[VIDEO] New Animated Bitcoin Video! "Screw Banks" make it viral!

[Technomage]

This video isn't aimed for the normal people. It is for the zeitgeist-y anti-banking people, same niche as Max Keiser is targeting. weusecoins.com is for the mainstream.

Exactly. People who dislike this video based on the content are clueless about marketing. This is aimed at a certain crowd and I like it in that context. It's not meant for people who do not think that our societal problems are systemic. Marketing is about segmenting and it's actually very rare that a piece should be directed at "everyone" in general. In fact I think Bitcoin simply does not appeal well to "everyone" no matter what type of video you make, even the weusecoins vid is not an "everyone" type video, simply because Bitcoin is not, at least not yet, an "everyone" type project.

My only problem with this video is the tone of the speech. The voice itself is great, I like it a lot, but the tone has that strong American commercial style, very over the top. In Finland that kind of commercial would be laughed at, not because it has good jokes but because the entire vid sounds too much like an American commercial. So this is basically why I would eventually like to perhaps see new voice overs in other languages or even an alternative, European style voice over in English.

But this is just my constructive criticism, other than that I really like it and have no problems with the content. It works well with a certain crowd and that is the crowd it's directed at, so there is no big issue here.

[Meni Rosenfeld]

This video isn't aimed for the normal people. It is for the zeitgeist-y anti-banking people, same niche as Max Keiser is targeting. weusecoins.com is for the mainstream.

Exactly. People who dislike this video based on the content are clueless about marketing. This is aimed at a certain crowd and I like it in that context. It's not meant for people who do not think that our societal problems are systemic. Marketing is about segmenting and it's actually very rare that a piece should be directed at "everyone" in general. In fact I think Bitcoin simply does not appeal well to "everyone" no matter what type of video you make, even the weusecoins vid is not an "everyone" type video, simply because Bitcoin is not, at least not yet, an "everyone" type project.

I have no problem with marketing to a specific audience in the way you deem the most effective. I just worry about the damage done if people will "Promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, everywhere you can!!!" and it will be exposed to a wider audience, creating negative publicity.

Also, it's not just about the content. The voice, the tone, the choice of words, a lot of things raise red flags for me.

[Technomage]

I have no problem with marketing to a specific audience in the way you deem the most effective. I just worry about the damage done if people will "Promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, everywhere you can!!!" and it will be exposed to a wider audience, creating negative publicity.

Also, it's not just about the content. The voice, the tone, the choice of words, a lot of things raise red flags for me.

You have a good point here and I do agree with the tone issue. It's up to us to spread these type of videos to the right audiences because it's not meant for everyone.

I don't go and spam this video everywhere, I have some groups in Facebook where spreading this video would be ridiculous. But on one hand I happen to be a former prominent Zeitgeist movement member in my country which means that I'm in many large groups related to that and a good number of friends are related to that well, and they could very well like this type of video, so it makes sense for me to post it on my wall and certain groups/pages.

So in conclusion, it's a valid point that this vid should not be spammed everywhere without thought, it could have harmful consequences as well. This is done mainly for the OWS crowd so spam it in places where there are a lot of that crowd.

There are two types of videos you can make, other one is the general type which is weusecoins and another one is where you go straight to the points that a certain crowd cares about and stick with it. What we need next is a video with libertarian tones and libertarian concerns. We could also benefit from a technical video that is meant for geeks and focuses a little more on how Bitcoin actually works and how FPGA's are awesome.

In fact wasn't there a vid planned for the libertarian crowd? I think there was a thread about a good animator possibly doing something like that. Sounds great to me and I'd be happy to help crowdfund that as well.

[mollison]

There are definitely good things about the video, but I have big problems with a number of elements.

(1) The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is anti-capitalist

I didn't see anything resembling OWS specifically in there.

I don't like seeing bitcoin associated with anti-Wall Street sentiment.

Might you consider why this particular headline was included in Bitcoin blockchain - Block 0:

The coinbase parameter (seen above in hex) contains, along with the normal data, the following text[1]:
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Genesis_block

There is a line in the video "You're upset with Wall Street but you keep buying their stocks." I don't know anyone who uses rhetoric like that besides Occupy Wall Street. Wall Street != the big banks like Goldman. I'm already aware of the message in the genesis block, but I think bank bailouts are a different issue.

