Bitcoin needs more independent record stores. Bitcoin needs more independent book stores. Bitcoin needs more comic shops.
Hear me out...
Bitcoin needs more cultural hubs, and I'm referring to the curator/gate keeper/provocateur of everything that is of and related to the Bitcoin ethos. Even things only tertiary or tangently related.
Record Stores, Independent Book Stores and Comic Shops being the ones that come to mind first. Second would be art, home decor and furniture shops too. Then maybe food.
Why?
If you grew up frequenting these places you might have had a similar experience: interesting, unique type people who curated some cool stuff...
Maybe an old hippie, or a war vet, or a mom who went back into the job market after raising 4 kids.
But each one had something to say about the world and might have done so through the very culture they curated, loved, sold and would recommend to any customer.
Most times it was unspoken and you'd accidently end up with a graphic novel or punk or reggae record that totally changed your world view.
How does this relate to Bitcoin? Before I can start telling a person all about L2 Lightning wallets and Nodes... the story must begin with "What is money".
And that story is about the human condition. Overlapped with power, politics, freedoms, laws. And thus, to appreciate it appropriately, we need GOOD stories.
Not the current Disney, Marvel, Hot Topic, Spotify culture.
The deep ones. The ancient ones. The transgressive, challenging, beautiful and hopeful ones.
Bitcoin is a story about power. And humans. And systems.
And those benefitting most from these only curate what perpetuates it all. They're not telling the truth.
I'm a Bitcoiner because I got to read Watchmen, Spiderman, Preacher, and countless other Comics. Because I got to buy old Bob Marley records and then discover The Clash and Social Distortion, and then Hendrix and the blues. And then the REAL Blues. Because I read 2001 and A Clockwork and Huxley and Orwell. And then learned Chess and about religions. And then read politics and history.
It taught me to question. To think critically.
Maybe this is done digitally now. But public spaces are important. Hubs are important. Beacons even.
Bitcoin needs more independent record stores. Bitcoin needs more independent book stores. Bitcoin needs more comic shops.
I think this is a trap of nostalgia. This is the equivalent of old school vídeo gamers wishing arcades will come back. While a few novel shops would be cool the internet makes something like this obsolete. People rather waste hours on end on TikTok then go to a store to read about a software protocol.
Hm. I see your point. I hope not though.
AND iMO arcades were cultural hubs too.
I have very specific memories from them
I present to you the lightning arcade! You pay for the video games with lightning, you can purchase the lightning from machines throughout the establishment, and you can trade the lightning for prizes only available at the arcade. I think this idea is RIPE for re-imagining with bitcoin.
Absolutely I have fond memories of when I first saw Marvel vs capcom at the arcade.
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I was just thinking about something similar yesterday...Bitcoin needs more fictional books!
As far as I can tell, most if not all Bitcoin books available today are some form of historical non-fiction. One of my friends (not a bitcoiner) loves to read fiction, so having some form of fiction that still educates on Bitcoin would be amazing to have.
I've been writing bitcoin fiction as well. Coming soon to an Internet near you.
What's it about?
Feel free to laugh at this terrible piece of fiction i wrote as a spec start to a bitcoin fiction book called Sticksville
https://controlc.com/74b32214
Writing a series as we speak.
What's it about?
This post was featured on This Day in Stacker News.
I find this an interesting but problematic proposition.
The specific industries you highlighted first rely heavily on IP exploitation. Bitcoin encourages behaviors which make it harder to make money renting out IP. Bitcoiners seem to regularly ask themselves whether they should expend money consuming such and so good or service, versus acquiring more bitcoin. How does a comic book shop stay open if it's full of people who would rather buy bitcoin than comic books?
We certainly need geographical hubs, where ideas and experiments turn into culture and propagate into a greater society. I don't know where that could be for Bitcoin. It's going to take bitcoiners either opening spaces, or getting lucky enough to find spaces. I have held Bitcoin Brunch over 100 times at the same location because I had a pre-existing relationship with the restaurant ownership. Not everyone can so easily set up a home base for their effort to bring people together, and I still dream of having my own space where I could host Bitcoin Brunch. Maybe for the 500th Brunch.
To get back on topic, I think things lead to the Hot Topic and Spotify culture specifically because those are the most profitable methodologies given the regulatory landscapes of the respective industries. These companies take advantage of monopolized data. This applies to the independent record or comic book shop, perhaps simply not as much. Bitcoin and other open source technologies may significantly reshape many of the industries in question, likely not without a fight. Alas, I go off topic again.
Bitcoin doesn't need anyone or anything! You clearly don't understand bitcoin.
We will have widespread bitcoin adoption only when people learn to be sovereign individuals! You're probably just a shitcoiner.
😁
Good post, thank You! I think BTC will be finding its way throughout the stratos of society as it has the social characteristics of water.
Hope so!
Would be cool
bitcoin and a hippie bookstore would be an excellent fit. And an opportunity to reach out to people who have an kneejerk anti-bitcoin reaction by associating it with something other than "slick-dumb crypto investor bro" that the media ties it to.
Agree! Totally!
Excellent post. The type of people I have met in places like this seem rarely motivated by money or status; just decent human beings…. At worst they are encouraging you to try a new record/graphic novel or other.
Admittedly these spaces can be intimidating to outsiders but are actually very inclusive.
I believe in person interactions are vital - lockdowns around the world proved that - but we need reasons to meet up beyond work.
Yes. Agree!
I bet you're of my generation. We share similar experiences. Mine specifically involved quirky used bookstores and record stores. These were cash only, of course. Credit cards weren't a big thing then, anyway.
I wonder if that culture still exists, or if everything is now online?
This is my thought as well. Anything online is... different. Or maybe ... lol ironic... THIS is an equivalent.