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Author Topic: Wall Street Journal Frontpage Ad - 5000 Bitcoins  (Read 5463 times)
Anonymous
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July 02, 2011, 02:17:10 AM
 #1

Do you think it would be possible for us as a community to scrounge up 5000 Bitcoins for a frontpage ad on the Wall Street Journal?

It's $75,000 at current exchange rate. If we get 80,000 donations, at an average of .0625 a piece, we would reach the goal. That's probably a very liberal figure, however.

It's just something I like to dream of.
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Garrett Burgwardt
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July 02, 2011, 02:18:27 AM
 #2

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
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July 02, 2011, 02:19:06 AM
 #3

Do you think it would be possible for us as a community to scrounge up 5000 Bitcoins for a frontpage ad on the Wall Street Journal?

It's $75,000 at current exchange rate. If we get 80,000 donations, at an average of .0625 a piece, we would reach the goal. That's probably a very liberal figure, however.

It's just something I like to dream of.

We can put our  minds to it as a community we can achieve anything ! I'm in  lets see who follows ....


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Anonymous
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July 02, 2011, 02:25:37 AM
 #4

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?
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July 02, 2011, 02:27:07 AM
 #5

I think an advertisement in maybe a few smaller technology-related papers could be more effective, since "those kind of people" are usually more interested in exploring/trying out new stuff. Also there might be better things to spend money on than advertising right now, trying to make more ways that people can actually use the bitcoin for. Maybe ads in a business-related paper Grin?
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July 02, 2011, 02:32:05 AM
 #6

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

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Anonymous
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July 02, 2011, 02:39:00 AM
 #7

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

You see, we have no business professionals to make this stuff. WE HAVE TO ATTRACT THEM FIRST.

The people here are, frankly, idiots when it comes to starting a business. They are good at technical stuff but are terrible when it comes to anything requiring sound delegation, marketing and financing.
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July 02, 2011, 02:42:43 AM
 #8

I'd much rather see a 5000 BTC bounty on more usable clients, including smartphone clients and/or a "high value" app like a professional web based casino, a predictions market, or something else that US money is dying to get into but can't.
Anonymous
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July 02, 2011, 02:43:54 AM
 #9

I'd much rather see a 5000 BTC bounty on more usable clients, including smartphone clients and/or a "high value" app like a professional web based casino, a predictions market, or something else that US money is dying to get into but can't.
These things are inherently profitable. We don't have to throw money at them. What we need to do is attract innovators and entrepreneurs than can make these things.
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July 02, 2011, 02:44:05 AM
 #10

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

I agree.  Before bitcoin gets a lot more attention the whole way one manages one's bitcoins needs revision.  First, owned bitcoins need to be easier to secure (i.e. wallet encryption).  Additionally, there needs to be a warning when you install the bitcoin client that the user is solely responsible for the security of their own bitcoins, and some suggestions should be made in that prompt.  People need to be able to, at the very least, securely spend their own bitcoins from their cell phone.  Those are just a few things that need to be in place before we go around proselytizing bitcoin.

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July 02, 2011, 02:44:57 AM
 #11

Atlas I think it would be baller to put an ad on the front page of WSJ. However, I also agree with the other poster that btc doesn't need publicity right now - it needs dedicated enthusiasts to build more efficient businesses and services around it. We need easy, secure wallets. We need easy, secure exchanges. We need a client that doesn't have to download half a gig of transaction history before it can work. We need intuitive online banks and smartphone payment apps. These things take time, and I know people are working on them.

SO- what would perhaps be better is to shelve your WSJ ad until sometime in the future when the anti-free-market forces have started publicly beating down upon Bitcoin. THEN, we should pool some big money, make a kick-ass "Atlas is Shrugging" type advertisement and slap that on the paper. It's something for the future, not for now.

Great idea, of course Smiley
Anonymous
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July 02, 2011, 02:46:49 AM
 #12

Guys, these current enthusiasts can't build garbage. Again, NO BUSINESS SENSE. Nobody wants to spend coins right now because of this. We need the enthusiasm and businesses to come at the same time.

