Bitinstant brokering extortion threats?

[jojo69]

Yeah, US has nice "laws" these days...

The US constitution does have its flaws

but it is quite a bit better than the system we live under today

[eldentyrell]

I don't run a blog and Forbes doesn't write articles about me, so I'm not sure I follow you here.

I'm referring to the fact that you, personally, could be responsible for relaying or hashing the actual Bitcoin transaction

Oh right, I must have been sleepwalking when I wrote an article loudly proclaiming my offer to hash Romney's transactions "without fees", then had an article written about it in Forbes, and gleefully confirmed it to the reporter, encouraging him to attribute the offer to me.

Sorry, what was your point again?  I seem to have forgotten.

[Yankee (BitInstant)]

I think BitInstant didn't do anything so terrible. Because everyone knows there never was a real extortion threat, BitInstant doesn't look bad for offering to help out in jest.

This.

Bitinstant didn't do this for Romney - they did it for all the tens of thousands of people who are now researching Bitcoins after reading the article about the attempted extortion, and are wondering how to easily acquire Bitcoins for themselves.  Read the latter portion of Erik's quote:

Not only that, we’ll also show you how to safely use a Bitcoin wallet, back up and encrypt it, and make payments. We’ll even set you up with a Bitcoin app on your iPhone! You’ll be a Bitcoin expert in no time!

He makes the business sound incredibly helpful to newbies.  Which is exactly who will be reading the article, and exactly who will end up purchasing Bitcoins through Bitinstant because of it.  Even though he is addressing Romney in the quote, he is really addressing all of the people who have just heard about Bitcoin for the first time.

Oh, and does everyone realize that both presidential candidates now know full well what Bitcoin is?  

[FLHippy]

If you're referring to the fact that Romney accepting the offer might increase the bitcoin price and therefore increase my fiat-denominated revenues, I can do without it.  In fact I think in the long term it will damage the value of BTC more than it will boost it.

This is an important point in all of this. I am in BTC for the long term. This may help the PRICE in the short run, but it is detrimental to BTC in the long term.

I've been paying pretty close attention for a little over a year now. Until recently I kinda just watched and waited while hustling a few coins to pay for my lunch. But now you have the attention of powers you cannot control. Cash out while you can is now the defacto battle cry of this community.

It's become super super fun to watch it play out.

The 70s came and went and the lucky ones cashed out while they could. The communes all failed and those "draft dodging hippies" all got with the program. It's happening here too. You started out with a grand idea. How long did it take to get robbed? A month? The robberies and the scams associated with anything of value appear to be crushing bitcoin exponentially. There has even been of banning tainted coins by major exchanges. There will be some point in the not so distant future when so few coins are being mined that all of the coins will have a taint level unacceptable for usual trading.

I pray that

Oh shit, pray? dude... prey is what the main activity is around here.

[mirelo]

I've been paying pretty close attention for a little over a year now. Until recently I kinda just watched and waited while hustling a few coins to pay for my lunch.

Just curious: what made you change your attitude?

[bg002h]

I think BitInstant didn't do anything so terrible. Because everyone knows there never was a real extortion threat, BitInstant doesn't look bad for offering to help out in jest.

This.

Bitinstant didn't do this for Romney - they did it for all the tens of thousands of people who are now researching Bitcoins after reading the article about the attempted extortion, and are wondering how to easily acquire Bitcoins for themselves.  Read the latter portion of Erik's quote:

Not only that, we’ll also show you how to safely use a Bitcoin wallet, back up and encrypt it, and make payments. We’ll even set you up with a Bitcoin app on your iPhone! You’ll be a Bitcoin expert in no time!

He makes the business sound incredibly helpful to newbies.  Which is exactly who will be reading the article, and exactly who will end up purchasing Bitcoins through Bitinstant because of it.  Even though he is addressing Romney in the quote, he is really addressing all of the people who have just heard about Bitcoin for the first time.

Oh, and does everyone realize that both presidential candidates now know full well what Bitcoin is?  

+1

We should be thanking them for turning something bad for Bitcoin into something that could actually help Bitcoin grow...the general public now has something to read from our perspective when they google this Romney stuff...

[BkkCoins]

We should be thanking them for turning something bad for Bitcoin into something that could actually help Bitcoin grow...the general public now has something to read from our perspective when they google this Romney stuff...

Yes, I think he realized that Bitcoin was being ignored in all the Romney discussion and comments. This was a way to make the story more about Bitcoin. It's pretty clear to any thinking person that Romney isn't going to be paying the ransom so it's pretty safe to offer to help him. Getting attention is what marketing is about.

