How do we get the women on board?

[Mousepotato]

hah, awesome shirt! nice job with that, mousepotato.

Thanks!  I can't take full credit though.  I just made the base PSD and Gabriel Beal did the rest.

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[Mousepotato]

no link in your sig... what store is it from? you look hot by the way.

also... i must be *really* out of touch with women's fashion these days... never heard of this:

Thanks!  The shirts are available at http://www.SquareWear.biz.  Lip Glass is this lip gloss that goes on super thick and fills in all the little lines and cracks in your lips so that it looks like they're coated with lacquer.  Think Britney Spears' lips at the beginning of uh.. damn what was that one video where she's dressed up as a school girl??  I never was a big Britney fan, oh well.  Anyway, yeah it gives your lips a really glossy wet look.  Only thing is, your hair will stick to it like crazy, which is about the only drawback.  That and the $15 per tube cost.

[BitcoinBabe]

As a woman and an avid bitcoin user, I do take exception to the casual assumption that Libertarian ideology or the obvious advantages of bitcoins for internet purchases do no appeal to women.  

Of course part of the problem is that bitcoin adherents at the moment are almost exclusively part of the tech industry in some way and that industry is (for whatever reason) largely dominated by men, so of course men hear about bitcoins and are involved first.  That does not by any means suggest that women interested in tech or even libertarian women cannot and do not find something of value in the currency (witness the ladies who have commented on this thread).    

One thing that would help with mainstream appeal, which is what OP appears to actually be addressing, rather than women specifically, would be a larger range of items that people can actual buy with Bitcoins.  Even at Bitcoin Harbor, we find that the most common items for sale are tech products, though we have been reaching out to a variety of merchants in the community.    

Also I feel that the explanations of bitcoins out in the internet tend to be too tech heavy.  The average consumer doesn't care about mining, cryptography or even avoiding government scrutiny.  They want to know how to get bitcoins, how to spend them and how not to get them stolen.  Until newbies to bitcoins can find that information in a non-threatening and easy to understand way, it's always going to be difficult to sell.  

Christine

+1

[kloinko1n]

Suggestion: Let every miner/minester (not to generalise into male/female stereotypes) say to his/her spouse/partner/fiancee:
"Hey, listen up! I opened a bitcoin account for you (i.e. address) and I will put half of what I earn with mining on it. It's free for you to use in any online bitcoin shop!"

[elements]

I would so love that if my girlfriend started mining (in her apartment)!

[done]

Tough to believe over 6 percent women in the poll.

There are no name brand clothing, handbag or shoe companies accepting bitcoin. 

[Tasty Champa]

12?
really now...

tits or get the **** hahahah
j/k

I love all women.

[ErgoOne]

As one of the women , I'd suggest building the bitcoin marketplace so that there's something to spend these shiny new bitcoins on.  I've now got some bitcoins, and am looking around.  There are a few places to spend bitcoins, but the marketplace is still primitive.  When it isn't primitive any more, *then* you'll get a few orders of magnitude more people (men and women) participating.

[dub0matic]

Atleast the ladies that are reppin us are smoking hawt

[bitplane]

Guys dig technology more than girls. Once Bitcoin is more about currency and less about technology then we'll see more women using it.

[Kermee]

Maybe I should start a BTC to Sephora Gift Card service...

Cheers,
Kermee

[cypherdoc]

Guys dig technology more than girls. Once Bitcoin is more about currency and less about technology then we'll see more women using it.

speak for yourself.

[Jack of Diamonds]

If women want to buy shoes, purses, jewelry, makeup etc... Then let them. I'm not arguing women aren't different from men; They are like day and night when it comes to purchase patterns.
Men don't give a shit about purses and makeup, and women don't give a shit about electrical stuff or hardware.

I find myself unfortunate to love ALL that stuff.  I got as excited at the $189 5870 at NewEgg as I did when I found out that Dillard's started carrying MAC cosmetics (Lip Glass ftw!!) lol that just means that I'm always going to be one broke mouse.

Sure, but you don't represent the average female online consumer, who will likely guess Nvidia is some type of eyeliner.
Of all the products I've sold on forums and sites like alibaba/ebay, women would only order or locally pick up things like open box Prada shoes at a discount. I've sold computer stuff to a female customer maybe once or twice, and those were basic ethernet cables to an old lady.
 
It would be a big waste of cash to market GPUs or anything related to mining to that demographic

If only online retailers like Zalando that cater to mid-high range female clothing and shoes would accept BTC as a payment method, the popularity among bitcoin would skyrocket, largely due to word of mouth and positive image due to assurement from a big seller.

You never know about fashion designers either, their personalities are one in a million, some like Ralph Lauren might be quirky enough to consider payments in bitcoin after reading the concept.

[ErgoOne]

Guys dig technology more than girls. Once Bitcoin is more about currency and less about technology then we'll see more women using it.

speak for yourself.

What cypherdoc said.  In spades.  Female geek here, and I work with a bunch of others.

I love technology, especially the technology that carries with it new ideas about how to do basic societal functions, like Bitcoin does.  Where I think that I differ from many of the people I know who also love technology is that I'm intensely aware of the risks as well as the benefits.  In my case, that leads to minimizing the risks and then, if I can afford the remaining risks, jumping in and trying it.  Others who aren't confident that they know network security may take a pass entirely because they aren't sure that they can protect themselves from the crooks out there.  There may be a statistical divide between men and women when it comes to risk taking, but I don't think that these differences in approach are "male" and "female", but "unorganized risk taker" and "organized risk taker".

