In my last post which you can read here, I explained that if you want people to come to you for advice when they are ready to jump into buying cryptocurrency you need to be empathetic to their skepticism. If your sister tells you she doesn't want to buy any crypto because she thinks its a scam and you belittle her for having a different point of view, she won't come to you for help even if she does change her mind. No one wants to ask a jerk for help.
I highly doubt anyone new is asking you for advice on how to buy crypto right now. Normal people will be scared away until we see another bull run. Normal people won’t buy during the dips, they only buy due to FOMO. But if you believe in the future of cryptocurrency like I do, you know that the market will be back. The time to get ready for the next 2% of the population to start buying crypto is now. They’ll be needing you to be the best crypto ambassador you can be.
Don't be a Crypto Know it All!
I think every interest/hobby/subject has a hierarchy of people involved in it. From beer to cooking, and even crypto, there are varying levels of interest, from noob to expert and everything in between. For some reason especially in crypto there is a tendency for the people who are more knowledgeable to belittle the new people. This is rampant online, just look at the sub-reddit for Cryptocurrency. God forbid you ask a question and the people lurking on there don't like it, or you buy a coin that they deem a "shit coin." You will be made fun of and berated until you start doubting your own buying decisions. Please don't treat people this way. Being condescending is rude. Everyone can't be an expert in every subject!
Teach them the Basics First!
If you really want cryptocurrencies to be adopted by the masses you need to be willing to answer all the questions that normal people (who are not involved with crypto) will ask, no matter how annoying it is. Some things that you need to be able to explain:
- What is blockchain technology?
- What is the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum?
- What is the easiest way to buy Bitcoin (I say Coinbase for now, until there is a better alternative)
- Why are there so many cryptocurrencies? Are they all necessary?
- Why does the circulating supply matter?
- Will all cryptos be as valuable as Bitcoin eventually? (Ugh, lol)
- How much should they invest into crypto?
- Explain and show them a real use case for crypto in depth (like Steemit!)
- Basic security measures (2FA, strong passwords, knowledge about phishing links)
- Triple checking wallet addresses before sending crypto
Only once people understand the answers to these questions can they move on to the more complicated concepts.
What if you get the feeling that your friend really doesn’t care to learn about the basics of how blockchain technology works? I would be wary offering to help them buy it in that case. It’s obvious they don’t care about the tech, only about the money. Now, I am not going to lie and say that the money doesn’t matter to me because obviously it does. But, I would be cautious about offering to help a friend who is thinking about crypto the same way he would approach a blackjack table. The reason why I’ve been able to hold everything since July is because I really do believe in all the coins I hold. If I didn’t understand all of them, I would have panic sold months ago!Teach your crypto noob about the fundamentals! Even if it takes you a year to fully explain what Bitcoin is to them, do it anyways. You are not better than someone because you got into crypto a year before them. You have the ability to teach them why Blockchain technology will change world and how to get involved. Don't screw it up!
Emily
Did you have any bad experiences asking for help when you got into crypto? What about good experiences? Do you have any guesses about how long we will be in a correction? I would love to hear about them below in the comments section! If you enjoyed this post would you give me the honor of your upvote and/or follow? I appreciate every single one and I cant wait to connect with you! Steem on!
This is an excellent post. I love it! I really appreciate and love supporting content that shares a vision for lovingly encouraging wider adoption of crypto in general, and this is what I see you doing.
Thanks for sharing. Upvoted and resteemed.
Thank you so much @infidel1258, I am new to writing content and its very encouraging to hear that! I appreciate it!
Great advice here! Far to often I am guilty of trying to explain all of the complicated intricacies of block chain and every altcoin I have interest in. Got to remember to start with baby steps. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you for reading! Yeah, I think back on some of the times I was trying to explain crypto to someone I know (that knows nothing) and they must have thought I was crazy... :)
Good post thanks for sharing
Hi Emmy, you bring up a lot of good points on getting people into cryptos that make sense. However, do you think that the price of cryptos is correlated with the overall markets? It seems like when the markets had their big rise last year cryptos went along with it. And, now that we are having sell offs the cryptos are selling off too?
Hi! Honestly, and this is just my opinion (I know nothing lol) I don't think that crypto follows the same pattern as the stock market. I think that its 100% fomo that drives the prices up like in November-December. Then when it crashed all the people who over invested and (didnt know what they were investing in at all) sold at a loss and spread FUD everywhere. I think that we need to see a couple weeks of stability before it starts going up again and the noobs waiting on the sidelines are willing to jump back in. I honestly deleted Blockfolio at the end of January. I was going to reinstall it yesterday but...I dont think im ready to yet, haha.
Hey Emily, I was asking rhetorically. We had a massive rise in the stock markets around the world last year and as a byproduct of the appetite for risk people have been buying into cryptos. When we had the correction a over the past few weeks we also saw the correction in cryptos and we have a similar situation going on now. So, until they decouple the trend is your friend and you can predict one from the other. Moving forward I think that there is going to be a lot of volatility in the 2nd quarter followed by a bear market in the 3rd and beyond. This may be the trial by fire to see which of the 2000+ crypto currencies will make it and which ones one. I hope steem hangs in there a while, I spent waaaaay too much time writing my blogs!
Oh! Sorry about that! Well I hope you are wrong about your predictions lol, for both of our sakes 😂
I think the block chain is just getting started and I really like the new crypto put out by the Venezuelan government backed by gold and oil. Not all cryptos will fail, they have to prove their worth. If you can think of some ways to hedge your positions that will certainly help.
You brought up some good points. Never belittle anyone even for a stupid question. If you know something, that is easy for you, but it is not easy for them who don't know. Make them comfortable to ask anything they want, and keep the door open so that they can come back anytime if they change their mind.
Yes this is true! :)
I really like the common sense and level headedness to your writing. You simplified the main points and covered the summary. Yes, crypto can lead to hour long discussions, but this type of methodology is how we move the masses into decentralized monies like BTC.
Thank you so much for the compliment! I am new to writing content and hearing something like that is extremely encouraging :)
Great post! It is hard to be an ambassador for cryptos during days like these. While I do feel that it is getter more mainstream each day, some people look warry when I do admit that I did invest in cryptos.
They even do feel that Steemit is a ponzi scheme!
So lots of work has to be done!
Absolutely, we seem like the crazy ones now that the market is red but once it comes back.... we will seem like geniuses again, haha! I hope the market turns around soon :)
Very Educative
very lovely....keep it coming ....i just upvoted your post....kindly follow back
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This post has received a 2.73 % upvote from @boomerang thanks to: @emmyem84
hmmm @boomerang it doesnt seem like your vote registered? I dont see it :(