Advertise Bitcoin on every single banknote ( and make a new game ? )

[SgtSpike]

First things first, the url is too long.  That's a lot of handwriting to do.    I was hoping for something short and sweet, like btcbills.com.  Maybe you could grab a short domain and just have it forward to the searchforsatoshi.com domain.  That way we could write either or.

That said, I've just switched to using all cash for my day-to-day transactions, so I'll probably be putting this on a lot of bills.  Well, as long as I don't have to write out that long URL anyway.  :p

[edd]

First things first, the url is too long.  That's a lot of handwriting to do.    I was hoping for something short and sweet, like btcbills.com.  Maybe you could grab a short domain and just have it forward to the searchforsatoshi.com domain.  That way we could write either or.

That said, I've just switched to using all cash for my day-to-day transactions, so I'll probably be putting this on a lot of bills.  Well, as long as I don't have to write out that long URL anyway.  :p

Damn, I didn't think of that.

Let me see if there are any good short urls out there.
brb

[edd]

First things first, the url is too long.  That's a lot of handwriting to do.    I was hoping for something short and sweet, like btcbills.com.  Maybe you could grab a short domain and just have it forward to the searchforsatoshi.com domain.  That way we could write either or.

That said, I've just switched to using all cash for my day-to-day transactions, so I'll probably be putting this on a lot of bills.  Well, as long as I don't have to write out that long URL anyway.  :p

Damn, I didn't think of that.

Let me see if there are any good short urls out there.
brb

Wow, I can't believe btcbills.com wasn't taken. We'll let that baby propagate and then I'll point it to searchingforsatoshi.com.

SgtSpike, PM me your first few serial numbers and I'll add some BTC to them as my way of saying thanks for the URL suggestion.

[SgtSpike]

First things first, the url is too long.  That's a lot of handwriting to do.    I was hoping for something short and sweet, like btcbills.com.  Maybe you could grab a short domain and just have it forward to the searchforsatoshi.com domain.  That way we could write either or.

That said, I've just switched to using all cash for my day-to-day transactions, so I'll probably be putting this on a lot of bills.  Well, as long as I don't have to write out that long URL anyway.  :p

Damn, I didn't think of that.

Let me see if there are any good short urls out there.
brb

Wow, I can't believe btcbills.com wasn't taken. We'll let that baby propagate and then I'll point it to searchingforsatoshi.com.

SgtSpike, PM me your first few serial numbers and I'll add some BTC to them as my way of saying thanks for the URL suggestion.

Sweet! I'll start writing up on them bills. 

[SgtSpike]

Second suggestion...

<input type="text" name="billserial" value="" id="billserial" class="wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required" size="40" readonly="readonly">
shouldn't be "readonly".  Makes it kind of hard to enter bills.  :p

EDIT:  Wait, maybe I am confused.  What is the difference between "Add New" and "Unlock Your Bill"?
EDIT2:  Found the "How it works" page, reading now.  Perhaps I need to TRY to find the answers myself before asking them here.
EDIT3:  Initial feedback from actually using the site:
- You need to make it more clear from the titles what unlock bill and add new means.  At the homepage, I clicked on "Add New Bills", which only takes me to the "Unlock Bills" page, hence my initial confusion.  The Add New Bills link should take you to the "Add New" page.
- This is just my opinion, but you should figure out a way to offer an incentive to people entering bills.  Maybe it's a one-time reward upon entering the bill itself, or maybe it's a reward to the person who originally wrote on the bill when the bill is entered a second time (presumably by someone else).  *shrug*  As it is though, it's only a good tool for people who are interested in using their own money and time to spread the word about Bitcoin.  You'll give incentive to a lot more people to write up the URL on all their bills if there's a reward (or a potential for a reward) for doing so.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Okay, I've put together my take on this game at SearchingForSatoshi.com (yes, Phinnaeus, I know you prefer WheresSatoshi.com but it's my site, so there.  )

It's a little clunky and needs some prettifying and I'll be manually approving all withdrawals until I can think up the best way to discourage "cheating," but I'm still confident this could be a great way to promote Bitcoin.

