For a while now the term "dark" has been sitting uncomfortably with me.
Just how long do you think DRK is going to last under this scenario?
I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm bursting everyone's bubble (and please, let's be intelligent enough with this that I don't get accusations of troll and FUD hurled at me; this is a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed). We are all having a wonderful time talking about how exciting this is and how rosy the future looks. As a technologist that also has high levels of EQ, a heart, a soul and a deep level of care for my fellow man, I can see this turning into a "marketing", "damage control", "PR" disaster.
I've mentioned something similar to this in a previous post (some weeks or month ago), the words "dark coin" or dark tor" are likely to end up with the worst of the worst connotations that will make the phrase "silk road" sound like something Disney might be involved in.
I implore every one to take off their techo propeller hat for a moment and discuss this from a human/societal perspective. We're likely to see DRK go to great heights only to become a concept so offensive and dirty that anyone who's even been remotely involved will be labelled with the same connotations as the criminals who're likely to become DRK's best customers. As for mainstream POS take-up of DRK, even at the most basic level on websites that might currently be offering Bitcoin, I think we could completely forget that possibility if DRK gets associated first and foremost with criminal activity.
I'm very concerned.
Your legitimate concern will not be understood well, is likely to be labeled as FUD and you may even be considered a troll now by people who are unfamiliar with strategic thinking, corporate vision and communication, long term outlook, marketing and promotion, product management, human psychology, public relations and so on. However, I do feel you 100%, marketing-wise, we're likely taking another step backwards (with the suggested DarkTor) or at least we're making it even more difficult to reach mainstream adoption. It's as if this is an unknown world to the core darkcoin supporters? Despite the wonderful technical innovation, the more darkness there will be in the image of the product, the less mainstream this product will end up being in my opinion (please understand the consequences). Most people look at the name/image/package of the product, rather than the superiority of the innerworkings (take Doge as a hint from within the crypto world).
I'm well aware that Evan has explicitly said that several features, including the name are now "locked in". Community members have said "it's already been discussed", but this is not really true (check the first few pages of this thread). I sincerely hope that some day Evan reconsiders the name. Doesn't he want to take his precious out there for everyone to enjoy? I'm starting to have some doubts to be honest. Try convincing non-tech, non-cryptocurrency people about the wonders of Darkcoin. Not easy. Not easy at all. All they hear is "dark", "dark", "dark" and their mind associates it with bad/illegal things. The general public doesn't like the name at all. I've undergone test cases which left me with an upset feeling in my stomach.
I've been thinking about this for a long time now, and the short answer is that Darkcoin deserves a much better 'mainstream' name to make promotion a much easier task "outside the crypto/tech world". Imho the name "ecash" could be a potential winner, as often used here in this forum. I like this one a lot and see no issues with it from a marketing perspective, but unfortunately this has been and is still used officially by certain organizations (needs to be investigated more deeply). We could however make it clear to everyone that this is ours to take.
Since this is clearly not the place to have an efficient and grown up intelligent discussion on branding, marketing and PR, I kindly invite you and anyone who shares the same concern to visit the darkcointalk.org thread I opened on 24/05/2014 (
https://darkcointalk.org/threads/10-reasons-to-invest-in-darkcoin.814/#post-4804). Share your opinion and solutions to the issue. Let's see if we can work together to at least present alternatives to Evan which are a lot easier to market.
People need to stop thinking about what 'they' like, and consider what the general public likes.
Relevant snippets from the risk factors related to the branding:
#01 - The branding provides, in my humble opinion, challenges towards large market adoption. Merchants are not likely to readily accept darkcoin due to its associations with illicit activities, whether it's justified or not. The least you could say is that it's not mainstream and is effectively somewhat branded to end up in a niche market. When customers and businesses buy or accept darkcoins, they will reconsider or get rid off it when the image of illegality is omnipresent. You bought darkcoins? So, you're a criminal? What do you have to hide? Anyone, including the believers, will continue to associate dark technology with illicit activities, because it may briefly make the price go up. If you do not understand how damaging this will be to the image and value of the product, then you need to stop for a minute and try to think about the longer term and the big picture. Soon there may be no difference in people's mind between darkcoin, dark network and the infamous dark web. I find this the quintessential reason why Darkcoin MAY fail entirely, despite it's innovation.
Vultures are flying over the DRK thread to steal the innovation once it's open source and spin it differently. Don't be too surprised if they then beat the now infamous DARKCOIN in market share, because they have the same tech, but with a positive spin. I'm not investing in darkcoin for it to become a niche.
#08 - Is there a need of management and coordination? Maybe it's a good idea to start considering both management & marketing as an essential layer of DRK. There should be a Dark foundation that steers and coordinates and provides clear messages to the community, all aligned with Evan's vision. I'm under the impression that someone is just writing software and then the big holders promote it ad hoc and in whatever way they see fit. Promotion seems uncoordinated. There is no clear message on how darkcoin should be presented and promoted, creating unwanted, incoherent and dubious references to darkcoin.
#10 - FUD: Reaction by governmental institutions or other on the 'darkness'. Perhaps this is drama, but this coin will facilitate "some of the worst things in the world". You just know they'll spin it like that. As a serious investor, I can not yet see a bright future. The way I see it is that this coin may some day be *too hot to handle* for most people, especially because there is no clear communication on this. It may turn ugly, when various illegal market places are operating using Darkcoin technology. Some people are actually hoping for this to happen. A foundation could do so much to spread a clear message on this: "Privacy is the right of every human being, however the Darkcoin foundation does not condone any illegal activity.". Make this perfectly clear please. Quoting Evan isn't really going to put my mind at ease. Creating clarity in regards to this aspect would be appreciated by serious investors. You may need to implement a communication strategy before it becomes an issue. Be prepared.
In my opinion, we should start thinking about DRK as a product with a consumer market in real life, or at least take this approach instead of the narrowminded crypto approach. So what is our market? What are our targeted consumers? How should we brand our product? It's kind of unclear right now due to a lack of strategy or foundation, while overfocussing on the technical aspect and price
. It's already somewhat taking the wrong direction? If the marketing issue could be solved, and the product works as advertised, this would effectively be Bitcoin's first prominent successor aka the first true altcoin. I can really see this. Fact is that I'm aware that few people will want to change the branding because of the 'good will' that has already been created around the name "darkcoin". If so, it will always make promotion difficult, there will always be concerns/FUD and hence serious investors will think twice about investing in this product.
I really dont get it. 
") I think Jo Public is going to be a hard sell.