We need to market Bitcoin to INNOVATORS.
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July 02, 2011, 02:51:29 AM
 #13

These things are inherently profitable. We don't have to throw money at them. What we need to do is attract innovators and entrepreneurs than can make these things.

The casino and predictions market I'll give you. The clients I won't. Making short-term alternative client development profitable by offering a bounty would be incredibly more useful for the BTC project than a WSJ ad which will attract some interest, but not a ton. Hell, the project is already getting plenty of press hits. You aren't going to attract some amazing venture capitalists with an ad in the WSJ. You will however, make it ton easier for the average person to use BTC, thus opening up market opportunities for those same VCs , if you have easy to use and secure clients that aren't a nightmare for a non-technical user to understand.
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July 02, 2011, 02:53:55 AM
 #14

I'd much rather see a 5000 BTC bounty on more usable clients, including smartphone clients and/or a "high value" app like a professional web based casino, a predictions market, or something else that US money is dying to get into but can't.

The problem is 5000 BTC bounty is a drop in the bucket for most of those things.
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July 02, 2011, 02:56:09 AM
 #15

Guys, these current enthusiasts can't build garbage. Again, NO BUSINESS SENSE. Nobody wants to spend coins right now because of this. We need the enthusiasm and businesses to come at the same time.

We need to market Bitcoin to INNOVATORS.
The problem is anyone with sense wouldn't bother putting effort into going after such a small opportunity.

Bitcoin should initially focus on things it is vastly superior to for all people, not just those who ideologically want it to succeed.
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July 02, 2011, 03:00:35 AM
 #16

Do you think it would be possible for us as a community to scrounge up 5000 Bitcoins for a frontpage ad on the Wall Street Journal?

Possible?  Yes.  Worthwhile?  Not yet.

An effective ad does two things.  First, it gets the viewer's attention.  Second, it calls the viewer to action.  It says, "Here's something super cool.  Now go out and buy it!"  The call to action has to be something ultra simple.  It's usually either to call a phone number or go to a web site.  Once the user takes the action, that's where marketing transitions into sales.  If we're talking about a sales phone line, a salesman needs to answer that call and secure the sale.  If it's a web site, the site itself needs to do the selling to get that user to take the next step (e.g. download a program, sign-up for a service, buy a product).

Marketing is like chum.  You're throwing bait in the water to attract fish.  Sales is what you need to do once the fish are circling to set the hook and reel them onto the boat.

Right now, we have nothing on the sales side.  The average consumer will never, ever be able to figure out the Bitcoin client.  A super simple web-based wallet service designed for non-technical users needs to come before expensive advertising.

The Get Firefox campaign may provide some good examples for us to imitate.  Remember Firefox started out as Mozilla and it wasn't nearly as user-friendly ("dumbed down") as Firefox's current incarnations.  Once they had their sales strategy in place, that's when they did their full page ad in the New York Times (http://www.mozilla.org/images/nyt_ad_2004.png).
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July 02, 2011, 03:01:55 AM
 #17

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.
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July 02, 2011, 03:16:42 AM
 #18

Why not have a  5,000 BTC Bounty be infused into the services and products that are currently being created - maybe, a crowdsourced VC type system where the community dictates who gets what to help start/better their service ? Not sure how it would work but if we are saying the public doesn't need to know about BTC till their are services and products .... just thoughts?



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July 02, 2011, 03:25:23 AM
 #19

I agree with the sentiment of the majority of this threads responses. Let me explain why.

