I talked to some people at college about bitcoin and they laughed at me.

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

Also I think focusing on the public ledger aspect, rather than the "bitcoins," is less likely to draw laughter. The Money is Memory thesis is very powerful. It sidesteps many typical objections.

[darkmule]

When I first encountered the concept of digital currency, it was Chaum's idea of digital cash being discussed on the cypherpunks list in around '92 or so.  I thought the idea was interesting, but somewhat impractical, and thought the necessary length of the permanent transaction record would be too unwieldy and that, at least as conceived, it was likely to collapse under its own weight.

I didn't encounter Bitcoin until a couple years in, largely looking for a way to play poker online from the United States.  I had glancingly heard of Bitcoin, but hadn't really looked into it, and on reading the description of it, realized it sounded an awful lot like Chaum's ideas from long ago.  I appear to have been correct that the blockchain is, in fact, rather unwieldy, but incorrect in that the vastly increased bandwidth and storage space available makes it reasonably practical to keep around.

Eventually, that issue will have to be addressed in a more permanent fashion, but it appears entirely possible to handle when needed.

Anyone who would just laugh at the whole idea really just doesn't even understand it.  Who cares about the braying of a jackass?

[og kush420]

surprising, i thought college kids would be the most open to it.
there are plenty of mainstream naysayers like those. you should stand up for what you believe, not just bitcoin, but decentralization in general. decentralization is going to be big in the future, bitcoin is just one of the early applications

[SheHadMANHands]

"Success. It's got enemies. You can be successful and have enemies or you can be unsuccessful and have friends."

Don't be sad OP.  They jelly...  

When people are insecure, about themselves or something they don't understand, they tend to poke fun to make themselves feel better and "bond with the ignorant group".  Happens on the playground.  Happens with Bitcoin.

[LiteCoinGuy]

you will find the same storys with gold and silver...

most people dont even believe, that the official statistics are wrong...  

so be happy: you know more because you dont spent your full freetime with football and rubbish TV shows.

you can act earlier and hopefully better because you know more! when you dont know anything, you get robbed (like in cyprus)

so thankfully there is the internet, were everyboday has at least the possibility to learn more about stuff that matters!

[BitChick]

My friends are a little older crowd (30-40 range) then the college kids but I get the same response typically.  Most just say that they don't have any money to invest.  Those that do think it is too "risky."  I have one friend that is very intrigued and is saying she will look into it.  I tried to explain it to her and she looked at me cross eyed.  Finally I said, "Well just if you spend about $1000 and buy about 5 coins they might be worth $100,000 someday."  She said it sounded like a good idea then.   Of course I tempered that with the fact that it was still a high risk investment but that there was potential for great rewards if it takes off like many of us think it will.

[vpitcher07]

I too have talked to people at college about bitcoin. Most of them just don't really seem interested; or don't really care. This brings up another interesting question - what is the average age of people who use bitcoin? I'd say it's probably really young. No older than 30.

[VforVictory]

Who made the money? You!

Feel good😄

Dont worry so much about that what others say. When you get older you give a shit on what they say. Its good to spread the word.

they also started teasing me when I showed them my price chart app on my phone, they were like " do you sit there and watch it all day and cheer when it goes up"

Ask them if they sit and cry all day as their fiat wealth is inflated to all hell.

Ask yourself if you sit and cry all day as your bitcoin deflates to all hell.

[freequant]

Who made the money? You!

Feel good😄

Dont worry so much about that what others say. When you get older you give a shit on what they say. Its good to spread the word.

they also started teasing me when I showed them my price chart app on my phone, they were like " do you sit there and watch it all day and cheer when it goes up"

Well, if you knew how many bitcoiners are actually spending their days watching the charts...

[Shallow]

Their loss 

[DeathAndTaxes]

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

Mahatma Gandhi

Looks like your friends are on step two in their relationship with Bitcoin.  They are kinda behind the times laugh at you saw so 2012.

[Raoul Duke]

During this last "crash" I told my coworkers, "hey guys probably last chance, want some cheap coins?" and instead of the usual "no" this time I got "no I told you". So I guess, I must be boring with this bitcoin theme even when it's been at least 6 months since I last brought it up. Ok, no more feeling stupid when trying to help—fuck em. One day they'll come asking and I'll be glad to answer but until then, I'm not saying another single word.

You know what you should do? Send an email to wikipedia telling them how much they're missing out by not accepting BTC on their donation drive.

[btcusr]

@muasktak10, All the best..

[btcusr]

Looks like, MasterCard is actively fighting Bitcoins. That's like, step 3.

"Then, they fight you."

http://www.teribuhl.com/2013/10/22/mastercard-hates-bitcoins/

[Rez]

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

Mahatma Gandhi

Looks like your friends are on step two in their relationship with Bitcoin.  They are kinda behind the times laugh at you saw so 2012.

Actually, the correct version of that quote is not quite as sunny:

"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you."