Please check out the site and provide some feedback here before I create another thread to announce it's release.

So far, I've only read this post (not yet the ones that follow it) and clicked the link. I was there for a total of 10 seconds before I came back here to give my honest opinion--TOTALLY AWESOME!!! A slick looking site. I did click one link on that site and gave it a quick glance. Now I need to finish reading the rest of thread then peruse your site, edd. Going to get coffee first. Again, great looking site. Fair warning: I will be offering up suggestions if I feel they'll improve upon it.

~Bruno~

PS: And to think I PM'ed you, giving you that golden .com, one of which you're now going to sit on. Shame on you!

[Phinnaeus Gage]

First things first, the url is too long.  That's a lot of handwriting to do.    I was hoping for something short and sweet, like btcbills.com.  Maybe you could grab a short domain and just have it forward to the searchforsatoshi.com domain.  That way we could write either or.

That said, I've just switched to using all cash for my day-to-day transactions, so I'll probably be putting this on a lot of bills.  Well, as long as I don't have to write out that long URL anyway.  :p

Damn, I didn't think of that.

Let me see if there are any good short urls out there.
brb

Wow, I can't believe btcbills.com wasn't taken. We'll let that baby propagate and then I'll point it to searchingforsatoshi.com.

SgtSpike, PM me your first few serial numbers and I'll add some BTC to them as my way of saying thanks for the URL suggestion.

You can point now, but soon you'll be better off populating btcbills.com with your current site. The last thing you want is for somebody to click one URL but end up at another. That's already a red flag. I tried to warn you about that long URL, but you wouldn't lesson to ole Bruno. I do believe that wheressatoshi.com is more marketable than btcbills.com, although that is a good domain name. Now, I wonder who owns wheressatoshi.com? Hmmm! As far as handwriting on the bills, the real diehards will use stamps, stamps you can easily sell on your site, edd. Now onto your newly created site. Perusing I will go. Perusing I will go. Hi, Ho...

~Bruno~

[edd]

EDIT3:  Initial feedback from actually using the site:
- You need to make it more clear from the titles what unlock bill and add new means.  At the homepage, I clicked on "Add New Bills", which only takes me to the "Unlock Bills" page, hence my initial confusion.  The Add New Bills link should take you to the "Add New" page.

Simple error on my part. It has been corrected.

- This is just my opinion, but you should figure out a way to offer an incentive to people entering bills.  Maybe it's a one-time reward upon entering the bill itself, or maybe it's a reward to the person who originally wrote on the bill when the bill is entered a second time (presumably by someone else).  *shrug*  As it is though, it's only a good tool for people who are interested in using their own money and time to spread the word about Bitcoin.  You'll give incentive to a lot more people to write up the URL on all their bills if there's a reward (or a potential for a reward) for doing so.

Once the site is "officially" launched, I'll certainly be offering rewards, hopefully on a daily basis.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Remarks: (overall, still great!, albeit with all of our inputs, we'll make it much better for you/us, edd)

Rid the www in the URL.

Your ad here? Center it and possibly in red.

MAKE A BITCOIN DONATION TO THIS SITE: Not sure why this is needed on a for-profit site. (Fake Edit: On second thought, I kind of like that bitcoinate thingy).

Very first line on home page is way to wordy. I had trouble reading it and knew exactly what you were trying to say.
...they pass from person to person, city to city(,) and beyond.

Once a Site Administrator has approved the entry (usually right away, but it could take up to 24 hours), a unique, dedicated Bitcoin Address will be assigned to your bill and published on the site.: In the near future, this aspect needs to be fully automated.

This is weird!: 10/03/2012 ~ True, other countries put the month first, but don't we see this as mainly a US thing? Thus, 03/10/2012. I hope nobody takes this comment the wrong way, but please feel free to discuss this point.

