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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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?