Topic: This article is too awesome... Bitcoin FTW at Money2020 - page 2. (Read 7302 times)

Garzik, thanks for the ad hominem.  Erik, Charlie, Roger, others, thanks for the defense.

I just replied to this on the Reddit thread but I'll respond here as well.

What I actually said was:  "it's an entirely digital currency.  Right now, people mostly use it to gamble, buy drugs and porn (insert long pause here) -- but that's changing.  I think it has a lot of potential."  It was funny because 1. it's true, 2. probably the unexpected response, 3. probably a little out there as far as IFC dinner conversation usually goes.


I've asked Andrew to make the correction but if you ask me what the majority of Bitcoin business is today, I'm still going to say drugs, porn and gambling. If you don't want to use Bitcoin because other people use it for those things, you better burn all your cash USD, shut off the Inernet, throw away your computer and move in to a cave. Those industries lead the way in many new technologies and I think that Bitcoin gaining traction there is a real positive sign that it's not long before mainstream adoption.

My joke, of course, wasn't revealing so much as it was simply acknowledging Bitcoin's very real PR problem, which they were all well aware of. We should be thankful to all the sensationalist media for getting Bitcoin as much coverage as it has. Invariably, people ask me about this and it has to be addressed. I'm quick to say "yes it's true BUT.. it's popular in those industries because... IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME FOR ALL INDUSTRIES (except for maybe payment services)." I can't control the truth and if you ask me for it and you choose to write it down, I can't stop you.

Also, I'm not Bitcoin's paid PR spokesperson and I'm not responsible for Bitcoin's image. What was said casually over dinner to a group of highly intelligent/experienced financiers is not necessarily indicative of how I would pitch Bitcoin to the general public. I'm a huge proponent of Bitcoin and flew myself to Vegas, put myself up in a hotel, paid for that overpriced conference pass, and spent 2 days on 2 hours of sleep singing the praises of Bitcoin to conference goers, setting people up with mobile wallets and even starting them off with a free Bitcoin. What more do you want?

Very cool indeed, thanks

maybe Powell could open with something else, and introduce the idea of drugs and pron once they understand bitcoins decentralized uncontrollable nature...

 

+1

+1

Jeff,

I love you my man, and I always agree with you, but trust me on this, the journalists words were totally out of context.

Jesse was saying "Look, we know what the press says and how Bitcoin is portrayed, but Bitcoin has amazing use and utility and we can show you that"

It's common persuasion tactics, you agree with what they know so their defenses are let down and then you convince them otherwise.

Jess may not be the *best* Bitcoin advocator, but the guy hauled his ass out there, and stood on his feet for 3 days pitching Bitcoin to person after person.

Paypal had a booth 5x the size but we had 5x the people, and I have to thank Jesse for that.

The author of the article used a paragraph to explain Jesse's clothing on purpose, to our benefit, he is trying to show that the new evolution of money is Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not the suit and tie guy, its the sweatshirt average person who's gonna take control of his money.

No one can debate that, we all know its true, so lets stop debating about what Jesse said or did and continue talking about how Bitcoin is changing the world

-Charlie

Did those words come out of Powell's mouth, yes or no?

Day One of media/PR training tells you everything you say will get quoted.  It is a soundbite world.

What you don't see from your dinner meeting is how many people he didn't meet, how many people he turned off from bitcoin.

Just like the US Dollar, people who break laws use bitcoins.  Going out of your way to highlight such cases misrepresents bitcoins just as much as any slick salesperson who ignores crime entirely.

We invited him and it was great to have him there.

Perhaps some of you are too caught up in the journalist's sensationalism regarding the drugs and porn quote to realize that Jesse also landed a dinner meeting with such prominent investors, and very much got them interested. Clearly he was doing something right. Don't hate on someone just because a silly quote is pulled out and trumpeted by a journalist... you should know better.

Further, you can assume that most people have heard the blackmarket side of Bitcoin already. So by being frank about that, you can sometimes earn some honesty credits when you're meeting with people. I'd certainly see through the vapid rhetorical veneer of a slick salesperson. There were plenty of those types at the show. Bitcoin is not that.

In a pitch to the World Bank no less.

Now I know that it's easy to get caught up in conference fever but most of the important stuff at conferences happens at informal, hastily arranged meet-ups.  Knowing that, you should have your pitch for the various other attendees you're hoping to connect with prepared and refined months in advance and they should be flawless.  You should have every number, every graph, every chart at your finger-tips.  You should be able to rattle off accurate information from memory.  You should have in-depth knowledge of the backgrounds of everyone you're hoping to connect with.  In short, you should approach attending a conference as a professional project and prepare for it accordingly.

You mean this Powell? Sounds like a stand up guy .... .

+1

Who invited that fool, Powell, to the conference?  Who thought it would be a good idea for him to pitch bitcoin?

*facepalm*

Who pays for ANY kind of porn?

Agreed. CP is so thoroughly evil that its shameful just to mention it casually.

There are plenty of recorded instances of people using paypal and credit cards to pay each other for child porn.
I find it truly bizarre that in some sort of self-flagellating attempt at pre-emption - any Bitcoin evangelist would mention child porn in a pitch.

 

This quote hasn't got enough love yet.

Jesse Powell to World Bank representatives.


That pitch needs to be immortalised on a T-shirt.

dupe of https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/2012-12-10-digitaltrendscom-the-future-of-money-its-not-in-your-hands-130093

My favourite part:



Also:

Good news again .. Can,t waith to see were BTC stands in 2020 ..