So the title is supposed to be read with a little bit of humor implying that most people involved with crypto today are not exactly normal 
I do believe the only way crypto currency will increase in value overall is by gaining more widespread adoption. How do we gain widespread adoption? One person at a time. One on one discussions helping people we know to understand the pros and cons, the risks and rewards.
John Oliver said once in a hilarious way “crypto currencies are everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers”. To the normal humans, he is dead right.
So I had a recent acquaintance, a man of 30+ years of age ask me a week ago about crypto currencies. He had been researching them a while on his own but never took the plunge. After a few hours of discussion, some youtube video reviews, and downloading and installing the Daedalus wallet, he decided we were ready to meet up and get him started on his crypto currency addiction. So after about 3 hours working on his own, and another 4 hours of training, navigating web sites, and creating accounts on Coinbase and Bittrex, my friend was well on his way to becoming a Cardano acolyte and exploring the world of digital currency. The sticking part was putting very personal information into those little known websites. You know… the kind of activity you were alway told NOT to do or your identity would be stolen and your life would be over. It alway helps to have some one egging you own to jump off a cliff. “Look I did it and I’m OK, you can do it too.”
The single most important barrier I think I learned from this man is that people are reluctant to put their personal information into Coinbase, and Bittrex and Binance and all these web sites that ask for KYC information including birthdates and ID numbers. Most normal people have never heard of these web sites. Add to that the name “crypto” brings a stigma with it that digital currency is somewhat elusive and hard to understand.
So after this experience, I realized I need a “How To” guide on get normal people addicted to crypto like myself. Here are the suggestions I came up with:
DO:
- Be patient. Show them how the technology works.
- Be honest. Explain the hazards.
- Be positive. Describe the success stories and possibilities.
- Be security minded.
- Give them room to breath.
- Have fun.
DONTS:
- Try being as sarcastic as possible. People love sarcasm. They always understand sarcasm and know exactly what you mean.
- If you are helping someone on telegram and they do not understand basic definitions like HODL, just call them a NOOB. I love it when I am trying to learn something new and when I make a mistake the experts call me NOOB. It’s a real motivator like my drill instructor from boot camp.
- Be forceful and aggressive when introducing the subject of crypto. If some one does not agree with your analysis of bitcoin, just call them stupid and flash your Blockfolio at them. You will convert them instantly.
- To win the hearts of the newcomers, describe what a pump and dump is. The first time I heard of a pump and dump I thought to myself …“I love a good pump and dump, gotta get me some of that”.
- If some one tells you that “Bitcoin has no value, it has nothing to back it up!!!” ask them how they hell are the gonna buy a taco with their stock market holdings. Sheesh, no value my ass.
- Call their native currency fiat. Then get into an argument about how fiat is garbage and Ron Paul is the only one who knows what he is talking about.
- Have them go on the unofficial Cardano Community telegram. That is great place to introduce new people to the world of digital currency. There is a fresh hot dumpster fire going on over there every day to get people warmed up to the culture of crypto. Heck those official Cardano channels just have a bunch of science and geeky stuff with the latest updates. Who wants that?
- When describing the pitfalls of digital currency, always use the word REKT. Best way to challenge people to try new things is to tell them how much they are going to get rekt once the training wheels come off.
I hope you read this with a grain of salt and find the sarcasm a bit funny. Please feel free to add your own ideas on how to gain new adopters, friends and family alike!
~Rick