Here are some thoughts on bitcoins biggest challenges.
First, lets take George. His current goal in life is to acquire a new widget series 2 (tm). The series 2 widget is MUCH faster than his old series 1 widget, and he has to have one NOW!
George goes to an online widget shop. Let's now look at 2 of his options:
1. pay with BTC
2. pay with paypal

Now, we all agree, that paying for a widget is a new, secondary problem to acquiring the widget. So he first has to 'solve' this problem before he can solve his greater problem, acquiring the widget. OK, lets look at the new secondary problems from the pov of bitcoin vs paypal.
1. installing the client - paypal has the edge here, unless you get George to sign up for a bitcoin wallet service. Even then, paypal wins out over any currently competing BTC wallet service.
2. acquiring the payment currency. Here paypal destroys bitcoin. I can link my credit card and back account to paypal, and they just draw the funds out as I need. They also handle currency conversion. Acquiring BTC is far more effortful, and can add days to the process.
3. Security - the bitcoin client is not safe for the average windows user. full stop. Don’t argue about advanced users, or advanced operating systems. George is neither one of those, nor has one of those. Paypal wins here, unless we compare it to a mythical btc wallet provider that provides the same amount of security.
4. Usability - clearly bitcoin addresses are less friendly than email accounts. And so on.
5. Merchants - need to be able to easily accept bitcoins and transfer them into the currency of choice. paypal wins again.

For every single one these immediately pressing problems(in that they are standing in between George and his widget) paypal beats bitcoin.

Now, where does BTC stand in all this. Should it give up? No.
BTC has better fundamentals. Its foundation is stronger. But, when it come to the 'minor' problems, it is lacking. None of these minor problems are insurmountable.
So my conclusion is that BTC needs more infrastructure, to make purchasing of widgets as much about the widget, and as little about the process of acquiring/securing/using bitcoins as possible.

Once the infrastructure is there, spend like crazy advertising bitcoin.
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July 02, 2011, 03:33:21 AM
 #20

yes, must make it easier for the average joe to obtain his bitcoins. maybe create an ebay-like auction site that charges zero listing fees and only accepts bitcoin transactions.  so if someone has something to sell they can get their bitcoins just by listing an item.
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July 02, 2011, 03:35:26 AM
 #21

Who stands to gain the most if the Fed and the US financial system are bypassed?  Answer that and you'll have a good idea whom to get involved.
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July 02, 2011, 03:52:12 AM
 #22

As I said, in order for Bitcoin to succeed, it needs to be made easy and safe. It is neither. And noone seems to want to truly address this. All I see are folks trying to build up the house of cards further with futures markets and all that derivative jazz, but no attention to the obvious. Are you some of geeks so far removed from society that you can't see this?

The other issue seems to be the competing aims of the bitcoin community. Everyone talks high and mighty about the libertarian ideology behind Bitcoin, but the reality is that most are in it to speculate and gamble. So much so, that folks are complaining when the market doesn't move wildly (and presumably offer opportunities for large margins). How can one expect a true goods/services economy to build around something that swings like a windchime in a summer breeze? All this talk about getting a WSJ Ad and the like is just a call for more money to bubble up the price so these late adopters can become the new early ones. These Ponzi-scheme like mentality is getting Bitcoin nowhere.


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July 02, 2011, 03:58:49 AM
 #23

Who stands to gain the most if the Fed and the US financial system are bypassed?  Answer that and you'll have a good idea whom to get involved.

Humanity...

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July 02, 2011, 03:59:53 AM
 #24

As I said, in order for Bitcoin to succeed, it needs to be made easy and safe. It is neither.

I strongly agree, I know that others do to.
Right now we have the proof of concept. We're at the 'boring' stage. Knuckling down and building the infrastructure. Writing the unit tests. Documenting. All boring stuff that has to be done, but nobody likes to do.
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July 02, 2011, 04:02:23 AM
 #25

Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.


I work for a venture capital firm.  That's essentially how I ended up here.  The price and publicity surge in early June got our attention, but there are several reasons we've decided against any Bitcoin related projects (for the time being).  The primary reason is that the Bitcoin market share is puny.  The entire Bitcoin economy is worth less than $200M.  To put that into perspective, Zynga -- one single gaming company -- grossed nearly $600M last year.  Production and marketing of the movie the Green Lantern -- one single B movie -- was $400M.  We won't be able to justify any major investment in this market until it gets much, much larger.