The whole mess with Mt. Gox, and now Dwolla and Tradehill, are cautionary tales for me.  They're outright frightening to a lot of people who don't know how computer networks and financial networks work, and so are less able to determine exactly what they are risking when they use Bitcoin and how to minimize those risks.

[cypherdoc]

Guys dig technology more than girls. Once Bitcoin is more about currency and less about technology then we'll see more women using it.

speak for yourself.

What cypherdoc said.  In spades.  Female geek here, and I work with a bunch of others.

I love technology, especially the technology that carries with it new ideas about how to do basic societal functions, like Bitcoin does.  Where I think that I differ from many of the people I know who also love technology is that I'm intensely aware of the risks as well as the benefits.  In my case, that leads to minimizing the risks and then, if I can afford the remaining risks, jumping in and trying it.  Others who aren't confident that they know network security may take a pass entirely because they aren't sure that they can protect themselves from the crooks out there.  There may be a statistical divide between men and women when it comes to risk taking, but I don't think that these differences in approach are "male" and "female", but "unorganized risk taker" and "organized risk taker".

The whole mess with Mt. Gox, and now Dwolla and Tradehill, are cautionary tales for me.  They're outright frightening to a lot of people who don't know how computer networks and financial networks work, and so are less able to determine exactly what they are risking when they use Bitcoin and how to minimize those risks.

this is a very important point.  with all the bad news hammering the price down since the mtgox fiasco, the fact that the price has stabilized in a tight range to me is a very good sign and perhaps a buying opportunity.  all these bad news events has undoubtedly scared alot of the non risk takers away but for those of us who can see thru the fog i think these issues will be secured and solved for the long term.  then we can resume the price rise.

[ErgoOne]

Resume price rise, or at least have a reasonably stable, narrow price range.  That isn't as good for currency traders (the initial bitcoin moneymaking crowd), but is *MUCH* better for merchants and those who want to do business in Bitcoin space.  I'm one of the second; I'm looking for ways to do business online that minimize both risk and costs to me and to my potential customers.  My husband and I are looking to open an online publishing and gaming portal with shared storytelling and the like sometime in 2012.  I'm here, looking into Bitcoin, as part of my research into how to handle payment and money for the site. 

Frankly, given both the risks and the expense associated with traditional payment means (credit cards and PayPal especially), I'm amazed that more online merchants aren't implementing alternatives, and then offering discounts to users who take those alternatives. :/ 

[cypherdoc]

it will happen.  i'm sure you've heard of Bit-Pay.  and you're right, this stability will be good for merchants and as more climb on board and the economy starts to rev up an added plus will be a rise in the btc price.

edit:  i actually ordered my front desk to refuse all large paid services i provide via credit card.  check or cash only.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

2 minutes and the GIMP!  Problem solved!

WOW! I bet it took a lot of time to Photoshop that guy around the Bitcoin logo.

How to get women to use Bitcoin? Remember where Facebook got started? I'm willing to bet there's a critical mass of college girls that would love to use a currency system so that their parents won't know how or where the money was spent. Exactly what the girls would purchase is currently up for debate, but I say that secrecy is a given.

Perhaps, heaven forbid, more women would watch porn if they had a Bidpay account. On that note, let me ask this: Why is it that almost every good thread on this forum has at least one poster mentioning porn? I also bet that every seasoned poster on this forum has used the term at least once. If not, then they're like 16 year old boys who say they don't do it, but do (BTW, I'm not taking about porn now, but the big M).

Bitcoin: Used by College Girls Worldwide

[NF6X]

Me rockin a shirt I helped design.  I'm an avid Bitcoin miner, hardware enthusiast, and mediocre as hell Starcraft2 player and even worse MW2 player.  And yeah I love shopping

I'm jealous! I just have a pair of 6970s. 

[Xephan]

I'm going to say we shouldn't get the women onboard for now.

First impression makes a big difference and if the first few women decides the experience's awful, you can be sure the power of the Women's p2p network will pretty much give Bitcoin a stinking reputation that would take years to overcome.

There's nothing wrong with Bitcoin right now.  However, we lack the infrastructure to make online BTC transactions as seemless and user-friendly as using Paypal, let alone buying things at B&M shops.  I think one big piece of the puzzle we're missing is a Paypal-like entity to serve as a kind of escrow-slash-exchange which will encourage people to actually use their Bitcoins to buy things without fear of getting scammed. Add to that a secure, easy to use mobile app for POS transactions and we're almost "there".  That's it... so simple, but yet as with many other things in life, simple doesn't necessarily mean easy.

Which is primarily my point, the big piece missing is a Paypal like service for bitcoin, without which, transacting via bitcoin is going to be PITA for the average person.

Whether you're a guy or a girl at this point in the game is largely irrelevant IMHO.

In an ideal world... maybe. But we live in the real world. Be it sociological or biological, men and women tend to behave in distinctive and different manners when it comes to certain things. A bunch of geeks guys (and some gals) are going to be more forgiving about a new technology not being terribly user-friendly, than the kind of women we're going to get when aggressively marketing to that market.

For those, the experience is the key and right now as it is, the bitcoin shopping experience is less than underwhelming.