Originally published on Mediation.
In the context of Bitcoin, “standard” means something like “I don't know, I don't care.” And “normal” comes from “normal.” In other words, normal people don't care about Bitcoin, at least not enough to use it.
Lack of exposure is not the problem. Bitcoin now regularly appears in major media headlines, e.g USA Today, Fox, Forbes, The Economist, the world, you name it. the term Bitcoin It generates more search traffic than other terms that most of us are tired of hearing, such as Kardashian.
But although all humans and most seagulls have heard of Bitcoin, Less than half a million Use it daily.
This is not due to a lack of effort on the part of the Bitcoin community. We wrote booksblogs (lots of blogs!) registered Videos, organized conferences, meetups, and hosted podcasts (lots of podcasts!) to preach the value of Bitcoin. We have put more effort into converting the Nokian infidels than most religions, but our beautiful temple sadly remains empty.
Educating the world about Bitcoin has built a community of knowledgeable, dedicated, and passionate people from the fields of technology, economics, politics, and finance, but orange has taken us so far. Like many strategies, the marginal gains of teaching the world were noticeable in the early stages, but have diminished.
Orange pilling stopped working.
Show, don't tell
I realize how controversial this claim is because orange peeling is very popular. It's a strategy that has served us well over the past 15 years. Most Bitcoin users love education. We tend to be critical thinkers who devour blogs, books, and podcasts to learn more about our passions and keep our minds sharp.
But we're not looking Every topicAnd we don't have to. I know very little about what good exercise and healthy eating do for my body on a cellular level, but I feel the benefits of both. In fact, our world is so complex that no one can truly understand all of its important aspects. How many welders, virologists or aerospace engineers and application developers really understand each other's fields? Most people are unaware of the most useful topics, and this is the case in a very complex world.
But experience is not a prerequisite for enjoyment. I use all kinds of products and technologies — TikTok, AI assistants, even water treatment plants — simply because they make my life better. That's all I really want to know. No technical understanding required.
All you need to benefit from technology is utility. It just has to improve people's lives in some way, whether they understand it on a granular level or not. We can tell people about the benefits of Bitcoin until they feel exhausted and upset. What matters is how they actually experience it. We should stop telling them how great the Bitcoin economy is and start showing them. Less theory, more practice.
Consider working remotely. In the 1970s, big companies like IBM were just toying with the idea; Experience with a small number of workers in time. Then came technology: broadband and Wi-Fi, VPNs for businesses, cloud storage, and cheap, powerful computers for pockets and offices. And don't forget all the software: Zoom, Teams, Slack, Meet, SharePoint, etc.
But even just a decade ago, remote work was something many had heard about, but few had tried. It has been growing at a rate of only a few percent per year. Enter Covid. Prices doubled and then tripled. now 67% of us are technologists Work mostly or entirely from home.
Yes, the coronavirus was a shock, but Pandemics are nothing new. The latter revolutionized the geography of work due to technology. Technology has become really useful, and the pandemic has given us the opportunity to make it happen. Would the revolution in remote work eventually have happened if it weren't for the pandemic? Almost certainly, if not so quickly. Would this have eventually happened without technology? The question doesn't even make sense because technology is shaping how we even think about “remote work.”
Useful technology changes behavior, habits and society. Sometimes radically.
We Bitcoin users need to learn, internalize and remember this lesson. The orange pills have stopped working, at least on our current scale. Experiences are what change people's minds, and we build those experiences with technology, not conferences. Once we start offering experiences beyond anything fiat currencies can do, people will automatically embrace Bitcoin. Until we start offering such services, no number of books and blogs will change their minds or habits.
where do I start
So, if the key is to improve people's lives, whose lives are we talking about? There is a big difference between Corner store in Hyderabad And Canadians outdoors. Different interests, different needs.
Think of the revolutionary technologies of recent decades: television, the personal computer, the Internet, the smartphone, Facebook, Amnesty International. They are all rooted in the same demographic group: people with disposable income in developed countries. Facebook has taken this approach to the extreme with its first launch Only for students attending elite Western universities. And now it's your aunt's favorite technology. Another lesson.
So the way forward is to leverage Bitcoin's strengths as a borderless, open, censorship-resistant, and most importantly, P2P currency to improve the lives of wealthy people with money to spend. Give them better ways to deal directly with each other.
In practice, this means often Adding Bitcoin to the apps they use anyway. It may also mean disintermediating the services they already use. Like connecting gig drivers directly to passengers without Uber taking a cut. Like connecting artists directly to fans without Spotify and record labels taking a cut. Like paying Dashers directly without DoorDash taking their cut.
The winning formula is to bring our technology into an existing user experience that is suboptimal, just like the current user experience iPhone did with digital camera. The utility improves the user experience, and the user experience builds on it. The incumbent margin is our opportunity. This is the essence of disorder.
Let me also point out that better tools for the wealthy in the West are no more important than giving people in developing countries access to modern financial services and shelter from the corruption of their governments. This is also vital. It's just that wealthy Westerners are a more effective way to move the market and spread the technology. It is the gateway drug, the beachhead for mainstream adoption. But yes, changing the whole world and improving the lives of everyone in it using Bitcoin remains the ultimate goal.
Benefit > Education
Education is important for people who need baseball-level information – entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, etc. Improving something is usually easier if you understand how it works rather than random trial and error.
To just use something, all you need to know is how, not why. Dozens of animal species Use tools to make their lives better. A few of them may have a vague idea of the principles of operation of tools – thick stick = strong and solid; Thin stick = light and flexible – that's enough. We all already use countless technologies without understanding them, simply because we love the experience.
We don't really have to do a lot of research on how to improve people's experiences with Bitcoin. It's easy to find What are the most popular applications?. Many, if not most, if not all of them can be improved with borderless P2P payments, right? That's the whole idea, isn't it? So let's add to them borderless P2P payments or rebuild them with our technology. If we did it right, and Bitcoin was really better (which of course it is), we wouldn't have to convince people anymore. They will embrace it and convince each other.