Personally, I really want to see Bitcoin succeed.  But before any of the serious money can move into this market, we need a whole lot more common folk with bitcoins ready to spend.
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July 02, 2011, 04:08:39 AM
 #26

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

You see, we have no business professionals to make this stuff. WE HAVE TO ATTRACT THEM FIRST.

The people here are, frankly, idiots when it comes to starting a business. They are good at technical stuff but are terrible when it comes to anything requiring sound delegation, marketing and financing.

good point and agreeing with you.

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July 02, 2011, 04:09:55 AM
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Brad,

I would think that the waiting-for-armeggedon armchair militia types that seem to constitute the ideology-driven segment of the Bitcoin community would be as equally off-putting as any financial fragility. Rebranding this "black market currency" would be harder than simply starting another Bitcoin effort.

Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.


I work for a venture capital firm.  That's essentially how I ended up here.  The price and publicity surge in early June got our attention, but there are several reasons we've decided against any Bitcoin related projects (for the time being).  The primary reason is that the Bitcoin market share is puny.  The entire Bitcoin economy is worth less than $200M.  To put that into perspective, Zynga -- one single gaming company -- grossed nearly $600M last year.  Production and marketing of the movie the Green Lantern -- one single B movie -- was $400M.  We won't be able to justify any major investment in this market until it gets much, much larger.

Personally, I really want to see Bitcoin succeed.  But before any of the serious money can move into this market, we need a whole lot more common folk with bitcoins ready to spend.

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July 02, 2011, 04:17:07 AM
 #28

Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.


I work for a venture capital firm.  That's essentially how I ended up here.  The price and publicity surge in early June got our attention, but there are several reasons we've decided against any Bitcoin related projects (for the time being).  The primary reason is that the Bitcoin market share is puny.  The entire Bitcoin economy is worth less than $200M.  To put that into perspective, Zynga -- one single gaming company -- grossed nearly $600M last year.  Production and marketing of the movie the Green Lantern -- one single B movie -- was $400M.  We won't be able to justify any major investment in this market until it gets much, much larger.

Personally, I really want to see Bitcoin succeed.  But before any of the serious money can move into this market, we need a whole lot more common folk with bitcoins ready to spend.

But you work for a venture capital firm. Do you normal wait to invest in something until it is mature and huge? The highest returns are going to go to people who know that they will be building infrastructure and have capital to buy coins before they do it.

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July 02, 2011, 04:21:34 AM
 #29

There are so many things we can do to gain public's trust. i.e. secure wallet, make it easy to transact over the mobile devices, secure exchanges, have long term goals.

Voting "Nay" on the advertisement idea.
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July 02, 2011, 04:22:34 AM
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Right, so he's saying that the viability of Bitcoin is of enough question, they do not think it is wise to invest at this time. Some more maturing needs to occur before they are comfortable enough to build out services based on the concept.


Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.


I work for a venture capital firm.  That's essentially how I ended up here.  The price and publicity surge in early June got our attention, but there are several reasons we've decided against any Bitcoin related projects (for the time being).  The primary reason is that the Bitcoin market share is puny.  The entire Bitcoin economy is worth less than $200M.  To put that into perspective, Zynga -- one single gaming company -- grossed nearly $600M last year.  Production and marketing of the movie the Green Lantern -- one single B movie -- was $400M.  We won't be able to justify any major investment in this market until it gets much, much larger.

Personally, I really want to see Bitcoin succeed.  But before any of the serious money can move into this market, we need a whole lot more common folk with bitcoins ready to spend.

But you work for a venture capital firm. Do you normal wait to invest in something until it is mature and huge? The highest returns are going to go to people who know that they will be building infrastructure and have capital to buy coins before they do it.

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July 02, 2011, 04:24:10 AM
 #31

Brad,

I would think that the waiting-for-armeggedon armchair militia types that seem to constitute the ideology-driven segment of the Bitcoin community would be as equally off-putting as any financial fragility. Rebranding this "black market currency" would be harder than simply starting another Bitcoin effort.


