Episode 50
From Jazz Grooves to Digital Gold: A Music Family's Bitcoin Journey - part 4
In this episode:
Overcoming Skepticism
- Sarah mentions a conversation her husband had with a small merchant about how Bitcoin could benefit his business.
- Sarah emphasizes that Bitcoin can be as simple or complex as a user wants it to be, likening it to other everyday tools we use.
Onboarding New Bitcoin Users
- Sarah describes her Meetup for educating people on Bitcoin basics in Cincinnati.
Sarah's info:
Contact - sarahabranscum@gmail.com
Apps to earn sats -
Smiles (this is the step app that you get rewarded in sats for walking throughout the day)
Sudoku- 'it's a number's game' (from Viker)
Missing Letters (from Viker)
To learn more about Bitcoin: Join the Orange Hatter Women's Reading Club. Visit https://www.meetup.com/womensbitcoinreadingclubwithorangehatter
Please email questions/comments to Tali@orangehatter.com
Remember: Knowledge is empowerment! 🍊🎩
Mentioned in this episode:
Free Market Kids Short
Get your HODL UP ("The best bitcoin game ever!") at www.freemarketkids.com.
Transcript
Hi everyone.
Tali:Welcome to Orange Hatter.
Tali:Today you're listening to part four of my conversation with Sarah.
... Sarah:we're not like people that are like the next best thing we need to have.
... Sarah:Because I do think a lot of people are like, why, why not just stay with money?
... Sarah:It's working okay.
... Sarah:Why not just stay with money?
... Sarah:I don't feel the need, like, or when I say money, why not stay
... Sarah:with dollars, like, credit cards?
... Sarah:Why not, you know, whatever.
... Sarah:And I'm like, well, there is something better.
... Sarah:There truly is something better.
... Sarah:And like we, we know how to appreciate tools like for their purpose and, and
... Sarah:even antiquated tools like, Like a phonograph, like an Edison phonograph.
... Sarah:Victrolas.
... Sarah:Like we have victrolas, but there's also things that just
... Sarah:work better with new technology.
... Sarah:And I think that's something that's really exciting to think about is like,
... Sarah:this is, or maybe even just like a new vo, a vocabulary to put Bitcoin in is
... Sarah:like, this is just a new technology.
... Sarah:It's just a, a new way to think of and use currency that is more
... Sarah:secure, holds its value and is really going to be even more scalable.
... Sarah:Like, we have credit cards that we can buy things online,
... Sarah:but the fees are crazy, right?
... Sarah:It, I mean, there are companies that don't even take credit cards.
... Sarah:Because the, it costs them too much or they charge you more.
... Sarah:If you're gonna use your credit card nowadays and you can't
... Sarah:like drive everywhere, you need to drive and give them cash.
... Sarah:But Bitcoin, you with the new technologies of the Lightning Network, you can
... Sarah:send money anywhere in the world instantly with minimal fees, like that
... Sarah:is, credit cards have a problem, an increasing problem that Bitcoin fixes.
... Sarah:Cash, you can't buy everything you need necessarily with cash because
... Sarah:you're just not physically there, like to take the cash somewhere.
... Sarah:Bitcoin fixes that too.
... Sarah:So it's just like this is a new technology that fixes a problem, practical problems,
... Sarah:value problems, and, and then there's also like the trust problems of like
... Sarah:inflation and all these things that happen with our current, like, monetary system.
... Sarah:So yeah, we, yeah, we're not like, afraid to move forward into
... Sarah:technology if it solves a problem.
... Sarah:And I think that that's something as people grow to understand and
... Sarah:have a felt need like we did.
... Sarah:I think that, I'm just hoping that, you know, the, like the vocabulary and like
... Sarah:you said, the perception that, like, you have to know all the technology to use it.
... Sarah:Like, I don't know how credit card payments are done.
... Sarah:I know it goes over the, the internet, but I still use my credit card, you know.
Tali:Yeah, so to, to follow up on our discussion about how to use it today...
Tali:also, I wanted to share that, you know, I've been talking to my family about
Tali:Bitcoin and they are not necessarily convinced enough to enter this space, but
Tali:occasionally I would get a picture from them texting a sign that they would see
Tali:at a window of a restaurant where they live that says, Bitcoin accepted here.