By the way, this line goes to show how ridiculous the video is. The "demographic" this video is "targeting" does not buy stocks or trade with brokers (in general). I'm sorry, but upper and middle class people who do do those things, are not going to fall for this kind of demagoguery.

(3) The notion of "screwing" the banks is insulting and juvenile. "We" (the "bitcoin community") are not out to screw anyone.

I interpreted the use of that word as a slang word used in the following referenced from Dictionary.com:

screw off, Slang .
  b.) to leave; go away.

 - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/screw?s=t

So, not as in "to cheat" but as in, "stop using them" or "forget them!"

Not at all. It's not "screw off," it's "screw." Dictionary.com defines this variously as meaning "to coerce or threaten"; "to extract or extort"; "to cheat or take advantage of someone"; "to practice extortion." There is no ambiguity at all with regards to what this means in American English, though perhaps there is with respect to other dialects of English.

In contrast, I believe that someone could create a video that has a high degree of emotional appeal, while still arguing for bitcoin intelligently.

There was more than $1,500 raised for this project, but I believe even that didn't cover all the costs.

If a crowdfunding effort to do that as you describe, I'ld contribute!

I'd possibly contribute as well, but can't spare the time to set it all up myself.

[Sukrim]

Bold words from a company that has HIGHER fees than Paypal!

Is Bitpay charging over 2.9% ??

Yes, if you don't use USD... just look at their page.

I'm not sure if anger and frustrations should be the emotions that make you use Bitcoin - but I guess "anything goes" is also a marketing principle, right?

Bit-Pay is less than PayPal at all price points.  for sales < $20, substantially less.

https://bit-pay.com/accountingHelp.html

For me, paypal would be charging 37 cents on a $2.50 transaction (a single bumper sticker shipped in the US), bit-pay charges me 2.5 cents.  Paypal on small orders is 10x as expensive as bit-pay.

I actually have shipped out orders that cost $1.48, so paypal would be charging about a 20% fee on those orders.  Screw paypal. 

"The total fee for payouts in CAD, EUR, GBP, and MXN is 3.99%."

If I sell a GPU for 150€ with PP, I need to be paid 155.64 EUR according to http://www.gregledet.net/ppfcm.html
If I sell it via bit-pay, I need to be paid 155.985 EUR. Above, it gets even worse.
Might be nice for selling bumper stickers or stamps, but a flat 3.99% fee is still more than PP charges - and you can get discounts there as merchant as well, depending on your volume.

Also BitPay charges you more than 2.5 cents if you sell it for 2.50 USD and actually want to get USD as you would get with PP as well. If PP invented their own internal "PayPalcoin" - would you like to get paid in that?! Most merchants probably won't, I guess that's one of the great things about BitPay in the first place, that you don't have to even care about Bitcoin at all to offer it to your users and you'll never even have to touch a single Bitcoin.

By the way, the risk that bit-pay freezes funds is also there - they can even freeze BTC funds, since payment is not done directly to an address that you control as far as I understand.

Anyways, not to defend PP in any way (I only use it to pay myself and if I ever get payments there, I usually pull them as fast as possible) - but if I want to sell something for EUR and get EUR for it, PP is still cheaper above ~100-150 EUR than BitPay. The possibility that your account gets frozen or payouts get delayed is there in both systems, BP has the advantage that they are still small though and might have to care more about their customers. Also they should have no problem with reversed incoming transactions...

Well, back to the video:
Let's assume, I like it (for whatever reason - I'm angry at my bank, charging me for simple transactions, I like the general idea of a "free" money...) - what should I do next? There is no "Buy Bitcoins now with BitPay" or "Go to ... and get them at the current daily rate" or anything else. I'm excited now about Bitcoin but completely without a next step I should take. This means I'll either google, check Wikipedia or simply "like" the video and forget about it...