Yes, we discussed that.  The early Internet had a reputation as being a haven for anarchists and porn addicts.  Once the money starts to flow, those impressions would erode rather quickly.  Additionally, it would actually be incredibly easy to re-brand Bitcoin.  Someone could make a web based wallet service called SuperPay that would operate on Bitcoin's infrastructure behind the scenes, but no one would be any the wiser to it.  This company could solicit businesses to start accepting SuperPay (adding SuperPay's logo to their sites, directing traffic to it, etc.) and it would all work seamlessly on the Bitcoin network.
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July 02, 2011, 04:26:30 AM
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Someone could make a web based wallet service called SuperPay that would operate on Bitcoin's infrastructure behind the scenes, but no one would be any the wiser to it.  This company could solicit businesses to start accepting SuperPay (adding SuperPay's logo to their sites, directing traffic to it, etc.) and it would all work seamlessly on the Bitcoin network.

Actually, I'm willing to bet this is how it will work.

Bitcoin will be the 'gold' that backs branded currencies.
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July 02, 2011, 04:55:24 AM
 #33

Who stands to gain the most if the Fed and the US financial system are bypassed?  Answer that and you'll have a good idea whom to get involved.

One group I can think of that would see Bitcoins as a godsend are people who need to send money internationally.  In particular, immigrant workers sending remittances back home at the end of every month pay enormous fees to places like Western Union, which they would be extremely grateful to avoid.  (Heck, even when using two reputable banks to send money internationally, I've paid fees of ~$100, it's a real robbery).  Remittances are a huge money mover worldwide, about $325bn in 2010 according to the World Bank (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTDECPROSPECTS/Resources/476882-1157133580628/MigrationandDevelopmentBrief16.pdf).  Find a way to get these remittances moving through Bitcoin, and you have your first truly large and diverse user base that *needs* BTCs.

Edit: Out of curiosity, I just looked up the fee to send $1000 from the US to Mexico with Western Union, and it's $20, not counting the rip-off exchange rate that they'll give you.
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July 02, 2011, 08:42:11 AM
 #34

Attracting the common folk isn't what's needed. And yes, that is who reads the WSJ. Direct contact/networking to people who would be interested in bitcoin businesses is what is needed. If we get even more people trying to come in and buy coins with credit cards and paypal then we'll just have a lot of people who have bad experiences due to the rough client and such.

So, if we're going to market, market to high tech VCs and entrepreneurs. That is bitcoin's best bet IMO.


I work for a venture capital firm.  That's essentially how I ended up here.  The price and publicity surge in early June got our attention, but there are several reasons we've decided against any Bitcoin related projects (for the time being).  The primary reason is that the Bitcoin market share is puny.  The entire Bitcoin economy is worth less than $200M.  To put that into perspective, Zynga -- one single gaming company -- grossed nearly $600M last year.  Production and marketing of the movie the Green Lantern -- one single B movie -- was $400M.  We won't be able to justify any major investment in this market until it gets much, much larger.

Personally, I really want to see Bitcoin succeed.  But before any of the serious money can move into this market, we need a whole lot more common folk with bitcoins ready to spend.

No, it's not a venture capital firm's investment philosophy, it's kind of growth capital. I guess the partner in your firm has never invested in a disruptive idea like microsoft\amazon\twitter\google\facebook or something. yeah, because they are so small and uncertain at its infant stage. But maybe they have invested a lot of money at the later stage of some firms. That's fine, you should watch over the community and one day you'll throw large money into this sector.

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July 02, 2011, 08:55:32 AM
 #35

Now the client software is very unsafe and complicated to make it safe.

1. I was told not to trust any of the e-wallet services.
2. I have to delete the wallet.dat when I don't use bitcoin.
3. So this is what I have to do for a bitcoin use:
 1) restoring wallet.dat from the encrypted file. ATTENTION, you should know how to locate the %APPDATA%/Bitcoin/ file folder first.
 2) Open the client software, and wait for about 20s until it's ready.
 3) send coin
 4) shut down the client
 5) Enrypting the wallet.dat and delete the one in %APPADATA%/Bticoin


The time needed:

1) 30s-60s
2) 20s
3) 5s
4) 3s-5s
5) 10s

Not mention that I have spend half an hour time to google out what is Truecrpyt, how to use it and where to download it to make sure it's not a software infected by the virus.

