RE: The Marketing Campaign Behind the Billion Hero Challenge
This entire campaign IS just a way for the owners of BitShares (ordinary people) to generate a favorable increase in volume and, subsequently, the price of BTS.
It does so by generating demand for the flagship product of a real (unmanned) company. Not hype. Demand.
What is the value of a company that handles much of the world's currency exchange traffic? How do we realize that value? ...by getting folks to use it.
Short selling is one of the things experts do on a currency exchange. But that is not required.
Borrowing against collateral is another thing ordinary people do - like a home equity loan.
Holding shares in a company (BTS) is another thing people do in their investment portfolios.
And buying a 5% CD is another valid economic transaction.
BitShares is a digital exchange and smart coin factory that provides all these financial products and services - without counter party risk and faster and more efficiently than any other company in the world.
It would be irresponsible as shareholders not to promote these products and services in the most aggressive way possible.
The Billion Hero Challenge is the most aggressive way we can think of.
And it benefits humanity in many ways by encouraging saving, investment, and charity.
:)
Stan,
I sincerely appreciate the fact that you took the time took the time to write such thoughtful responses to my inquiry. Thank you!
I would like to say, however; just because the system behind a currency is decentralized in nature, does not mean the currency has been evenly distributed. There will always be primary beneficiaries in situations like this.
What you are talking about doing is creating artificial demand for a security as though it is a real, physical product. By encouraging people to enter into a game-of-debt with YOUR currency/shares/product/service-thing, you are effectively blurring the lines between abstractions.
The scenario in which you are engaging is one that has the potential to make this whole industry look bad if it goes wrong. Do you really believe the SEC would allow this kind of "game" to take place if we had proper regulations? If you truly respect this industry and wish for cryptos to be recognized as a legitimate asset-class, then you would save us all the embarrassment by refraining from taking advantage of those who don't know enough to protect themselves against people like you.
The creation of an unmanned company is indeed a new innovation. So is creating a new world currency backed by equity in such a company. So is finding a way for the world to cooperate in doing so from the grass roots without having it imposed on them from The Powers that Be.
Gameification is a great way to teach people about new concepts. Contests (no purchase necessary) are a common way to draw attention to new products and services.
And we are doing it all in a more transparent and open way than any regulated industry has ever achieved.
Using the exact same arguments that Bitcoin maximalists use about decentralized enterprises.
Finally, you obviously don't know how well distributed BitShares is compared to Bitcoin. Half of all bitcoins are mined by three companies and SOLD on the market to the highest bidder. BitShares was mined in a far more fair way thatn that and donated into existence 100% and has had several years of trading to distribute them at 1% of the current price to people who recognized their value. There is no better distribution imaginable. Even if they had been given out one per person to 3.5 billion people, they would have wound up distributed exactly like they are today - in the hands of people who were willing to pay for them.
There is "no purchase necessary" because people will be taking on loans in the form of a short sale. I agree that gameification has a great deal of scholastic merit, however; in this case, it is not being utilized in such a manner. Also, I am not trying to bash Bitshares. It is a very well made crypto-currency, and a good investment. I have held BTS for some time.
It is the warped manner in which you are utilizing marketing techniques to brand BTS like a product as opposed to working toward initiatives that increase its utility as a CURRENCY rather than something to be marketed like Pepsi or a Box of Cereal.
It is a medium of exchange first and foremost and it should be treated like one.
I guess everybody is free to say what they think it should be. We, the creators, have always said its an unmanned company, a Decentralized Autonomous Company (DAC), since the beginning. You are free to think of it as a currency and for certain regulatory purposes that is correct.
But for those who accept our original vision that it's a company interested in promoting it products and services and making a profit and generating appreciation for its shareholders, we are doing exactly what we set out to do.
And its not "instead" of working toward initiatives that increase its utility as a currency. We are also doing that. The HERO is the currency. BTS is shares in the underlying platform. And the only way it will ever get adopted is if we teach the world all about it.
We have merely created a game to do that teaching because that's what it takes to reach the masses.
We have been working with the community to improve the original rules of the game - one of the changes will be that people can play with monopoly money while getting credit for using various features of the platform as they learn. (No purchase necessary.) They get credit for holding the play money or BTS or HEROs as well as for borrowing HEROs using their own BTS as collateral (taking out a "home equity loan).
Prizes will be awarded to charities selected by team leaders who get the most support from users who have completed their training and gotten the most "course credits." I'll be writing up these ideas in a new post in the days to come.
Well said Stan. It is refreshing to see a respectful disagreement run its course and stay respectful all the way through. I support your thoughts and the Billion Hero Campaign 100%.