Why is it so hard to get family/friends into bitcoin?

[bitcoinsrus]

Don't act like you haven't done this, cuz you know you lyin' brah?!  Try to get your friends/family into bitcoin.

Like everyone I know, I try to get them into bitcoin (new users etc)

They just listen and like the idea (and sometimes get intrigued because of local news).  I also test to see how a new user would get involved.
I get a little frustrated because I think it might succeed and here I am trying to educate a family member/friend on it and there like "okay thats cool, whats on tv" type of attitude.

What would it take to get people seriously behind bitcoin?

And how have you guys explained bitcoins to others (and what were the results?  similar to mine or different?

[Personally this bitcointalk site has taught me a lot and I think newer people (then me) would need something like this to get in]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reo7WbibxaQ
shit bitcoiners say xD

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[gentlemand]

Steering friends and family into Bitcoin is a staggeringly pisspoor idea in my opinion.

If it drops or turns to shit then it will never be Bitcoin's fault, it will always be yours.

If they come to you out of the blue then I'd put them on the right path but otherwise steer well clear.

[bitcoinsrus]

Steering friends and family into Bitcoin is a staggeringly pisspoor idea in my opinion.

If it drops or turns to shit then it will never be Bitcoin's fault, it will always be yours.

If they come to you out of the blue then I'd put them on the right path but otherwise steer well clear.

I agree with this, and after I told someone, they asked me if they should go in, I said that it could all crash so there are risks etc (and they seemed to back off)
I just mention it and not try to "really" push them to do anything.  (I would have loved for someone to atleast mention it to me before november 2013 )

[MiningSensei]

Most people who even know about Bitcoin are just filled to the brim with the negativity that the media gives it.  Only bad media about Bitcoin makes it into bigtime news and that is how it has always been.  People aren't keen on big change in something that they are used to.  Can you imagine how many older people will become obsolete if BTC takes over?

[Zooey]

Looking to pursuade them towards investing in bitcoin, which is what it sounds like you mean (else; would you even care?) is probably a bad idea even if you are convinced it's going to da moon.  cause: what if it dumps in the ocean?  You also take full responsibility for the secure holding of their coins in perpetuity - at least until the ("where my bitcoin at bitch?") day of their self awakening'.  I can tell you from experience; this unexpectedly just is not fun, even when you know enough to know its properly done..

[bitcoinsrus]

Looking to pursuade them towards investing in bitcoin, which is what it sounds like you mean (else; would you even care?) is probably a bad idea even if you are convinced it's going to da moon.  cause: what if it dumps in the ocean?  You also take full responsibility for the secure holding of their coins in perpetuity - at least until the ("where my bitcoin at bitch?") day of their self awakening'.  I can tell you from experience; this unexpectedly just is not fun, even when you know enough to know its properly done..

I just mentioned btc to them, not like I am forcing them etc.  I tell them the risks.  I wouldn't hold their coins.  The purpose of this post was to get others experience on how they brought up bitcoin to others (and was sharing mine)

[MOB]

Because its a ponzi scheme?  Granted, everything is a ponzi scheme, but that does hurt one's credibility.

[BTCtrader71]

I just mentioned btc to them, not like I am forcing them etc.  I tell them the risks.  I wouldn't hold their coins.  The purpose of this post was to get others experience on how they brought up bitcoin to others (and was sharing mine)

I got some of my family to invest a small amount last fall, after talking about it for half a year. I got them excited about its potential and let them know I believe in the technology. After I could see them catching the enthusiasm, I told them it is super volatile and its value could drop, but if it did ... they should hodl. I said this over and over and over. I showed them the 2011 run to $32 and crash to $2 and told them how sorry they'd be if they had sold at $2. Some of them bought in Dec close to $1000 and I told them that if it crashes to $500, $200, $100, $10, that they should ride it down ALL THE WAY TO ZERO.

IOW, I told them how to approach bitcoin like an investor, not a speculator. If an investor loses the entire investment, he can still take satisfaction in having backed a worthwhile idea.

[keithers]

It's difficult because of the volatility and all of the bad press.   From an outside perspective, it would be really easy to just read headlines and believe that it is a Ponzi Scheme or some sort of scam.  The profits in 2013 were pretty much unheard of, for any investment vehicle.   In addition, any high risk investment is a difficult sell for friends and family, especially if they already know you to be someone that is willing to make high risk moves.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are probably hoping that bitcoin fails, just so that they can tell you "I told you so..." but those same people won't admit that you made an educated and calculated risk by investing early.  They will just say that you got lucky or something like that, but deep down inside they will be wishing that they listened to you.

Also, many people just don't have much disposable income to put at risk.  I know a lot of people that are living paycheck to paycheck.   They would love to invest in bitcoin, but they just can't risk losing 30-40% of their money...potentially in a span of a few days.   The volatility is enough for a lot of people to lose sleep over...

[CryptoREI]

I was at a real estate investors meeting last Thursday, I talked to a couple people about bitcoin this is how all the convos went.
ME: Have you heard of bitcoin?
Them: Didn't it get hacked and fall apart or something?
Me; No that was a exchange
Them; oh...

