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I Fumbled My Brief Orange Pilling Chance
1430 sats \ 32 comments \ @siggy47 15h bitcoin
The other day a Steak 'n Shake worker watched me pay my tab with bitcoin. She was interested, and said, "so, is it like Venmo or PayPal?" The place was busy, and I knew I had about 30 seconds for a brief explanation before she had to get back to work. I completely blew it, mumbling something about scarcity and real money. She said "oh" and walked away.
I have heard more than once over the years that you really don't understand something unless you can explain it simply. I failed that test. I want to be better prepared next time.
Are there any workable explanations that can be delivered in 30 seconds? I know bitcoin is complicated, but I would like to have a clever response that could at least inspire more research.
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211 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 7h
In 30 seconds situation
  • you need to pick only one thing that's most likely interesting & understandable to the person. For that you need to use whatever context you have - in this case they know Venmo and Paypal experience.
  • you will have to guess what the person is interested in - many people are greedy, so you could drive the point based on their greed. Some people are interested "social justice", some people are self-interested in time saving / friction saving....
I think it can work well if you make a clear contrast X vs Y - because that's then usually easy to comprehend.
So you could go with something like : "Yeah, it's like Venmo, but Venmo is only for people in the US. With bitcoin you can use it anywhere in the world without extra fees. It's fully global and fully inclusive - no one is excluded"
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @purpurato 1h
Where I live it's common to give 10% tip on restaurants and the waiter usually asks if you want to give that tip, so I tell them "I'll give you something different this time" and I show them how to open a wallet at my lnbits instance and give them the equivalent in my national shitcoin (COP) but in sats. Hopefully they won't forget the access and they'll see how NGU. After that I tell them to fill their email to the account so I can give them material to study furter if they're interested.
If you want to use my lnbits instance for orange pilling purposes, please do so. I have a decently connected LN node. Drop a message at my lnurl jdiaz@bit2cash.net
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134 sats \ 2 replies \ @guerratotal 14h
You could answer something simple and quick:
It's another way to send money, but the big difference is that with Bitcoin you don't need a bank or a company in the middle. It works like internet money: no one controls it, no one can censor it, and it works 24/7 for anyone in the world. It's as if you were your own bank.
If you want, you can have a quick second line in case the person shows more interest:
It's scarce money like gold or silver, but digital. No one can print more or freeze it for you. That's why many see it as a way to save for the long term.
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50 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 14h
answer something simple and quick
Yeah, this. But I think your answer is still too many confusing things at once.
For example, this is what I think would go through somebody with negative knowledge about bitcoin or bitcoin-adjacent things:
you don't need a bank or a company in the middle
What's good about that?
no one controls it, no one can censor it
So it's money for criminals?
it works 24/7 for anyone
I can also send transactions 24/7 online with my bank account
It's as if you were your own bank.
I don't want to be my own bank. That sounds hard.
I think I would simply answer this to "so, is it like Venmo or PayPal?"
Yes, but there are no Terms of Service
Nobody likes Terms of Service.
And I think "Yes, but ..." works better because it makes them feel like they already kind of got it.
And to be honest, most people's experience with Bitcoin should be like Venmo or PayPal anyway, because it "just works." They never had to worry about anything else.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @guerratotal 13h
Thinking about it like that, you're right... I think in the end it happened to me like it did to Siggy, from another perspective sometimes it's better not to open a thread of complex concepts, but rather connect from the familiar and sow a seed of curiosity.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 4h
Are there any workable explanations that can be delivered in 30 seconds?
Young person?
"It's like Venmo but there's no one that can tell you what to spend your money on"
Old person?
"It's like Venmo but there's no inflation"
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @SwapMarket 5h
"It is a payment system like Venmo or Paypal, but with no owners and no way to block payments"
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @bitcoingraffiti 7h
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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @Solomonsatoshi 7h
Bitcoin is the fastest appreciating money in history. Its a good idea to have some.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SwapMarket 5h
shit reason
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36 sats \ 3 replies \ @Wumbo 15h
I have had the same challenges in the past. My personal take is to try to get Sats in their hands and hope they will go research what someone just gave them.
"You want some free Bitcoin?" can often keep their attention long enough to get a wallet setup on their phone:
#548942
I have been using CoinOS as a quick easy wallet to give them 1000 Sats.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 OP 15h
That's a good idea. I'm not sure it would have worked in my unique situation, since her boss might have gotten angry, but that is a good plan in general.