On this page http://www.searchingforsatoshi.com/withdraw-bitcoins/?billserial=GI60435924A, use that image I provide on this thread or a newly created one will help in finding the information you're asking. Same with this page: http://www.searchingforsatoshi.com/add-new/
I know where to find those fields on a bill, for I'm the one who suggest it. But if I hadn't, and saw this for the first time, I'm not taking the time to search for it. My mind would say that it looks to hard.

Important: All links should open in a new tab or window, albeit a savvy user can override that command with their computer sittings. Once they leave your site, they may not come back due to the average user's attention span. If they see the tap is still open, there's always a chance they'll return while they're still online. If I were to consider placing a banner ad in your header, I would think twice of doing so base on this aspect along.Image a user clicking the Bitcoin100 link and it opens in the same tab. The phone rings. Conversation over. Guy gets a brainfart, doesn't even remember how and why he's on the current page. Closes the tab, and searches for the latest Lady Gaga video his buddy just told him about.

That's it for now. Please keep us abreast on this site.

~Bruno~

[Nim]

Who do you guys think this advertising works on? Very few people use cash. Very few of those people look at their cash. If I see something written on a bill, I automatically assume that it is a scam or the work of a nutcase. Here is an example bill that passed through my hands:



Some people say that all publicity is good publicity. That might apply in certain situations. I don't think it applies here. This wouldn't be good publicity.

[HostFat]

@edd
Great!
You did an awesome work!

Do you think that you will be able to support for other currencies? ( euro, gbp ... )

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Who do you guys think this advertising works on? Very few people use cash. Very few of those people look at their cash. If I see something written on a bill, I automatically assume that it is a scam or the work of a nutcase. Here is an example bill that passed through my hands:

image snipped

Some people say that all publicity is good publicity. That might apply in certain situations. I don't think it applies here. This wouldn't be good publicity.

Your point is valid, Nim, but remember, as mentioned in this thread, one aspect of this idea was to present the bill to a waitress, instructing her that an additional tip is available. She either claims it or puts the bill back into circulation with the bitcoins unclaimed. At some future time, other people have the frst opportunity to unlock the tip. If it's already unlocked, at least Bitcoin awareness has now been brought to that person's attention albeit, as you've stated, 99 previous recipients ignored the message.

~Bruno~

[SgtSpike]

Phinnaeus, I like all your thoughts on the site, and will +1 to what you said!

- This is just my opinion, but you should figure out a way to offer an incentive to people entering bills.  Maybe it's a one-time reward upon entering the bill itself, or maybe it's a reward to the person who originally wrote on the bill when the bill is entered a second time (presumably by someone else).  *shrug*  As it is though, it's only a good tool for people who are interested in using their own money and time to spread the word about Bitcoin.  You'll give incentive to a lot more people to write up the URL on all their bills if there's a reward (or a potential for a reward) for doing so.

Once the site is "officially" launched, I'll certainly be offering rewards, hopefully on a daily basis.

Ok, cool. 

[edd]

I've addressed most of the issues brought up (some features were already present, just apparently not very evident).

HostFat, I plan on adding as many currencies as possible once the site has been used a little more  and I have a bit more time, probably after the event this weekend.

SgtSpike, I've added 0.01 BTC to all of the bills I entered and I'm assuming the rest are yours, so I'm off to fund them with a few bitcents. Feel free to redeem as many as you wish.

If there are no more major concerns, I think I'm about ready to announce this. 

[SgtSpike]

I've addressed most of the issues brought up (some features were already present, just apparently not very evident).

HostFat, I plan on adding as many currencies as possible once the site has been used a little more  and I have a bit more time, probably after the event this weekend.

SgtSpike, I've added 0.01 BTC to all of the bills I entered and I'm assuming the rest are yours, so I'm off to fund them with a few bitcents. Feel free to redeem as many as you wish.

If there are no more major concerns, I think I'm about ready to announce this. 

Oh yeah, forgot to give you the list of serials.  I entered 4 of them last night. 

I'll test out the redemption on a couple of them, and leave the rest for whoever finds these bills.

[SgtSpike]

I've addressed most of the issues brought up (some features were already present, just apparently not very evident).