[kangasbros]

By the way, this line goes to show how ridiculous the video is. The "demographic" this video is "targeting" does not buy stocks or trade with brokers (in general). I'm sorry, but upper and middle class people who do do those things, are not going to fall for this kind of demagoguery.

I think you are underestimating that demographic. OK, the vocal people of that demography probably aren't buying stocks and probably aren't wall street customers. But they are _very_ visible in the political discussion, at least how I see it.

And the guys criticizing this issue fail to see the point - they glorify their own political worldview and ideology, not understanding that the idea of this kind of videos is to spread bitcoin widely and far, to different cultures, different political ideologies.

While this video probably didn't catch the viral effect (or maybe did, I don't know the numbers), the next video might. Just keep producing them, for different demographies, different viewpoints etc. Don't keep bitcoin as a crypto-nerd - libertardian - laissez faire - anarcho-capitalist -thing, if bitcoin stays attached to those ideologies it won't catch on.

[kangasbros]

In a sense, the thing that some people here are angry with this video, is a very good sign. Effective marketing usually doesn't make everyone happy - it can make some people possibly very upset, while other demographies will dig it.

[istar]

I think a better approach would be.

You are screwed by the banks. Here is how they do it.

etc etc...

End

If you realize its stupid, use Bitcoin its great.

Or something like that.

[check_status]

I liked the video, pretty cool. We also need to introduce Bitcoins into the National Education Curriculum to accelerate it's acceptance.

[Boussac]

This video was really needed. The fact that only the one humorless, pompous ass in this thread does not like it is further proof that its well done. I will definitely use it in my presentations.

[Stephen Gornick]

(3) The notion of "screwing" the banks is insulting and juvenile. "We" (the "bitcoin community") are not out to screw anyone.

I interpreted the use of that word as a slang word used in the following referenced from Dictionary.com:

screw off, Slang .
  b.) to leave; go away.

 - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/screw?s=t

So, not as in "to cheat" but as in, "stop using them" or "forget them!"

Not at all. It's not "screw off," it's "screw." Dictionary.com defines this variously as meaning "to coerce or threaten"; "to extract or extort"; "to cheat or take advantage of someone"; "to practice extortion." There is no ambiguity at all with regards to what this means in American English, though perhaps there is with respect to other dialects of English.

If you re-listen to the last few seconds of the video you will know the context, and it is not "to threaten" or "extort" or "cheat".   They would have used the phrase "Fuck banks" but couldn't for obvious reasons.  To me, there is little doubt as to the meaning.

As far as to whom a message must resonate the most with (assuming there's only one message to deliver), see the left half or so of the following:



 - http://payments.intuit.com/mobile-payments-infographics

[mollison]

They would have used the phrase "Fuck banks" but couldn't for obvious reasons.

I agree with you that that is precisely the message/attitude that is conveyed, and the intended meaning of "screw" in this video.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

As far as to whom a message must resonate the most with (assuming there's only one message to deliver), see the left half or so of the following:



 - http://payments.intuit.com/mobile-payments-infographics

Yep, Marketing 101.  Know your target audience, get their attention, and speak to them.

[JoelKatz]

In context, the only plausible meaning for "screw banks" is that you should view banks with contempt. Much like "screw you".

[Portnoy]

This video isn't aimed for the normal people. It is for the zeitgeist-y anti-banking people, same niche as Max Keiser is targeting. weusecoins.com is for the mainstream.

Exactly. People who dislike this video based on the content are clueless about marketing. This is aimed at a certain crowd and I like it in that context. It's not meant for people who do not think that our societal problems are systemic. Marketing is about segmenting and it's actually very rare that a piece should be directed at "everyone" in general. In fact I think Bitcoin simply does not appeal well to "everyone" no matter what type of video you make, even the weusecoins vid is not an "everyone" type video, simply because Bitcoin is not, at least not yet, an "everyone" type project.

I have no problem with marketing to a specific audience in the way you deem the most effective. I just worry about the damage done if people will "Promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, everywhere you can!!!" and it will be exposed to a wider audience, creating negative publicity.

Also, it's not just about the content. The voice, the tone, the choice of words, a lot of things raise red flags for me.