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July 02, 2011, 09:12:30 AM
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easier user interface and stupid easy to use security for wallet- everything else will fall into place once these two things happen- i am the only one of four friends that started out using bitcoins and still take bitcoins kinda seriously because it's too unsafe and hard to use. needs to be more stable and easy for more expansion.

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July 02, 2011, 09:36:28 AM
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bitcoin is not for stupid people .... yet.

... don't give matches to children to play with.

Step 1) Think of it as electronic gold ... (no, I mean really, alter you mind somehow and imagine that you have gold sitting on your hdd, usb, etc)

Step 2) Now, who needs to know about this and can handle the mind expansion that goes with it, not to mention the technical competence necessary to use it safely?

Figuratively, we are in the wild west when grains and nuggets and sacks full of the gold stuff are flying around, casinos, saloons full, whorehouses over-flowing, thieves and bandits lurk around every corner, few rules ... can't see it changing overnight.

Old school bankers, financiers will be the first to get bitcoin from the Wall St. Journal set, guys who really understand money ... if there are any left, but are they up to snuff on the tech.?

Seems like we are on our own and advertising it is pointless ... aim much higher. E.g. send a tech. memo to the BIS!

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July 02, 2011, 09:50:44 AM
 #38

-100

We don't need advertisement. It only makes it look like a pyramid scheme.

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July 02, 2011, 12:06:00 PM
 #39

As I said, in order for Bitcoin to succeed, it needs to be made easy and safe. It is neither. And noone seems to want to truly address this.


^this

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July 02, 2011, 12:10:27 PM
 #40

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

I agree.  Before bitcoin gets a lot more attention the whole way one manages one's bitcoins needs revision.  First, owned bitcoins need to be easier to secure (i.e. wallet encryption).  Additionally, there needs to be a warning when you install the bitcoin client that the user is solely responsible for the security of their own bitcoins, and some suggestions should be made in that prompt.  People need to be able to, at the very least, securely spend their own bitcoins from their cell phone.  Those are just a few things that need to be in place before we go around proselytizing bitcoin.

Agreed.
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July 02, 2011, 12:18:31 PM
 #41

Probably one of my favorite mass media ideas I have seen so far is this thread now.

However, it is too early, security needs to be figured out quicker like now.

But damn, this is the way to do something people.   We all know the coin itself is good, something that big is what throws it in everyones face basically saying "You may not have known what Bitcoin was before this huge ass ad, but now the news will be talking about this ad itself the next morning, so time to learn what Bitcoin is so you can have an opinion about at the water cooler during work in the morning"

This is about as awesome as getting the tv ad going.

One thing at a time Atlas, slow your ideas down to realistic goals lol

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July 02, 2011, 03:48:28 PM
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Quote from: lemonginger
I'd much rather see a 5000 BTC bounty on more usable clients, including smartphone clients and/or a "high value" app like a professional web based casino, a predictions market, or something else that US money is dying to get into but can't.

I agree. An enterprise bitcoin client that would allow multiple accounts, permission settings, compartmentalization of the wallet on a server, etc. would be nice.

I suggested this as a way to get more software developed for bitcoin:

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=25349.0

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July 02, 2011, 05:34:16 PM
 #43

Like I've said in your other threads - advertisement is not what the bitcoin community needs. We get plenty of publicity from newspapers, and we can barely handle that.
You have my attention. I'm very interested. What should we do? Build businesses?


I agree w/ Garrett.

Building services that make it easier to learn about and get started using Bitcoin is what's needed imo.

You see, we have no business professionals to make this stuff. WE HAVE TO ATTRACT THEM FIRST.

The people here are, frankly, idiots when it comes to starting a business. They are good at technical stuff but are terrible when it comes to anything requiring sound delegation, marketing and financing.