[pyra-proxy]

During this last "crash" I told my coworkers, "hey guys probably last chance, want some cheap coins?" and instead of the usual "no" this time I got "no I told you". So I guess, I must be boring with this bitcoin theme even when it's been at least 6 months since I last brought it up. Ok, no more feeling stupid when trying to help—fuck em. One day they'll come asking and I'll be glad to answer but until then, I'm not saying another single word.

I've brought it up on a nearly daily basis but the funniest was a particularly obvoxious coworker of mine who I informed of bitcoin last year when it was around $20 per coin .... was funny when he found out it broke to nearly $260 in the last rise ... he thought he got a last laugh when it dropped back to $90 and I had to not-so-subtly remind him that $90 is greater than $20 throughout the known universe.... and I got to laugh again when it got above $200 this time....

What I've found when people act like this is that they have made assumptions about the world around them they believe to be true (i.e. A sovereign bank note has value and digital data has none... when in fact sovereign bank notes only have value because we are told they have a value and government laws are created to make it legal for us to be told that, all the while digital data has real world value as it is a record of information, information and knowledge is power... businesses will wise to this one day, when they realize that they can start data mining the block chain to find a plethora of spending habits, marketing strategies etc. things that are very difficult with worthless paper...)

[BitChick]

I think it's a mistake for you to tell people to buy coins today in the hope they might be worth $100,000 at some point in the future. Sure, we're all tempted by greed but if this doesn't come to fruition, you and your friend are left holding the bag and Bitcoin is not a get rich quick scheme.

Talk to them about how money is conjured out of nothing. Talk to them about the long hours at work, many hours spent away from their families, all in the vain attempt to pay back debt that the banksters conjure up out of thin air. Tell them the banksters spend their days traveling the globe, eating the finest foods, wearing the finest clothes, spending their time with their family and friends at the expense of our families. Tell them it doesn't have to be this way and that Bitcoin is a key to unlock the chains.

Ideologically you are right.  There is a bigger picture than just a "get rich quick scheme."  However, most people cannot see the big picture when it comes to the way "money" is created.  Granted, to tell my friends that Bitcoin could be worth $100,000 could be giving them false hopes, the fact is there is a chance there and it at least gives them the impetus to look into Bitcoin a little more than they would otherwise.  I always tell my friends that they could lose everything too and there is a risk involved for sure, but I think if they invest $200 and it only goes to $1000 someday they will not be disappointed regardless.  The odds of being left "holding the bag" with Bitcoin is a small one at this point I believe.  I think the risks involved are lower than they have ever been.  I am very bullish though. 

[Jabbatheslutt]

You will be the on laughing in a year or two

[gurcani]

I was trying to explain this to a friend recently. Here is the analogy I came up with.

I am deeply invested in bitcoins (like %80 of my wealth). I am also a veganarchist.

Now I am used to being ridiculed because I am a vegan. Bitcoin ridicule is actually nothing compared to that.

In 1970's there were no vegans. In the U.S. the number of vegetarians were less than 1%.  Today the number of vegetarians is about 5% and vegans about 2%. People still ridicule vegans.

Bitcoin provides an important incentive to join. Seeing the initial attitude towards veganism. IF %2 of the people become vegans, than %2 of the people would become anything. Even bitcoiners. They just need to hear the arguments.

Now you don't really need everyone to be vegan to be able to live comfortably as a vegan. If there were no vegans, it would be hard. but %2 makes it a viable population. Now there are grocery stores aimed at vegans, special products aimed at vegans. Even pringles chips has a sign somewhere saying "vegan" with a tick next to it (though I wonder how they define it).

Now make a rapid calculation. If the 2% of the world invested 10k of their wealth- bitcoin price would be 0.02*7e9*1e4/21e6 > 60,000 dollars?! This is assuming no massive hoarding (a lot of caveats in such a calculation which will swing it wildly in both directions, but you get the basic idea).

Even when this happens, some people will still make fun of you because you are still marginal with beliefs shared by a mere 2% of the population.

But there will also be some people, that you tell them about bitcoins, and they lighten up. Maybe only a 2%. Maybe rather 7%. But you still need to tell them about it, present it in a way that it makes sense. Don't waste your time on people who don't get it.

[Hfleer]

We were talking about the twitter IPO, and one of the guys had invested in facebook when it launched, inside I laughed at him, but to maybe help them expand their horizons I brought up bitcoin, and told them about all of the money I have made, the ups and downs, its utility, how bitcoins are created etc etc... they started going online and looking up asics and shouting the names like they coulnd't take them seriously because of their names. I don't mine though, and I told them right now isn't the greatest time to invest in those. Then they started talking about buying a bunch of cheap computers off ebay, I'm pretty sure I explained the difficulty and the computing power needed. At least one of the guys was like, I'm gonna see this guy one day as a billionaire. The other guy not so much. I still can't tell if they were pulling my chain, maybe I'm too sensitive, but it sure felt like it... I guess I'll be the one laughing to the bank.

Why would they look up Asics, that's strange.  It's probably a little past their understanding, and maybe they're jealous...  Most people can be quick to dismiss such ideas from people unless you already have good track record of profiting or some other success they've seen, then they'll usually be more keen to listen I find.