Yup. 

And on the view that it is meant for a specific niche, note in the subject line of this thread: "make it viral!"   
Either that is meant to target it at everybody or else it is meant in the sense of making that small group
sick with an infection.   

In context, the only plausible meaning for "screw banks" is that you should view banks with contempt. Much like "screw you".

Yup. 

[the joint]

I completely disagree with those who say this video isn't effective.

1)  Unless you're a total nerd (and the vast majority of the population are not), you will not be picking apart this commercial line by line.  The message is extremely simple:  "Are you the little guy that's sick of being pushed around by bigger guys?  Here's a solution."  Thus, it's empowering.

2)  That line about stock brokers does not need to appeal to stock brokers.  Any teenage idiot has heard about occupy wall street or zeitgeist or alex jones or someone like that, and they're easy to brainwash.  They're not stock brokers and they think stock brokers are boring guys in suits, and for that reason the message still works.  You could start a video about rebelling against lunch ladies that make horrible hair-laden casseroles and they'd buy into it.  Besides, the tone of voice that's used in the video is a brilliant form of peer pressure, almost like a  "if you don't get what I'm saying by now then you're fucking retarded" kind of deal.

3)  Gavin hit the nail on the head.  Marketing is about appeal to emotion and not intelligence.  This is why sex sells and why peer pressure sells (peer pressure marketing made rap music successful...entourages, anyone?).  I posted this video up on my Facebook and within 10 minutes some dumb bitch that I've almost never talked to in my life (but whom I went to school with) gave it a 'like.'  This video creates a brilliant but unspoken dichotomy -- either you're on board with the Bitcoiners or you're a piece of shit who sides with corruption and greed.

Again, awesome video.

[OgNasty]

I liked it.  I thought it was simple enough that it might get people to take a closer look at Bitcoin.  Good Facebook material.

[mollison]

Any teenage idiot has heard about occupy wall street or zeitgeist or alex jones or someone like that, and they're easy to brainwash.

Besides, the tone of voice that's used in the video is a brilliant form of peer pressure

Emphasis in the above quotes mine.

Does this community really endorse trying to spread bitcoins through brainwashing and peer pressure?

Does this community really endorse trying to spread bitcoins through emotions instead of intelligence?

I was actually assuming the people who made the video actually agreed with the video, in which case I would just say I have a difference of opinion with them.

But it doesn't seem like very many people here really do agree with it. It seems like almost everyone is saying, "I don't agree with it, but I think it's OK to trick other people that are gulliable enough to fall for it."

I think that such an approach is unethical.

Now, some people will say, "it's unethical - OK, so what, who cares, as long as it attracts people to bitcoin?"

I don't agree that's it's OK to be unethical. But even setting that aside, being unethical doesn't really make sense as a strategy for attracting people to bitcoin.

Consider the following (independent) points.

(1) That strategy reflects very poorly on the trustworthiness of the bitcoin community, which is going to dissuade people from getting involved.

(2) Behaving unethically is just going to attract unethical people, and that's not really going to help the community much.

(3) Most importantly: "Idiot" teenagers who can easily be "brainwashed" are not going to be particularly good advocates of bitcoin. Bitcoin needs smart, articulate people to spread - there are still TONS of those who have not even HEARD of it. Also, it takes someone with intelligence and a good deal of patience/persistance to actually obtain and use bitcoin, at this stage of the game.

By the way, let me emphasize, I am really glad people are putting time/effort into making videos to get more people interested in bitcoin. I do applaud that effort.

I know most people who have bothered to speek up in this thread so far do not agree with me, but there are going to be differences of opinion and I hope everyone is OK with that fact.

[istar]

This video creates a brilliant but unspoken dichotomy -- either you're on board with the Bitcoiners or you're a piece of shit who sides with corruption and greed.

This.

[JoelKatz]

Does this community really endorse trying to spread bitcoins through brainwashing and peer pressure?

Does this community really endorse trying to spread bitcoins through emotions instead of intelligence?

If you were advising Martin Luther King, he would have given an "I have a plan" speech, and African Americans would still be drinking from their own water fountains.