Why use bitcoins when my dollars are working just fine for me?

[Bitcoin For Dummies]

EDIT:
Here is the result of all your input guys
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=707114.0
------------------------------------------------------------


This would be the topic of our next video from our educational series. We want to give the people plenty of good reasons why bitcoin is better and in which scenarios.
Naturally we want to crowd source the ideas as we will never be able to figure out all the angles that a community could.

So, please post below your reason to use bitcoins instead of dollars or credit card. Some of those will be used in the video.


If you are not familiar with our work, here is what we have produced so far:
 

• The first one "Finally a simple answer of what is Bitcoin!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWYVktImeTk
• The second "Is Bitcoin a Ponzi?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kImBgWDgIlA
• The 3rd "Does Bitcoin have an intrinsic value?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R3Zg1KL_KE
• the 4th "Why bitcoin transactions are so slow and why there is a huge risk of double spending?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrvinzeAymg[/b]

If you like what we are doing you can support it by sharing the videos.
If you want your company featured in the next one, you can bid for that right now: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=680624.0

[bananaControl]

IMHO it is way too early to try and lure ordinary people into bitcoins. People with technical knowledge who have been into bitcoins for years still fail at keeping their coins secure. The technology simply isn't ready for the masses yet. If too many people bet burned by being pushed into this too early it will backfire on us all.

[commandrix]

My simple answer is that, every time you use your credit card, you're going to pay a heinous interest fee if you don't pay off the credit card right away. When you use cash, that's time you waste while the cashier counts it and makes change. (Those seconds add up, folks.) With Bitcoin, you can keep it in a mobile wallet and have all the convenience of paying quickly just by scanning a QR code with none of the interest rate. If you're watching your budget, you can simply convert some of your dollars into Bitcoin before you go into a store that accepts Bitcoin, and then however much is in your mobile wallet is how much you have to spend.

[Eotnak]

IMHO it is way too early to try and lure ordinary people into bitcoins. People with technical knowledge who have been into bitcoins for years still fail at keeping their coins secure. The technology simply isn't ready for the masses yet. If too many people bet burned by being pushed into this too early it will backfire on us all.

where do ordinary people go to find out things for themselves?  Google > technical stuff to read > ooh videos with the word dummies in it.  Also, many months and years from now, people will still be asking these questions.  I like the focus here.  Keep up the great work.  Plus, the porn/fake glasses are hilarious.

edit:  it's really hard to send cash really fast really far.  Especially micro payments.

[blatchcorn]

I don't use dollars because:
They aren't backed by anything
They can be used to buy drugs
They can be stolen

[Prez]

Bitcoin is in its starting stages now. You can continue to use your USD but soon they will be worth squat, pretty close to worthless now.

The federal reserve system is flawed and has no backing anymore. Bitcoin allows regulation on the system fiat won't allow.

[bluefirecorp]

No, you can't use your dollars fine. Go to Canada, can you use your dollars there? Can you go to London and use your dollars there? How would you even get a place to exchange your money without at least having a bit of money in the first place to rent a tax / whatever you need to get around.

Also, exchanging your money technically converted it into something that isn't dollars, who wants NK fun bucks? eh?

[Bitcoin For Dummies]

I don't use dollars because:
They aren't backed by anything
They can be used to buy drugs
They can be stolen

the same can be said for bitcoin too?

[DannyHamilton]

Perhaps an equally important question is:
"Why use dollars when my bitcoins are working just fine for me?"

Regardless, here are some reasons a merchant might prefer to accept bitcoins:

• Lower transaction costs
• No chargebacks
• Reduces fraud
• Increased anonymity for their customers
• No need to inform a customer that their card has been denied
• Deflationary nature increases likelihood that a sale in the present will be worth more to them in the future
• Protects their customer from dishonest employees that might try to steal credit card info
• Protects the company against dishonest employees that might try to steal cash from the cash register

And here are some reasons why a customer might prefer to pay with bitcoins:

• Lower transaction costs
• Reduces fraud
• Reduces risk of identity theft and theft of credit card info
• Funds protected against being frozen or seized
• Deflationary nature increases likelihood that bitcoins acquired in the past will provide greater value in the present
• Inconvenient and expensive to convert your bitcoin investment into dollars in order to spend any of it.  Far more convenient to simply spend it directly (try that with your stock investment)

[Este Nuno]

IMHO it is way too early to try and lure ordinary people into bitcoins. People with technical knowledge who have been into bitcoins for years still fail at keeping their coins secure. The technology simply isn't ready for the masses yet. If too many people bet burned by being pushed into this too early it will backfire on us all.

The only way it's ever going to be secure enough for regular people is through them trusting third parties. Something like Circle(if it ever comes) or Coinbase.

Unless anyone is aware of decentralised ways to make bitcoin secure and easy to use for regular people?

[Bitcoin For Dummies]

Perhaps an equally important question is:
"Why use dollars when my bitcoins are working just fine for me?"

Well the habit is dollars, so we are trying to break that.
Also merchants will accept whatever their customers prefer, so I believe the key is to have the customers use them.
Merchant adoption seems to be way ahead of consumer adoption anyway.

All your points are really helpful though

[DannyHamilton]

This statement:

Merchant adoption seems to be way ahead of consumer adoption anyway.

Seems to prove that this statement is not entirely true:

Also merchants will accept whatever their customers prefer, so I believe the key is to have the customers use them.

Merchants can encourage their customers to use the payment method that is better for the merchant.

