This really got my blood boiling, so I posted a comment
(pending moderation, which means it probably won't show up) but here it is for posterity:
Ms. Korolov,
It would benefit your readers if you spent time researching your subject, instead of relying on 'expert' analysis from an academic who clearly has no business making absurd rationalizations regarding bitcoin.
1) "Nobody has to accept it" - While it is clearly the ability of anyone to reject or accept something, you present it here as a primary reason not to accept an encrypted and distributed currency. How quaint. While you're making
'clever' comparisons using chickens
(barter, how cute and whimsical!) the real world is using bitcoin to the tune of
$1.8 million USD per DAY.
(Source: http://blockchain.info/stats) 2) "No critical mass" - We all started somewhere, Ms. Korolov. Yourself taking up some kind of journalism classes
(dropping the ball on the 'due diligence' requirement), and bitcoin started in 2009 now trading over
$1 million per DAY with a market capitalization of over
$81 million. Instead of decrying the fact bitcoin is only three years in the making, I'd suggest looking at the trends of overall network hashing power and transaction volume.
3) "No switching costs" - Here you go thwacking about a thicket with a small stick, hoping to beat out some reason not to use bitcoin. In fact, all you end up doing here is showing that there are substantial costs to using government backed currencies versus bitcoin. Bitcoin has minimal fees, can transfer wealth around the globe in one hour versus
days, and it cannot be tampered with by misguided monetary policy makers. What you see as weakness, the logical world sees as strengths.
4) "There's nobody to police it" - I think what you meant to say here is
"There are no government regulatory bodies or financial institutions who can strangle this currency in its infancy." Quite right, there is no centralized authority that can stop bitcoin, prevent you from accessing your money - or stop you from spending it on precisely what you want. What you consider a lack of
'regulation' is really monetary freedom. Perhaps you've been using dollars too long.
5) "There's no real need for it" - At this point I had to sit and laugh a while before typing a reply. The need is patently obvious with anyone who has an internet connection and has been reading the nightmare headlines regarding the global financial system.
Eurodollar? In a shambles.
MFGlobal? Millions in customer accounts stolen, all the while being
'regulated' by government agencies.
PFG Best? Deceived regulators with frightening ease then spirited away millions more from customer accounts. That isn't even touching upon the housing bubble and the looming deficits that every government on earth is piling up. The bottom line is - we can't trust politicians, bankers or regulators to help us manage currencies or the accounts that hold them. I'd say that we need bitcoin now, more than ever before.
6) "It's volatile" - Please. Have you looked at any other markets? Eurodollar is currently whipping around plus or minus
100 pips a day, the Dow Jones Index is enjoying a rather lovely drop of
100 plus points to only turn around and ramp
200 on a rumor of the Eurozone 'solving' something. As for bitcoin, it seems like a leisurely stroll in the park compared to those heart-attack inducing trading patterns. Also, there are methods retailers can employ like simple weighted averages to smooth out fluctuations, or simply peg to a price and change when conditions warrant it.
7) "Bitcoin is unfair" - Actually, what is unfair is when someone writes about bitcoin with no knowledge, passing off an academic source as the be-all of references. Early adopters are precisely that, they take the risks that people writing misinformed articles won't take, and understand that those risks can either induce a loss or a gain. To complain in hindsight about a system that is becoming wildly successful for having not given everyone an elevator ride to the top floor is about the most vapid statement I've ever read on the internet - and I've read YouTube comments, so that is saying something.
In conclusion, bitcoin is the future and anyone who doesn't learn about it now will wish they had later, believe me.
Helpful links:
http://www.weusecoins.com/ <-- Introductory materialhttp://bitcoin.org/ <-- Source, technical detailshttp://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page <-- Wiki with a helpful FAQ to not make you look like a moron when writing articles about it 
