Bitcoin press hits, notable sources

[Nescio]

The Week - Bitcoin - "Is the virtual currency for online drug buys doomed?"
http://theweek.com/article/index/216241/bitcoin-is-the-virtual-currency-for-online-drug-buys-doomed

The tone is set by calling Bitcoin "a shadowy underground virtual currency"..

It also quotes one Donald Norman as 'Bitcoin spokesman'. The article they reference lists him as 'a spokesman for the The Bitcoin Consultancy, which offers advisory services for institutions interested in Bitcoin transactions', which is I guess a Bitcoin related business. Funny how much misinformation can be gained from circular reporting.

[MemoryDealers]

I was contacted today by Germany's leading business weekly http://www.wiwo.de/

Below are his questions and my tentative answers.
Please mention anything else you would like me to add or mention in my replies.
It is nearly 2AM in Tokyo,  so I will email him my replies in the morning.

Thanks guys!


What was your reason to accept Bitcoins?
Bitcoins have a number of advantages over traditional payment methods. Nearly every day people try to purchase memory from us with stolen credit card numbers.  If a customer pays with Bitcoins,  we know for sure we have the money.
Bitcoins are also faster and much cheaper than credit cards, paypal, or bank wires.


How do you cope with the volatile exchange rates?
Bitcoin is a new technology that will revolutionize the world.  Because the long term price of bitcoins is increasing,  and since I am not converting them into national currencies,  the volatile exchange rate is not much of a problem.

And where lies the future for Bitcoins in your opinion?
Bitcoins are the most important invention since the internet itself.  They will change the way the entire world does business.
I predict that within a few years,  Bitcoins will become a major currency in the world.

[Anonanon]

Bitcoin on Freedomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoqDBfjimM

[n0m4d]

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2011/06/more-thoughts-on-bitcoin.html

[dacoinminster]

Bitcoin on Freedomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoqDBfjimM

This interview of Bruce Wagner is absolutely fantastic (warning: it is long).

[hazek]

OMG AWESOME!!!

Check this out: Adam vs The man[RT] - Stefan Molyneux: Bitcoins: digital currency of the future?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcchQs2YDZ0

[N12]

https://twitter.com/#!/wikileaks/status/80774521350668288

Wikileaks accepting Bitcoin donations.

[Drifter]

https://twitter.com/#!/wikileaks/status/80774521350668288

Wikileaks accepting Bitcoin donations.

Awesome!!

That's all that can come to mind right now after hearing that. So happy they're willing to give it a chance and I'll be donating soon

[Coma]

https://twitter.com/#!/wikileaks/status/80774521350668288

Wikileaks accepting Bitcoin donations.

This is a good opportunity for bitcoiners to show Wikileaks their support. Interesting strategic alliance for both "movements".

[imperi]

Bitcoin on Freedomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoqDBfjimM

Great video, thanks.

[fabianhjr]

http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2011/06/14/wikileaks-asks-for-anonymous-bitcoin-donations/

Forbes on Wikileaks and Bitcoin.

[Garrett Burgwardt]

Wikileaks doesn't seem to understand bitcoins. Not donating until they fix their description of them.

[JohnDoe]

SomethingAwful really wants to think they prompted 'Black Friday':

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/attack-of-bitcoins.php?page=1

[Jessy Kang]

http://www.observer.com/2011/06/bit-omoney-whos-behind-the-bitcoin-bubble/

My business got a small plug. No link, but that's reasonable.

[Nescio]

Bitcoin on Freedomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoqDBfjimM

This interview of Bruce Wagner is absolutely fantastic (warning: it is long).

It's also very one sided IMHO, I couldn't help thinking 'ponzi scheme!' while watching this. Bruce is almost exclusively focused on the (expected) appreciating value instead of utility and although Stefan mentions they're also going to talk about the downsides later on that never happens (don't you just hate when people state they'll come back to something later and they invariably don't?). Bruce also seems quite distracted in places, maybe he was watching the appreciation not happening?

We really need more balanced evangelism, the Bitcoin economy is helped a lot more by slowly and steadily growing with awareness of its weaknesses than by exponential hysteria causing a bubble that will wreck the whole thing when it comes crashing down.

[Neyo]

Bitcoin on Freedomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoqDBfjimM

This interview of Bruce Wagner is absolutely fantastic (warning: it is long).

It's also very one sided IMHO, I couldn't help thinking 'ponzi scheme!' while watching this. Bruce is almost exclusively focused on the (expected) appreciating value instead of utility and although Stefan mentions they're also going to talk about the downsides later on that never happens (don't you just hate when people state they'll come back to something later and they invariably don't?). Bruce also seems quite distracted in places, maybe he was watching the appreciation not happening?

We really need more balanced evangelism, the Bitcoin economy is helped a lot more by slowly and steadily growing with awareness of its weaknesses than by exponential hysteria causing a bubble that will wreck the whole thing when it comes crashing down.

Bruce Wagner is the Henry Blodget of Bitcoin:

“It’s a bubble, but it’s an unbreakable bubble, one that is just going to keep growing and growing and growing,” he said. He had predicted Bitcoins would be going for $10 each by the end of May; the price hit $9.999 on June 1. He now says it will hit $100 by the end of the month and $10,000 within one year. That nutty-sounding forecasting recalls dot-com bubble boy analyst Henry Blodget’s famous 1998 prediction that Amazon’s pre-split stock would double to $400, which happened less than a month later."
http://www.observer.com/2011/06/bit-omoney-whos-behind-the-bitcoin-bubble/

"It's not a bubble, and this time is different!" -That's what people always think.

[Crs]

http://nerdr.com/shutting-down-bitcoin-really-taking-down-the-bitcoin-network

more "sell,crash" topics coming.
oh, and don't forget the traditional floods 

[Basiley]

its could be cool to see BTC highlight/suggestion/analysis from someone famous/respected in CC, like BS or WC.

[BitterTea]

Just a heads up, not actually a press hit (yet).

Listening to the Planet Money podcast this morning, they mentioned an upcoming episode on Bitcoin. Might be good.

[Nescio]

Bruce Wagner is the Henry Blodget of Bitcoin:
...
http://www.observer.com/2011/06/bit-omoney-whos-behind-the-bitcoin-bubble/

I LOLed when this said: "The last time he’d been this excited was when Windows came out."

That's just so wrong on so many levels. Does the Observer not care which version, or is Bruce rightfully assuming his target audience to be the average Joe who thinks IE6 is 'The Internet'? And if we look at the statement itself, if you were excited when Windows came out you were either mental (1.0), or working for Microsoft marketing (95). Or you are well aware of what Microsoft were/are doing and represent but you have no moral fiber and are trying to drive up prices with less than subtle Microsoft stock parallels.

I must admit I'm fairly new to all of this and Bruce seemed like an OK guy when I first saw his show (with Plato's cross country trip), but this and the ponzi talk he gave on the freedom radio show puts a big dent in that.