Show me a business plan of what you'd like to achieve with this advertisement.  Are you just running an awareness campaign?  Is that what you believe the issue is with Bitcoin adoption?  Awareness?  

I find my problem is getting current, brick and mortar companies (or even online companies) to accept it.  Hell, most online companies don't accept PayPal for God's sake.  You think they'll accept Bitcoins?

Show me the metrics you've measured to date, and how you're going to measure the effectiveness of your advertisement, and I'll donate.


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July 02, 2011, 06:08:27 PM
 #44

What would you advertise?  Hey everyone, check out this extremely hard to get into online currency which can be used for illegal online purchases and not much else at the moment??  Hey everyone, there is free money to be had, just invest a thousand dollars on a new computer and in six months you will start to turn a minuscule profit?

Bitcoins aren't even close to ready for non tech geeks to check them out yet.  It takes a damn week to turn USD into bitcoins right now for someone who doesn't have a dwolla account.

I drink it up!
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July 02, 2011, 06:11:33 PM
 #45

Ok everyone who's in.

Send the coins to my wallet.

...

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July 02, 2011, 09:32:22 PM
 #46

Old school bankers, financiers will be the first to get bitcoin from the Wall St. Journal set, guys who really understand money ... if there are any left, but are they up to snuff on the tech.?

I agree. I have a friend who managed money and reported directly to Soros. He was hot to trot on Bitcoin and wanted to get a few hundred thousand dollars worth of coins but has been reticent since the MtGox debacle. I don't blame him as he doesn't fully understand the tech behind it. A few of his friends who run hedge funds have also been scared off, for now.

Right now Bitcoin needs entrepreneurs to solve market needs. In my opinion, the market action going to $30 and correcting to only $15 portends some serious advancements being made in this regard over the next 6-9 months.

Someone is going to have to solve the current main constraint which is people getting fiat currency into and out of Bitcoins. BitBills are a good example. I have another idea which myself and a few other entrepreneurs are moving ahead with implementing and should be shipping in a week or two. Whoever exploits this constraint stands to make a ton of money and then the constraint will move to something else and some other entrepreneur will have an opportunity to solve that.

Bitcoin has a bright future but I think it will be fairly boring price wise for the next 3-6 months. Right now what Bitcoin needs is for the entrepreneurs really need to come in and start building sustainable businesses that solve problems.

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July 02, 2011, 10:13:41 PM
 #47

Hey Atlas, why not try to limit yourself to one monumental project a week.

Judging by the ads you'd like to run; no we can't raise that much.
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July 02, 2011, 10:56:42 PM
 #48

Guys, these current enthusiasts can't build garbage. Again, NO BUSINESS SENSE.

I fail to see the correlation between not being able to build/code websites/apps and business sense.  And being able to code doesn't necessarily mean you have business sense.

It takes a lot of capital to have someone else build or develop your projects.  Unless you get a coder that really believes in your ideas and is willing to work for profit/revenue sharing.

That isn't business sense.  That's lack of capital.
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July 02, 2011, 11:11:07 PM
 #49

Guys, these current enthusiasts can't build garbage. Again, NO BUSINESS SENSE. Nobody wants to spend coins right now because of this. We need the enthusiasm and businesses to come at the same time.

We need to market Bitcoin to INNOVATORS.

The wave of entrepreneurs who were attracted to Bitcoin over the past month are just getting in gear.  It takes time to put together a business venture, even at light-speed Bitcoin time.  I suspect we'll see some awesome businesses emerge by summers end.

I do think that whoever is the first person to put together a well-done predictions market or casino using Bitcoin as its premier currency will eventually make a killing (and I'm not working on anything like that).  I bet a talented, dedicated team is hard at work on such a creature as we speak.

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July 03, 2011, 12:18:44 AM
 #50

Guys, these current enthusiasts can't build garbage. Again, NO BUSINESS SENSE. Nobody wants to spend coins right now because of this. We need the enthusiasm and businesses to come at the same time.

We need to market Bitcoin to INNOVATORS.

