses it, bitcoin is already mainstream.

[louise123]

You're not going to find a middle class guy who is remotely tuned in to CNBC or Yahoo/Google Finance who hasn't heard of bitcoin by now.

In the past, bitcoin expanded into new demographics. It started with the Slashdot crowd in 2009. Then the Wired/Silk Road article crowd in 2011. Then expanding more towards the VICE/Reddit/CNBC crowd in early 2013. By late 2013, it was on major network television in places like China, Russia, India, etc. You can't be a Wall Street Journal reader or a Google Finance reader without having read about bitcoin. It's been on the front page multiple times.

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

True, one can not argue with that.
I believe Bitcoin will be in the spotlight again when the price starts to rise and get back where it was on it's all times high.
When that will happen, nobody knows - except maybe those who f*ck with the exchanges?

[gongomanny]

The next push won't be expanding into a new demographic. It will have to be on the strength of the technology itself.

I think the next big push should be on education. Some people where I'm at might have seen an article or heard the word "bitcoin", but they don't know what exactly it is and aren't aware of how to use it. It's not a topic that comes up in converrsation. I think there should be more awareness on what bitcoin it - and it's already happening, with more startups and exchanges being established and more people starting to mine.

[Amph]

True, but there's a universe of difference between hearing a word and actually knowing all it entails.

and there is also another difference between hearing about a thing, and actually use it to discover how it really work

i doubt that even the 90% who heard about it, are using it

Er that's exactly the OP's point... most people have heard about it, yet bitcoin is still quite small. How do we fix that?

I think that if every single person who has heard of bitcoin uses it, bitcoin is already mainstream.

yeah i did a mistake i wanted to say 10% not 90

what i mean is that there is really no a great correlation between hearing about it and going mainstream

one does not cancel the other

[Elwar]

I have met several people who still have not heard of it.

[shulio]

I have met several people who still have not heard of it.

Several ? that is actually great. In my college specifically my major, Im the only who know about bitcoin. I have introduced it to several friends and only 1 is interested in it

yeah i did a mistake i wanted to say 10% not 90

what i mean is that there is really no a great correlation between hearing about it and going mainstream

one does not cancel the other

Yes there is no correlation but atleast if bitcoin had been heard before it makes things easier if you wanted to convince someone into using it rather than introducing it to someone who is still blind about it

[galbros]

A while ago, I thought the same thing... Then Microsoft on the console side, started to accept Bitcoin as a payment method.

A bunch of us on Reddit, went into the Xbox sub-reddit and went on a tipping spree to celebrate it, and to introduce more people to Bitcoin.

I got PM's for a couple of week after that, from people on that sub-reddit, who wanted to know more about Bitcoin. I had to create a custom reply to these PM's with links to resources on Youtube and forums like this, to answer them.

So there are still a lot of people, who have not heard of Bitcoin. 

I think this post highlights the key issue.  Most people may have heard of bitcoin but there is a big difference between having heard of something and using it.  This example is so good because it combines introducing bitcoin to people as well as showing an immediate use for it.

But as to the OP, I agree, the days of a popular media outlet mentioning bitcoin and the price moving up are gone.

[coinpr0n]

I see OP's point about the next push having to be technological. (Using the cliched "Internet circa 1994" analogy...) Mainstream people don't talk about HTTP, they talk about YouTube and Facebook. Perhaps the next big push will come from killer apps on top of Bitcoin.