This is an editorial written by Fernando Nikolic, Director of Marketing and Communications at Blockstream.
Bitcoin is not for everyone. It’s a bold statement that might seem counterintuitive when the goal is mass adoption. After all, shouldn’t we aim to convince everyone of the benefits of bitcoin? Well, the truth is, we can’t. that’s good.
In our world, it’s easy to live inside a filter bubble, surrounded by like-minded people who reinforce our beliefs. But when we try to market Bitcoin to the masses, we quickly realize that not everyone shares our enthusiasm. A resounding “no” can be disheartening, and there are many examples of people claiming to “give up” the conventions of peeling oranges.
This is not the way forward. We just need to resist the temptation to use the same message around the regular people we want to bring to our side.
Find our pool
Instead, we need to find our own pool, a smaller audience that gives us the opportunity to make a real impact. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to embrace bitcoin, even with the most compelling offers. By accepting this reality, we can laser focus our efforts on those who are open to change and receptive to the message.
An example of someone who understood this is Hermann Vivier from Bitcoin Ekasi. He’s laser focused on building a circular economy in a very specific place: the town of JCC Camp in South Africa – and knows all about the people in this community: their pains, beliefs, needs, doubts – and educates his local community about Bitcoin based on this information.
Vivier knows that some things we might value will not be seen with the same consideration among members of his community, so he embraces their language, sprinkles it with the truth of Bitcoin and makes the case for Bitcoin in a way that only they can understand.
For me, that’s the spirit of respect. We must admit that Bitcoin is not for everyone. This does not mean that we exclude or expel individuals; It is about realizing that our offer is tailored to different and specific groups.
By saying, “This is not for you,” we are showing respect for everyone’s time, beliefs, and desires. We can proudly declare, “This is for you. Not for other people, but for you.”
To create something meaningful for people who are willing to listen and study bitcoin, we must embrace the freedom to ignore critics who will never understand it. Our focus should be on polishing our stories to those who really need and want to hear them.
Success lies in changing the lives of the people who trust us, those who have connected with our vision. What others outside of our target audience think becomes completely irrelevant!
Because there’s one thing about normers everywhere: They really struggle to express their desires openly. But they know what they want. As Bitcoiners, we understand this very goodbut the complexity of our knowledge often makes it difficult to express it in a way that is compatible with them.
Simplifying our message and accepting that Bitcoin is not for everyone allows us to focus on those who are willing to listen.
Just like Neil Woodvin books:
“Every minute you spend ‘spreading the word’ or ‘boosting awareness’ is better spent on coding, designing, managing, documenting, selling or marketing your product.”
stand for something
In conclusion, Bitcoiners have the opportunity to stand up for something. Instead of claiming that “Bitcoin is for everyone,” we should start by defining an audience worth serving.
By understanding their needs, wants, and dreams, we can build something tailored to them. Sometimes this requires going to extremes to prove a solid point, finding our advantage and standing on something specific, rather than trying to meet everyone’s needs.
In doing so, we can create powerful narratives that resonate and drive meaningful adoption.
This is a guest post by Fernando Nikolic. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