The wave of entrepreneurs who were attracted to Bitcoin over the past month are just getting in gear.  It takes time to put together a business venture, even at light-speed Bitcoin time.  I suspect we'll see some awesome businesses emerge by summers end.

I do think that whoever is the first person to put together a well-done predictions market or casino using Bitcoin as its premier currency will eventually make a killing (and I'm not working on anything like that).  I bet a talented, dedicated team is hard at work on such a creature as we speak.

A wave of entrepreneurs have been attracted to Bitcoin in the last month?  And they are just now getting into gear?  Source?

I think there was a wave of investors but that's just what I think.  I'm not counting it as fact as there has been more sells than buys.  Notice the decline in price.  You can explain it away as much as you'd like but facts are facts and speculation is well...

But everyone keep speculating on speculation.  It gives me something to do as I watch my investment dwindle down to nothing.  Fact.

I have bought a few Russian domain names relating to bitcoin that with a little SEO receive 200 visitors a day to my site.  The .30 cents a day it makes me isn't enough to invest more of my money.  Sorry.  Unless there is a Russian coder that wants to partner with me.  PM me.

Otherwise keep speculating.
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July 03, 2011, 12:36:09 AM
 #51

As much as my wallet would love to see a Bitcoin ad on the front page of a major newspaper...

My brain hates the idea.
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July 03, 2011, 12:57:15 AM
 #52

The problem with projects like this in my mind is they should be backed by those who stand to make money should the endeavor succeed.  But the decentralized nature of bitcoin in this case hurts it because no one really has the incentive to put a lot of capital into a project to benefit the community as a whole.  Taking lots of small donations is neat, but in order for it to really go anywhere you need corporate or VC capital and for that to happen you need a product and possible revenue streams.

The only company which is making any real money from bitcoin transactions is Mt. Gox, and even their revenue has been decimated since the hack.  They used to do $2M a day in transactions, with a .65% tax on both sides that was $26,000/day in revenue.  The past few days have been about $500k at .3% on each side, for just $3,000/day (and some with free commissions, so probably less).  Do they have the potential for amazing growth?  Maybe, but not unless they can make it a hell of a lot easier and quicker and more user friendly for the average joe to get their hands on a few bitcoins.

What we need before any major campaign is either a massive overhaul on the bitcoin client to make it more user friendly and quicker to get online, or a web based wallet that will allow people to instantly load a balance with a CC/bank transfer, set up probably like paypal with verification required at the initial setup but instant thereafter.  Then people use the web based interface to send and receive coins rather than the download client.

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July 03, 2011, 05:01:32 AM
 #53

The problem with projects like this in my mind is they should be backed by those who stand to make money should the endeavor succeed.  But the decentralized nature of bitcoin in this case hurts it because no one really has the incentive to put a lot of capital into a project to benefit the community as a whole.  Taking lots of small donations is neat, but in order for it to really go anywhere you need corporate or VC capital and for that to happen you need a product and possible revenue streams.

The only company which is making any real money from bitcoin transactions is Mt. Gox, and even their revenue has been decimated since the hack.  They used to do $2M a day in transactions, with a .65% tax on both sides that was $26,000/day in revenue.  The past few days have been about $500k at .3% on each side, for just $3,000/day (and some with free commissions, so probably less).  Do they have the potential for amazing growth?  Maybe, but not unless they can make it a hell of a lot easier and quicker and more user friendly for the average joe to get their hands on a few bitcoins.

What we need before any major campaign is either a massive overhaul on the bitcoin client to make it more user friendly and quicker to get online, or a web based wallet that will allow people to instantly load a balance with a CC/bank transfer, set up probably like paypal with verification required at the initial setup but instant thereafter.  Then people use the web based interface to send and receive coins rather than the download client.

I think they should do some legal preparations, and start to make retail distribution broker network. I mean, Mtgox develop several dealer, give them a very very low commission rate, and the dealer just has the incentive to bring more people to trading on mtgox, and the dealer will provide more professional trading\depositing\withdrawing service than mtgox do.
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