Any new thing may be a scam (especially those unannounced and unplanned) but at this time we cannot be sure.
A person's ability to communicate in English does not dictate the legitimacy of a cause (especially in another country that uses a different type of English) and neither should other things that may vary from culture to culture (such as methods of contact, website design, name confusion, etc). There are some wonderful causes where the founder can't speak English well, I'm sure. We must give people the benefit of the doubt while keeping a sharp eye. This is KarmaCoin after all. We wouldn't want others to think we're a scam, either, so it is a lesson in process for us. (That's why I'm so vocal about branding and message.. so people will give us serious consideration worldwide, including in countries where English is not widely spoken. We will have setbacks from rolling out globally as well.)
The point is that these things will come up. It's good that it's happening now because it shows us that we need a process for these sorts of things (including forum moderation, if possible) before we become more popular. This way, we can make sure that anyone using the "KarmaCoin" name in future is likely to be doing so for a legitimate reason.
Who will volunteer to create the process? We can be quick to put something down but how quick will we be to lift Karma up and "make it happen"?
And who will help to work on a solid and unified branding message so that other people will know how legitimate we are?
I've read a few stories on Reddit about how someone tried to install the Dogecoin wallet for their friends or family and was asked whether or not Dogecoin was a scam. The graphics on the Dogecoin wallet and website surely do not help them to expand their member base and be taken seriously. And old members may get tired of the memes. They're doing great things right now but they're losing active members fast as the 'shiny new toy' effect wears off. (They had 3x the subreddit participation rate this time last month.)
Let us learn from their mistakes, and be sure that people 1) not on the internet; 2) not on Reddit; 3) not "tuned in" to whatever meme we may come up; and 4) not that technical, can get a clear, concise, and unified message.
I know some of us may be turned off when I use terms like "brand message" but we must realize that we are, indeed, building a brand and will do marketing for Karmacoin. No need to try to avoid it. Better to go with what works and carve our our own sound in the "symphony for global change" that resonates with our audience.
There are lots of people in rich countries who aren't too sure about how to use anything more than email or Facebook. We must consider people in different cultures, countries, age groups, and with varying technical ability when designing the elements we use, and deciding on what words to use. We can make Karmacoin easy for the average user. This removes friction in the user experience and welcomes new users who may enjoy the ease with which they can understand and use Karmacoin.
Right now the cryptocurrency industry is like the computer industry was way back when, and we are just now coming out of the mainframe stage. Bitcoin is like the Altair 8800 stage. It's really cool and popular, but only a few people want to use it. It's more of a gateway to better things, it seems. Dogecoin could be more like the Apple II but is going the way of the wonderful and magical Tomy Tutor. Karmacoin has an opportunity now to build a standard based on good design principles that appeal to the average person and is user-friendly. We are at the forefront of this movement and we don't even realize it yet. We can choose to be the 'operating system for global good', a platform like Windows, or go the way of the IBM PC and still be big and global, but also missing a greater opportunity that was
right under our nose.
Actually, no offense to the designer but when I first opened up the Karmacoin wallet I thought I had downloaded the wrong one. The brand image wasn't consistent (and I think still isn't). People that know better, know, but I am pretty sure that most people would be confused. Aside from that, the standard wallet that altcoins use is too technical for the average user. Dogecoin still hasn't released a simpler, more user-friendly wallet that (I believe) most of their user base
needs. Again, we can learn from their mistakes. We must continuously learn, seek out feedback, incorporate feedback from potential users into most everything we do, know what to look for when we can't or don't get feedback, adapt to changing market forces, and listen to those outside of our circle... or die.
These considerations and more will help us to see the other side of the table when people go to our website and use Karmacoin. We don't want to have a lesson in karma when other people think that
we are a scam.