[istar]

The best thing would just be to act like a good politician.

"The Bitcoin community will unite, and we will put all of our strength into finding these hackers.
Make no misstake, this it the top on our agenda."

Then do...Nothing

But I really see the extortion as Bitcoins weakness. If its possible.

My understanding was that it would had been foolish to do something like this.
Because with enough resources something like this would be very very hard to pull of.

And maybe it really is.

As I earlier wrote that when a kidnapping happens, Bitcoins risc being made illegal atleast in a few countries, based simply on public opinion.
Noone will react, because they understand jack shit about money and Bitcoin.
To many of them its probably just a scam.

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

Although I don't think any harm will come from this particular publicity stunt, I don't think it's wise to play jokes with people who are notorious for their lack of humour and who have a monopoly on the use of force.

And, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  Unfortunately, this episode means that we now have many people whose first exposure to the word Bitcoin is in the context of a theft/extortion scenario, further assisting the "Bitcoin as currency of crooks and perverts" narrative.

Bitcoin is young and its ecosystem is weak.  It would be much wiser for Bitcoin to lay low and out of the public eye until the technology and infrastructure is out of the beta stage, complemented by mature products and services, and widespread enough in use so as to make attacking it both politically and technically difficult.

Precisely because Bitcoin is so disruptive and dangerous to the establishment, I share the following gentleman's concern that the Bitcoin community (and high-profile service providers like BitInstant) should not, even in jest, go around deliberately kicking potential hornet's nests by linking Bitcoin to politicized events under government investigation:

It would have been nice to get this attention in any other context.

[Vladimir]

I think BitInstant didn't do anything so terrible. Because everyone knows there never was a real extortion threat, BitInstant doesn't look bad for offering to help out in jest.

This.

Bitinstant didn't do this for Romney - they did it for all the tens of thousands of people who are now researching Bitcoins after reading the article about the attempted extortion, and are wondering how to easily acquire Bitcoins for themselves.  Read the latter portion of Erik's quote:

Not only that, we’ll also show you how to safely use a Bitcoin wallet, back up and encrypt it, and make payments. We’ll even set you up with a Bitcoin app on your iPhone! You’ll be a Bitcoin expert in no time!

He makes the business sound incredibly helpful to newbies.  Which is exactly who will be reading the article, and exactly who will end up purchasing Bitcoins through Bitinstant because of it.  Even though he is addressing Romney in the quote, he is really addressing all of the people who have just heard about Bitcoin for the first time.

Oh, and does everyone realize that both presidential candidates now know full well what Bitcoin is?  

Yep, kids, watch how pros expertly do PR and learn from them.

[Portnoy]

I think BitInstant didn't do anything so terrible. Because everyone knows there never was a real extortion threat, BitInstant doesn't look bad for offering to help out in jest.

This.

Bitinstant didn't do this for Romney - they did it for all the tens of thousands of people who are now researching Bitcoins after reading the article about the attempted extortion, and are wondering how to easily acquire Bitcoins for themselves.  Read the latter portion of Erik's quote:

Not only that, we’ll also show you how to safely use a Bitcoin wallet, back up and encrypt it, and make payments. We’ll even set you up with a Bitcoin app on your iPhone! You’ll be a Bitcoin expert in no time!

He makes the business sound incredibly helpful to newbies.  Which is exactly who will be reading the article, and exactly who will end up purchasing Bitcoins through Bitinstant because of it.  Even though he is addressing Romney in the quote, he is really addressing all of the people who have just heard about Bitcoin for the first time.

Oh, and does everyone realize that both presidential candidates now know full well what Bitcoin is?  

Yep, kids, watch how pros expertly do PR and learn from them.

 

Ya, like spamming up the general discussion forum with your bitcoin magazine advertising, not very well veiled as actual discussion. 

You and Voorhees have a lot to learn about responsible advertising and promotion imo. 

[cypherdoc]

Unfortunately, those in political office won't see it as just a tool, and they might try to shut down exchanges and Bitcoin based businesses.

My ultimate fear.

Innocent businesses like Alpaca Socks and many other organically successful BTC businesses having to stop excepting BTC (thus killing their businesses), because of this nonsense.

So your fear is that government might shut down legitimate Bitcoin businesses (ultimately because of the properties of Bitcoin)? And we, as Bitcoiners, should all be walking on eggshells to prevent this from happening?

