Thoughts for Improving Bitcoin's Popularity - page 2.

In light of some recent discussions I've had on this forum, I'd like to voice a few thoughts.

In terms of 'fads,' Bitcoin definitely meets the criteria -- It's new, it caught on fast, it took a few hits, and now we see a lot of die-hards mixed with late newcomers. One could also argue that Bitcoin is still faddish and the these 'late' newcomers are still joining early. This argument would be based upon the assumed longevity and durability of Bitcoin. Both could be viewed as correct, but one fact remains the same. Bitcoin is an isolated fad.

I've spent a lot of time on this forum in the past 2 months. During those two months I've observed many reasons why I think Bitcoin has remained isolated this long. Obviously, some of these reasons are technical and revolve around the idea that Bitcoin is not 'merely' a fad, but a new currency that inputs a certain level of risk. Beanie Babies were fun, but hardly risky. You bought a happy meal, you got your toy as a free bonus, and you were happy to put that beanie baby up on a shelf until you later realized that some of these beanie babies became extremely valuable to some collectors.

Bitcoin has not caught on in the same way beanie babies have. Beanie babies are fun, they're cute. People like cute stuff. People like fun stuff. Figuring out Bitcoin is neither cute nor fun unless your interests happen to include computers and spending long hours in front of a computer reading up on new technologies. Fiat currency is far easier to understand for everyday use, acquire, and is overall more convenient. Moreover, people in general do not have a lot of foresight when it comes to money. People are notoriously bad with numbers when they conflict with emotion. Studies have shown that people would rather have $50 today than $52 next week if given the choice.

Let's look at some other things that grew exponentially at a very rapid pace. Some good examples are HotOrNot, MySpace and YouTube. People are social beings. Social status is arguably one of the most driving forces that motivate people and this is seen everywhere from social networks to cell phones. There is, however, nothing about BitCoin that currently focuses on the peoples' social nature. In fact, it does the opposite with claims of increased anonymity. Given that people are generally honest and fair (which is obviously debatable given the large number of Bitcoin scams), the transaction mechanism behind Bitcoin is a nice idea. But, it does nothing to help its economic model.

Additionally, I look at the content on this forum. Granted, I will admit that I am guilty of unnecessary belligerence/hostility toward others if I feel they make (in my opinion) notoriously dimwitted posts. But there are additional isolating factors on this forum that reflects the mindset of the community. For example, I don't know about you, but I HATE the word troll. To me, troll is a symbol. It's a symbol that represents the isolated nature of Bitcoin and the community. It's projective, and while troll is used to denote users that make off-topic or careless posts, it is a reflection of this community within larger society. It too is off-topic and careless. It does not truly consider what the population at large wants.

In my opinion, the Bitcoin community, its users, and its merchants/businesses need to reflect upon society at large. Be clever -- using a little manipulation to attract the average Joe can help to fulfill 3 goals: 1.) Increasing Bitcoin's popularity 2.) Giving Average Joe what he wants 3.) Finally garnishing the attention that Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies deserve due to their novelty and improvements upon fiat currency.

What do people want?
People want to feel safe. People want to be loved, accepted, understood, appreciated, complimented. They want to be sexy. They want to be famous. They want the world to revolve around them.

While I haven't given sufficient thought as to exactly how Bitcoin can address these desires, I have a few general suggestions. The first of these is simplification and security rolled into one. Find a way to merge the Bitcoin client with a miner ALREADY REGISTERED TO A POOL. So, in other words, the only thing to do to get started would be 1.) Download client/miner 2.) Click confirmation email which will confirm your account and provide you with username and secure password 3.) Start mining. Perhaps an automatic account on Mt. Gox or TradeHill could also be created when downloading this client.

Next, with the simple startup initiated, consider their desires. People should somehow be recognized and rewarded for their involvement with Bitcoin. Create a social network site like Second Life. Linden dollars worked only because of Second Life's social nature. Create something like HotorNot.com where it costs only .1 BTC to put up a photo. Have contests on the site where the guys/gals that receive the highest ratings of sexiness are rewarded in BTC which they can then cash out in USD. Create a site like YouTube where Ads linked to popular videos are paid for with BTC.

I understand these ideas aren't extremely well thought out as I did not take a lot of time to write this post, but my general point remains the same. Consider what you want to happen, and then consider what it really takes to get there. If you want everyone to use Bitcoin, you need to figure out what everyone wants. That includes the high school jock, the cheerleader, and likely all the people with whom many of us were never friends with. To make Bitcoin thrive, you need to understand people. And, so far, I haven't seen much of that.

Thoughts/opinions greatly appreciated.

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