They can do this by advertising the payment method (signs in the window and at the payment location, posters, billboards, radio ads, television ads, product placement in entertainment media, etc), which increases awareness and visibility.

They can also do this by offering cheaper pricing for the preferred payment method, which creates a financial incentive for the customer.

It's also important to keep in mind that merchants are also customers.  Merchants need to pay suppliers.  They also earn an income and use that income as customers for other merchants.  As merchants see the benefits of accepting bitcoins, they are likely to encourage other merchants to do the same so that they can spend the bitcoins they are receiving.

[bananaControl]

IMHO it is way too early to try and lure ordinary people into bitcoins. People with technical knowledge who have been into bitcoins for years still fail at keeping their coins secure. The technology simply isn't ready for the masses yet. If too many people bet burned by being pushed into this too early it will backfire on us all.

The only way it's ever going to be secure enough for regular people is through them trusting third parties. Something like Circle(if it ever comes) or Coinbase.

Unless anyone is aware of decentralised ways to make bitcoin secure and easy to use for regular people?

No, and that's why:

The technology simply isn't ready for the masses yet.

[KeyserSozeMC]

It can't inflate.
It can't be burned, buried, hidden. ( Not talking about paper wallets, but the code itself. )
More people in the world have a PC than money (wont go deeper into this..), which makes it accessible everywhere and it doesn't cost a lot to move "a ton" of BTC
It's freedom. Not "In "God" we trust". You can't solve "God's" problem, but you can solve bitcoin's.

It's clean air.


People gonna talk about drug trafficking, prostitution, guns. "You can buy drugs with bitcoins".

I'm already buying drugs ("legal" ones)
with FIAT.


-KSMC



EDIT:

RAWR.

Who's this girl?

• The first one "Finally a simple answer of what is Bitcoin!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWYVktImeTk

She makes me wanna know more about bitcoin.

[Nerazzura]

This would be the topic of our next video from our educational series. We want to give the people plenty of good reasons why bitcoin is better and in which scenarios.
Naturally we want to crowd source the ideas as we will never be able to figure out all the angles that a community could.

So, please post below your reason to use bitcoins instead of dollars or credit card. Some of those will be used in the video.


If you are not familiar with our work, here is what we have produced so far:
 

• The first one "Finally a simple answer of what is Bitcoin!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWYVktImeTk
• The second "Is Bitcoin a Ponzi?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kImBgWDgIlA
• The 3rd "Does Bitcoin have an intrinsic value?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R3Zg1KL_KE
• the 4th "Why bitcoin transactions are so slow and why there is a huge risk of double spending?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrvinzeAymg[/b]

If you like what we are doing you can support it by sharing the videos.
If you want your company featured in the next one, you can bid for that right now: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=680624.0

Just like email, you do not need to require your family to use the software or the same service provider. Allow them to use as they like. It was not a problem; they are all compatible because they use the same open technologies. Bitcoin network never sleeps, even during the holidays too!

International payment systems are Easy and Fast

Bitcoin can be transferred to the Indonesian example of America in less than 10 minutes. There is no bank that slows down the process, the costs, or the freezing of funds. You can pay your neighbor as you would pay for a family member in another country.

[Bit_Happy]

Perhaps an equally important question is:
"Why use dollars when my bitcoins are working just fine for me?"

Regardless, here are some reasons a merchant might prefer to accept bitcoins:

• Lower transaction costs
• No chargebacks
• Reduces fraud
• Increased anonymity for their customers
• No need to inform a customer that their card has been denied
• Deflationary nature increases likelihood that a sale in the present will be worth more to them in the future
• Protects their customer from dishonest employees that might try to steal credit card info
• Protects the company against dishonest employees that might try to steal cash from the cash register

And here are some reasons why a customer might prefer to pay with bitcoins:

• Lower transaction costs
• Reduces fraud
• Reduces risk of identity theft and theft of credit card info
• Funds protected against being frozen or seized
• Deflationary nature increases likelihood that bitcoins acquired in the past will provide greater value in the present
• Inconvenient and expensive to convert your bitcoin investment into dollars in order to spend any of it.  Far more convenient to simply spend it directly (try that with your stock investment)

Deflationary nature increases likelihood that bitcoins acquired in the past will provide greater value in the present combined with the fiat debt at insane levels all over the world.
In other words, Bitcoin has very weak competition.

[CryptoPanda]

- deflation vs inflationary dollar
- freedom to spend them anywhere, you can even donate to wikileaks if you choose so
- your smartphone can be your bank
- you can bet in provably fair casinos

[Skele]

Maybe it's hard to use them for buying/selling things right now, Bitcoin is barely known by the world, just give it time, i can assure you Bitcoin has more advantages than dollars...

[giveBTCpls]

- deflation vs inflationary dollar
- freedom to spend them anywhere, you can even donate to wikileaks if you choose so
- your smartphone can be your bank
- you can bet in provably fair casinos

So you lose your phone = lose your bank

seems convenient

Im from spain and try to tell me or people here what the fuck bitcoin has solved. Sure it's cool technology and all, but if there are no jobs then what the fuck. Also, people is still people (greedy) so it's not like anyone has ever donated me a single satoshi in my shitty situation. It solves shit nothing for the common poor folk. Now if I was rich, yeah I would benefit from it by moving money around the globe and so on, but yeah, you get my point.

[giveBTCpls]

Yes I did read the first post.

No, Bitcoin doesn't solve the fact more and more unemployment will happen due automatization of jobs.