If you truly belive that Bitcoin can and will change the way the world works, at some point there will be a clash between Bitcoin and the entrenched systems which Bitcoin renders obsolete. The people who control those systems will most certainly fight to maintain their power.

Bitcoin can only change the world if those who support it refuse to obey any authority which attempts to shut it down. If it does get to that point, you then have two choices. Obey the authorities and stop using Bitcoin, or ignore them and continue to use Bitcoin.

At some point you have to stop being afraid and make a stand for what you believe in. If the recent news bothers you, well hold on to your hat, because if the fight does come, it will get much, much worse.

well said Holliday.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I'm with Bitinstant on this one.
That's the spirit of Bitcoin - we are building a disruptive technology which will take over the world.
We aim at no less, so why be so shy about it?
Winners will write the history.

We can be disruptive without breaking any laws in the process....

...or via gray-hat/black-hat techniques. Heroes wear white hats.

~Bruno~

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I think BitInstant didn't do anything so terrible. Because everyone knows there never was a real extortion threat, BitInstant doesn't look bad for offering to help out in jest.

This.

Bitinstant didn't do this for Romney - they did it for all the tens of thousands of people who are now researching Bitcoins after reading the article about the attempted extortion, and are wondering how to easily acquire Bitcoins for themselves.  Read the latter portion of Erik's quote:

Not only that, we’ll also show you how to safely use a Bitcoin wallet, back up and encrypt it, and make payments. We’ll even set you up with a Bitcoin app on your iPhone! You’ll be a Bitcoin expert in no time!

He makes the business sound incredibly helpful to newbies.  Which is exactly who will be reading the article, and exactly who will end up purchasing Bitcoins through Bitinstant because of it.  Even though he is addressing Romney in the quote, he is really addressing all of the people who have just heard about Bitcoin for the first time.

Oh, and does everyone realize that both presidential candidates now know full well what Bitcoin is?  

Yep, kids, watch how pros expertly do PR and learn from them.

With all due respect to Vladimir. (seriosly)

I can probably safely assume you're a hell of lot better at PR than most on this forum, but here's where I'm having a problem.

In early spring of this year, I was gung-ho about evangelizing Bitcoin until shit started to hit the fan, e.g., Zhou 1,2, and 3, then Pirate, then Bitfloor, now Mitt (think I'm missing one or two others). It makes it rather difficult to promote something when all the person to whom you're promoting to has to do is Google Bitcoin, then all your earnest efforts are then tossed out the window with the bath water.

I'm pretty sure there's some great white-hat marketing approaches in the works by various bitcoiners, but any gray-hat/black-hat marketing ploy will surely backfire, and that's indicative of any product or service promotion involving Bitcoin or not.

This post is in no way pointing any fingers, but come on, guys, let's be a little more forthcoming.

Peace!

~Bruno~

[FLHippy]

I've been paying pretty close attention for a little over a year now. Until recently I kinda just watched and waited while hustling a few coins to pay for my lunch.

Just curious: what made you change your attitude?

I didn't change my attitude at all. I'm still hustling a few coins to pay for my lunch. Cashing out.

The recent even is I signed up for an account on the forums. And I got a spiffy back injury so I have more time to do things like read this forum while I recover. Silent Hill is on the TV and I'm going to have to re-watch it cause the various high-level bitcoin dramas are more interesting than the horror flick.

I think I just woke up in a shitty state and felt a need to vent about history repeating.

I would rather be sailing. I'm sure you would rather I be sailing also?

[Vladimir]

Phinnaeus Gage, this is actually a very serious topic you are bringing up here.

Yep indeed it seems Bitcoin is riding one wave of negative news after another. I also have stats of online article popularity and I will tell you that http://bitcoinmagazine.net/bitfloor-hacked-250000-missing/ this one is the most read article we ever had (counting by hits since we've started the website). On the second place is http://bitcoinmagazine.net/the-silk-road-report/ .

Trust me, I would prefer it to have more positive news and articles. Unfortunately, it is not up to the mirror what it shows. It seems that embracing negativity and riding "there is no such thing as bad publicity" bandwagon is an obvious choice at this stage. I am not convinced that such "gray" PR necessarily will have long term negative consequences.

Edit:

just for illustration adding coundown of top 9 most popular Bitcoin Magaizne website articles, May 1st Sep 7th, (1 - most popular):
 9. Ponzi Scemes the danger of high interest savings funds
 8. Bitcoin savings trust geniune of joke
 7. Adam Kokesh on Bitcoin and free market money
 6. Silk Road armory terminated
 5. Growing decentralisation in the bitcoin economy
 4. Bitcoin gone wild
 3. Bitpay breaks daily volume record
 2. The silk Road report
 1. Bitfloor hacked, 250000$ mising.

