Explaining the site to my clients... has been a thing.
Take a breath... start from the beginning... realize that's not the beginning... start over.
The immense rush of excitement that I've felt after having discovered this site has, as I said in my last post, (http://bit.ly/2bhAUGZ) felt a bit overwhelming. Thinking about the real world application for a site such as this. Considering the most lucrative ways to share content and discover new ideas. Is there money to be made? And so on and so on.
What I didn't anticipate was just how odd of an experience it was going to be to try and describe to my clients what I wanted them to do. What's the first thought? Do you start with a cursory explanation of what cryptocurrency is?
- So you know what Bitcoin is, right?
• Sort of. - Ok, so you know how a cryptocurrency is mined then...
• No. - Well, you know, a super fast computer processes transactions on the blockchain much like a powerful miner might dig into the earth to mine...
• Blockchain? - Let me start over.
And that's all even before I can tell them about how this is a social media site, much like Reddit, where they can actually make money off of amazing posts that the community loves.
- So, instead of just likes, you can earn actual money off of a post.
• How? - Well, likes or "up votes" will get you a piece of the daily payout, with a bigger payout coming from the more Steem Power the person has that votes on you.
• Steem Power? - Like, think about Ashton Kutcher on Twitter.
• Huh? - He has a lot of followers.
• Ok... - So his Tweets mean more than from people like us.
• But where does the money come from? - From the blockchain.
• Not this again. - Would it be easier if I said it was magic?
• Yes.
So, I've been working on it. Modifying my pitch based on their level of knowledge (or interest for that matter) in the more technical crypto side of things. What has been truly telling of the magic and value of this thing is that it is just so self apparent. Once they come to the site, they see what is going on here. They can feel what I feel.
- See what i'm saying?
• It looks like people are making money off of posting. - Yep!
• And I can do that too? - Yeah, let's do it.
• Do I have to carry the blockchain around with me when I post? - (face palm)
One of my clients, http://steemit.com/@senderos has started posting this awesome horror story of his that you should definitely check out called, THE NIGHTMARE SONG.
And another one has posted a hilarious short film we made about the two guys trying to raise awareness about the drought in California... to moderate success: https://steemit.com/comedy/@capstonedcomedy/droughtshame
I've been sending people to an awesome tutorial I found on here about this site, but I'd love to hear how everyone else describes this magical wonderland to their friends and families.
As always, more to come.
-beans
I've found that once people see it working (cash in hand) they don't seem to care as much about the whys and hows.
However, when I try to have it make sense by explaining to them that the USD is fiat and technically not really worth anything, it seems to confuse them.
Oh, the mystery of money.
Good job encouraging others to join!
Haha, yeah that does seem to help. "See, money!"
It really seems to make a lot else suddenly not matter to them...
I'm not sure what I've done. Took a picture of a bitcoin, scanned it into a photo of a scanner which output to my email, generating a post that was uploaded to Steemit and the cycle began repeating itself. Before I could shut off the computer, my beloved state of Oklahoma has a 5.6 earthquake and the Sooners get rattled and lose to Houston. Oh dear, has a monster been unleashed?
I have recently found the site, working on my introduceyourself post and well I have to admit a bit stuck. However, Beans you are quite funny and this post is hilarious! I felt as if I was the one having the conversation with you. So with that I will take your advice, take a breath and begin from the beginning..
I found that telling friends a little information at a time about Steemit made them hungry for more.
That's good advice. Bread crumb approach. I like it!
Well done, beans, well done. As always, "Know your audience"--MAGIC IT IS!!
You've managed to summarize exactly what happens to me whenever I try to explain my cryptocurrency investments to my family. For some reason, the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) is surprisingly difficult to apply to the world of crypto.
When I told my wife why I wanted to create a Steemit account, I just explained that it's like Facebook but you earn real money when people "like" your stuff. That was good enough for her.
Steemit is like a new model of car. If it works, most people will be happy and use it. But not everyone is interested in being a mechanic and knowing every little detail about what happens under the hood.
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Wow, really flattering. Thanks for sharing.