HostFat, I plan on adding as many currencies as possible once the site has been used a little more  and I have a bit more time, probably after the event this weekend.

SgtSpike, I've added 0.01 BTC to all of the bills I entered and I'm assuming the rest are yours, so I'm off to fund them with a few bitcents. Feel free to redeem as many as you wish.

If there are no more major concerns, I think I'm about ready to announce this. 

Oh, the serial # field on this page (http://www.searchingforsatoshi.com/unlock-your-bill/) still needs to be unlocked.  I can't type a serial # in...

[edd]

I've addressed most of the issues brought up (some features were already present, just apparently not very evident).

HostFat, I plan on adding as many currencies as possible once the site has been used a little more  and I have a bit more time, probably after the event this weekend.

SgtSpike, I've added 0.01 BTC to all of the bills I entered and I'm assuming the rest are yours, so I'm off to fund them with a few bitcents. Feel free to redeem as many as you wish.

If there are no more major concerns, I think I'm about ready to announce this. 

Oh, the serial # field on this page (http://www.searchingforsatoshi.com/unlock-your-bill/) still needs to be unlocked.  I can't type a serial # in...

Fixed.

[SgtSpike]

Another comment... after I unlock a bill, it just says that a withdrawal request has been sent.  You should tell the person how much BTC they will be getting at the time they enter the bill!

EDIT:  SHould also come up with a more friendly/fun statement than "Your withdrawal request has been successfully completed and forwarded to a Site Administrator."  Maybe "You found 0.05 BTC on this bill!  Congrats - it will be forwarded along to you shortly!"  Or something along those lines... 


Another idea - allow people to donate directly to the balance of all bills.  So, say someone wanted to help the Bitcoin cause, and donated 1 BTC.  And say there had been 500 bills entered (and presumably written upon) up to that point.  Then each bill would have 0.002 BTC added to the balance of it.

It'd be a good way to sort of automatically keep at least some BTC on each of the bills for anyone who wants to help out.  And maybe, if a bill isn't entered again within a year, you could mark it as "destroyed" and assume that it is no longer in circulation, moving those coins to other newly entered bills.

I am still interested in hearing more about your incentive to people who first enter bills.  I think it'd be great if the incentive was only realized once the bill was entered a second (third, fourth, etc) time by someone else.

[HostFat]

Another idea - allow people to donate directly to the balance of all bills.  So, say someone wanted to help the Bitcoin cause, and donated 1 BTC.  And say there had been 500 bills entered (and presumably written upon) up to that point.  Then each bill would have 0.002 BTC added to the balance of it.

He can also add a "score", so there will be "the best donors score"

It'd be a good way to sort of automatically keep at least some BTC on each of the bills for anyone who wants to help out.  And maybe, if a bill isn't entered again within a year, you could mark it as "destroyed" and assume that it is no longer in circulation, moving those coins to other newly entered bills.

Good ideas

I am still interested in hearing more about your incentive to people who first enter bills.  I think it'd be great if the incentive was only realized once the bill was entered a second (third, fourth, etc) time by someone else.

Yes, all the system aims to incentive people to enter bills, there must be some good rules to make it working good.

[edd]

Another idea - allow people to donate directly to the balance of all bills.  So, say someone wanted to help the Bitcoin cause, and donated 1 BTC.  And say there had been 500 bills entered (and presumably written upon) up to that point.  Then each bill would have 0.002 BTC added to the balance of it.

He can also add a "score", so there will be "the best donors score"

It'd be a good way to sort of automatically keep at least some BTC on each of the bills for anyone who wants to help out.  And maybe, if a bill isn't entered again within a year, you could mark it as "destroyed" and assume that it is no longer in circulation, moving those coins to other newly entered bills.

Good ideas

I am still interested in hearing more about your incentive to people who first enter bills.  I think it'd be great if the incentive was only realized once the bill was entered a second (third, fourth, etc) time by someone else.

Yes, all the system aims to incentive people to enter bills, there must be some good rules to make it working good.

These are all good ideas but they will require skills beyond my meager set. Anyone willing to volunteer to help?