Print version is much more diverse and positive however.

[Portnoy]

Phinnaeus Gage, this is actually a very serious topic you are bringing up here.

Yep indeed it seems Bitcoin is riding one wave of negative news after another. I also have stats of online article popularity and I will tell you that http://bitcoinmagazine.net/bitfloor-hacked-250000-missing/ this one is the most read article we ever had (counting by hits since we've started the website). On the second place is http://bitcoinmagazine.net/the-silk-road-report/ .

Trust me, I would prefer it to have more positive news and articles. Unfortunately, it is not up to the mirror what it shows. It seems that embracing negativity and riding "there is no such thing as bad publicity" bandwagon is an obvious choice at this stage. I am not convinced that such "gray" PR necessarily will have long term negative consequences.

Church bake sales rarely cause as much rubbernecking as fatal traffic accidents.

Yes!  Lets stage a fatal traffic accident as a way to promote bitcoin!  We could put bitcoin logos on the dead bodies.
That will be sure to bring a lot of positive attention and users eager to embrace this new technology that will improve
the way we do business and live our lives the way we would like.  

And if anyone offers any criticism or feedback we won't be grateful for it but rather arrogantly dismiss them as children
( despite the fact that many of them are much older and have been in the world of business for much longer than us  
marketing geniuses ). Yep kids that how the pros do it these days!  

/edit  And if you go to a church bake sale maybe you might learn a little about genuine and passionate community building and involvement. 
It may be slow but it often deep and lasting... rather than a flash in the pan which comes from gimmickry and the like.

[greyhawk]

What about selling toxic cakes for BTC at church bake sales? This should get everyone on board. The compassionate guys and the "bad things = more exposure" crows.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Phinnaeus Gage, this is actually a very serious topic you are bringing up here.

Yep indeed it seems Bitcoin is riding one wave of negative news after another. I also have stats of online article popularity and I will tell you that http://bitcoinmagazine.net/bitfloor-hacked-250000-missing/ this one is the most read article we ever had (counting by hits since we've started the website). On the second place is http://bitcoinmagazine.net/the-silk-road-report/ .

Trust me, I would prefer it to have more positive news and articles. Unfortunately, it is not up to the mirror what it shows. It seems that embracing negativity and riding "there is no such thing as bad publicity" bandwagon is an obvious choice at this stage. I am not convinced that such "gray" PR necessarily will have long term negative consequences.

Edit:

just for illustration adding coundown of top 9 most popular Bitcoin Magaizne website articles, May 1st Sep 7th, (1 - most popular):
 9. Ponzi Scemes the danger of high interest savings funds
 8. Bitcoin savings trust geniune of joke
 7. Adam Kokesh on Bitcoin and free amrket money
 6. Silk Road armory terminated
 5. Growing decentralisation in the bitcoin economy
 4. Bitcoin gone wild
 3. Bitpay breaks daily volume record
 2. The silk Road report
 1. Bitfloor hacked, 250000$ mising.

Print version is much more diverse and positive however.

TBC, I am of the camp that espouses any exposure to a brand, even negative, is good publicity, but wave upon wave of negativity erodes our precious beach, so to speak.

Any at rate, I don't have any issue with you, Vladimir (currently), and have promised Matthew that if any negativeness involving him comes to light during my asinine research, I will contact him first prior to publishing. I now include that promise toward anybody in his camp, save for forgetting that such-and-such is in said camp if I ever make the mistake of publishing first.

That said, keep up the excellent work you're doing over there, but please consider letting us know as much as possible as to what the heck you guys are working on. Case in point, see the last meme I published.

Later, bud.

~Bruno~

[Portnoy]

I never said I condoned such things (if that's what your first paragraph was trying to imply). I was simply pointing out human nature, from my experiences (I've never seen a church bake sale tie up four otherwise perfectly functioning lanes of a major highway for hours at a time).

So...   backatchya.

Whether you personally condone it or not is largely irrelevant.  The point, I feel, still stands. 

One can exploit, the lower and weaker aspects of, human nature... fleece the sheep... for a quick buck... instant gratification... etc.   
or one can try to encourage and inspire the more positive aspects of it.  I like to think Satoshi's dream, or vision or whatever one
would like to call it, is an example of the latter.

One is harder to do than the other but I would suggest more rewarding, for all, in the long run.