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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @Wumbo 15h
If Boss gets angry, give the Boss some free bitcoin also!
Free Bitcoin makes everyone feel better.
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35 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 14h
I think your solution is best for really quick encounters with complete no coiners.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @bitcoingecko 10h
If she is interested, she will have more chances to understand. Orange pilling takes time. Just the fact she is interested is the beginning.
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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 12h
Probably should have just said “yes, only better” and if she was curious she would check it out or ask a coworker. Steak and shake should be educating their staff on bitcoin.
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40 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 12h
Yes. That would have been better. I really was so focused on the transaction that my head wasn't in orange pilling mode. I think @Wumbo 's idea is best- just offer to give someone 1000 sats and tell them to download a wallet before I finish my meal.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 11h
Wow...that's not much time!
I think I'd focus on getting them an easy-to-remember name for a good youtube channel. Or maybe instagram.
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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @Aardvark 11h
Speak GenZ
Bitcoin: It's like, digital cash, but built different. No cap, it's decentralized, so no main boss. Just pure internet money, secured by mad networks. The OG coin that changed the game, fr. Mad aura farming fam.
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42 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 11h
She did look really young. In fact, too young to be working. But everyone looks young when you're my age.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 12h
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your speech could have worked on the right person. Anyway it’s hard to come up with a tailored explanation on the fly that will pique her curiosity
When people ask me about Bitcoin, I will always say it’s another currency I get from posting stuff on SN n clicking on ads on Cointiply. Then, they might ask about off-ramping it, to which I will say nope, I would rather buy Bitrefill gift cards instead
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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @fm 12h
Doesnt matter the elevator pitch,
Just use: Magic Internet Money..
Also doesnt work, but its the coolest pitch
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BeeRye 9h
i do agree, probably the best reply. 'Ya, its like venmo except instead of dollars it's magic internet money'....let that percolate in their brain and see if they do their own research with that seed planted.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @fishious 13h
Hmm. I think I would've said something along the lines of "It's kind of like PayPal and Venmo, but I didn't have to create an account or link my bank account or credit card to use it. It makes me feel like I'm paying with cash." My goal here is to make it look like it's really simple to use, and get them interested in possibly setting up a wallet. Now the issue here is that actually getting to the self-custody stage is not easy at all for a total noobie.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 13h
I love these brief S&S anecdotes, it's like a serialized Dickens novel.
The absolute essential heart of btc is that it's non-governmental sound money. Is there a way to explain that in 30 seconds to a normie? Seems a bridge too far. But that would be my angle.
Sound money, not btc. Btc just looks like a shitty and over-complicated Venmo, otherwise.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @emoclew 13h
30 seconds is too difficult, you did the best you could and as you get asked more times in the future, you can hone it down to a fine art.
Plus it's the same with any topic, try explaining to someone how to cook roast beef in 30 seconds, actually when you think about it, it's not as easy as it seems.
You did good 👍
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby 14h
30 seconds or less in a fast food line is a tough way to orange-pill. Maybe just: "Yeah, it's more than doubled in the last year." People pay attention to price. It's what sticks in their mind.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 14h
This is a great exercise. When I was on the job market, we worked a lot on our elevator pitches, to explain our dissertations very briefly. We'd practice 2 min, 3 min, 5 min versions and target them at different audiences.
It's hard to do this on the fly with a complex topic, especially when the salient points vary by who's listening.
For that situation something like "Yes, it is similar to those, but bitcoin doesn't lose value over time like your dollars do." might have been the way to go. If you don't know that people care about the more ideological benefits of bitcoin, just stick to the benefits to the user.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @unschooled 14h
hm good point. maybe leverage people's disdain for banks
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 14h
That sounds like a good challenge. In a few concise sentences give a brief explanation of Bitcoin.
Saying it's a decentralized, immutable, distributed etc... is a bit too much info for a brief encounter.
Something like it's my savings account, it's instant, theres no company behind it etc might hit harder.
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 14h
Digital cash, limited supply, outta government control.
5 seconds!
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @Macoy31 12h
Don’t worry—many of us fumble the first pitch! Bitcoin isn’t easy to simplify, but comparing it to 'digital gold that no one controls' is a good start. The key is sparking curiosity, not explaining everything in one go.
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