[gweedo]

You want to get people to accept bitcoins, take them out to a nice dinner. Pay with bitcoins, and don't say anything, they will believe it. That is how I converted everyone in my family, I brought a huge dinner, and paid in 2 seconds.

[adamstgBit]

its kinda like trying to get your mom to buy a 28.8K modem and connect to an IRC so you can chat in 1995, she thinks its cool that your having fun, but she'll stick to the phone. no amount of you telling her how gr8 the internet is and what its massive potential is, is going to get her to connect to an IRC chat room. 10 years later your mom is sharing her vacations pictures on Facebook, and recently started to "Tweet".

you saw what most don't and you wanted it right away, when they see what they want to see, it they'll get it too, end of story.

dose that make sense? lol

[bitcoinsrus]

I was at a real estate investors meeting last Thursday, I talked to a couple people about bitcoin this is how all the convos went.
ME: Have you heard of bitcoin?
Them: Didn't it get hacked and fall apart or something?
Me; No that was a exchange
Them; oh...

LOL

[Zooey]

Because its a ponzi scheme?  Granted, everything is a ponzi scheme, but that does hurt one's credibility.

dear troll, please take swift action; you have just unwittingly exposed just what an utter-fuck-not you truly know.  immediate danger will robinson.

[MonadTran]

The only person I had to "get into" Bitcoin is my wife - 'cause we are either both in Bitcoin, or we are both out of it. So I just made sure she doesn't yell at me when I do buy some - had to explain a few things, and such. It also helped that there was no other way to get our money out of our home country.

With the rest of my friends and family, I prefer to stay as neutral as possible - explain a few things about how money works, explain a few things about Bitcoin, etc. My dad got hooked into watching Bitcoin price fluctuations - but he still haven't bought any. That's OK, if it goes to where I think it is going, I can take care of him. If it crashes to 0, on the other hand, I would be only responsible for my own losses.

[~Coinseeker~]

Don't act like you haven't done this, cuz you know you lyin' brah?!  Try to get your friends/family into bitcoin.

Like everyone I know, I try to get them into bitcoin (new users etc)

They just listen and like the idea (and sometimes get intrigued because of local news).  I also test to see how a new user would get involved.
I get a little frustrated because I think it might succeed and here I am trying to educate a family member/friend on it and there like "okay thats cool, whats on tv" type of attitude.

What would it take to get people seriously behind bitcoin?

And how have you guys explained bitcoins to others (and what were the results?  similar to mine or different?

[Personally this [Suspicious link removed]ite has taught me a lot and I think newer people (then me) would need something like this to get in]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reo7WbibxaQ
shit bitcoiners say xD

It's likely because your family is smarter than you, as they live in the real world, with real bills and real responsibilities.  They don't have time for pyramid fantasies...they know what it takes to survive in the real-world and it's not Bitcoin and get-rich-quick schemes.

[Zooey]

I tell them the risks.  I wouldn't hold their coins. 

this here is a problem if it's someone you care about because the necessary awareness of secure storage takes a greater lurning curve than most of us actually appreciate;  trying to consider this in terms of direct steps we may have took A to B to C... gives a method of identifying all the different things and working out the best route for someone to follow;  but even this, particularly in the case of securing btc, comes with a lot of real danger to the newb.  Most common vectors of theft I've seen most have been from properly created wallets but used in some insecure way.. and only because at the time, they just didn't realise "that". 

[Bit_Happy]

I was at a real estate investors meeting last Thursday, I talked to a couple people about bitcoin this is how all the convos went.
ME: Have you heard of bitcoin?
Them: Didn't it get hacked and fall apart or something?
Me; No that was a exchange
Them; oh...

Gox did so much damage.
The recovery will happen, but it's not going to be easy.

[coinfeedco]

It's never a good idea to attempt to persuade family/friends into financial decisions.  If you think they might be interested you can mention it but only passingly.  If they're interested they will ask more; if they don't leave it be.  I'm not saying anything anyone else hasn't said but it's worth reiterating I think.

[Beef Supreme]

Don't act like you haven't done this, cuz you know you lyin' brah?!  Try to get your friends/family into bitcoin.

Like everyone I know, I try to get them into bitcoin (new users etc)

They just listen and like the idea (and sometimes get intrigued because of local news).  I also test to see how a new user would get involved.
I get a little frustrated because I think it might succeed and here I am trying to educate a family member/friend on it and there like "okay thats cool, whats on tv" type of attitude.

What would it take to get people seriously behind bitcoin?

And how have you guys explained bitcoins to others (and what were the results?  similar to mine or different?

[Personally this [Suspicious link removed]ite has taught me a lot and I think newer people (then me) would need something like this to get in]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reo7WbibxaQ
shit bitcoiners say xD

It's likely because your family is smarter than you, as they live in the real world, with real bills and real responsibilities.  They don't have time for pyramid fantasies...they know what it takes to survive in the real-world and it's not Bitcoin and get-rich-quick schemes.

The real world is currently rigged for the house to win.