Back on topic...
Fuserleer pretty much hit the nail on the head. Dogecoin is like the anti-Anonymint. Dogecoin's success has nothing to do with the underlying technology it is based on. Dogecoin made cryptocurrency fun, funny, and relate-able.
That fun happened without any features (technology) whatsoever eh?
Micro-tipping (per my upthread post apparently a voting gift culture, not an economic meme) was not at all important to the perception of Dogecoin being fun to participate in?
To nail something you need to also understand the details that were required. We can all say Bitcoin is fun, but it depends what we mean by fun.
To be more specific, I think what you and Fuserleer mean to say is that the Doge users were enjoying the sense of community spirit from a confluence of attributes, including the ability to vote up (tip) people on social networks and the festive/carefree/creative/cute dog atmosphere surrounding the community.
Again I see a fundamental generative essence of HOPE in that, but I also commend
you[Fuserleer] (
it can't be ascertained if you had this idea or you were bluffing and picked up on Fuserleer's fun idea) stating that interactive, gift culture oriented, creativity-themed fun is more specific than a general notion that it taps the human need for HOPE (or belief in something better). Everyone loves to have fun. But fun means different things to different people. For me, fun can be dancing or engaging in vigorous sports. I have observed that many of the youth want to do what I tend to think of as frivolous or irrelevant fun (in other words not so fun for me in my older age, although sometimes I relate). For example, all that community sharing and creativity I tend to think of as time waster, but then when I sit down with my gf and watch her scroll her timeline on Facebook, I become also interested in all the diverse stuff going on. So I guess it is an acquired habit. The youth are on their phones 24 x 7.
Comparing the first Dogecoin conference to a Bitcoin conference... people were dressed in costumes like a comic con, there was a decentralized dance party, and people were generally there to have fun (rather than network and talk about the technology like what is done at Bitcoin conferences.) Dogecoin is all about having fun, which happens to introduce people to decentralized cryptocurrency at the same time. Tying itself to the internet sensation that is Doge catapulted the awareness, adoption, and price of Dogecoin.
I remember the Ape who showed up at my high school house party and I escorted him to the dance floor! Yeah okay I agree. Partying is fun (although I haven't been able to enjoy my life lately due to pain/fatigue of chronic illness). Yet I remember what it was like.
It was also at the right place at the right time, which is perhaps the greatest reason for its success. It was a perfect storm of multiple factors. It was released towards the peak of the popularity of the Doge meme and size of the Doge community. It was released towards the peak of Bitcoin's awareness in the media. It was released towards the peak of the number of cryptocurrency speculators entering the market. Because of that initial influx of speculators, it now has a wide reaching network effect and a large community of supporters that will (IMO) carry it into the future. It is here to stay.
I was oblivious that there was even a Doge meme circulating through society in 2013.
Which part of the confluence is repeatable and sustainable?
Was there any value in the gift culture voting of micro-tipping and the fun that created to pass those tokens around instead of just clicking "Like" when ever you feel like it with no limit on how many times you can do it?
Upthread someone was claiming there is some lasting effect or value in Doge's marketing theme. So what is that? Is it still fun to use Doge? Why?