Sarah:Where, where do they, like, where are they?
Tali:They live in Virginia.
Sarah:So more like near DC, like, more like big city?
Tali:Yeah.
Sarah:Okay.
Tali:Near DC.
Tali:Yeah.
Sarah:And I think it's gonna spread.
Tali:Yeah.
Sarah:I mean, and I know that there's, New York has some
Sarah:places that accept Bitcoin.
Sarah:New York has some New York City, like it's these big cities.
Sarah:It's these financial centers that get the news things, you know, they
Sarah:get the Broadway shows first and then the touring Act comes around here.
Sarah:But I am hopeful and excited that as more like day by day as the demand
Sarah:increases, like I think everywhere Jason goes, Do you accept Bitcoin?
Sarah:Do you accept Bitcoin?
Sarah:You know, like, and, and he thinks of, he, he goes to, in Ohio, I don't know
Sarah:if Kentucky has these, but um, I know a lot of times in the South they don't
Sarah:have these where you can drive through like a, a shed and you can get beverages,
Sarah:you can get alcohol, you can get snacks.
Sarah:They're, they're like drive throughs, not like a drive through at McDonald's
Sarah:with like a beverage drive-through.
Sarah:He is, he goes there to the, our, our local like neighborhood
Sarah:one pretty much every day.
Sarah:And he has talked to the guy about like, Why you should accept the Bitcoin?
Sarah:You should, because here's my husband paying like $3 for a Monster Energy
Sarah:drink using a credit card, but that guy is paying 5% of an already small margin.
Sarah:It's like if you just accepted Bitcoin, I would drive through, I would, you know,
Sarah:I would scan the QR code, I'd send you my Bitcoin, you wouldn't pay a fee on it.
Sarah:You know, like you are the, and he's like, you're the perfect candidate to save 5%.
Sarah:You know, as more and more people are using credit cards with these crazy high
Sarah:fees on your transactions and, and he is the, the proprietor is like, no way.
Sarah:No way.
Sarah:I just can't trust that.
Sarah:I just can't, you know, and it's, and I, I get it.
Sarah:Like it's, it's, I feel like it's a similar verbiage that
Sarah:people used to use with like cell phones or like the internet.
Sarah:Like, no way.
Sarah:No way.
Sarah:Like I'm not gonna have a.
Sarah:I'm not gonna connect to the, like to the internet, they'll spy on me or whatever.
Sarah:It's like there's like a distrust or there's a lack of understanding,
Sarah:but it's more and more people who other people perceive as,
Sarah:like, normal and similar to them.
Sarah:Like, like your vision for communicating that this is a technology for everyone.
Sarah:And yes, there are options for deep dives, just like there's options
Sarah:for deep diving into cooking.
Sarah:Like I'm a, I'm a, I'm an okay cook, but I don't own a ... I I don't really need one.
Sarah:I don't, you know, I have a KitchenAid.
Sarah:I know my best friend swears by her KitchenAid and uses it all the time.
Sarah:I just don't, I don't need it.
Sarah:Like, that's not part of the, the, the kitchen arsenal.
Sarah:I really need for my purposes.
Sarah:And if I, I just want people like the gentleman at the drive through
Sarah:and, like, my mom to understand that you don't need to run your own node.
Sarah:You don't need to mine, you don't need to do all that.
Sarah:Like, it's really interesting.
Sarah:It's cool it, you know, but for your purposes, If you're just a transactional,
Sarah:like you just need your, you need money to spend, to get, to get paid
Sarah:in, to spend and to store as a store value, you can stop right there.
Sarah:Like that's, that, it does all that.
Sarah:It does all that, and it does it better.
Sarah:I don't know.
Sarah:It's exciting.
Sarah:It's exciting, but it does, it will take a lot of...
Sarah:I mean, what is it, the three, the three topics that married people have the most
Sarah:conflict over are sex, time, and money.
Sarah:You know, money is so close because it's how we provide for ourselves, it's how we
Sarah:live, it's how we transact with the world.
Sarah:And there should be some healthy security and healthy education that goes into
Sarah:where you're gonna put your resource.
Sarah:So, but I would just really encourage people to not move forward with
Sarah:blinders on and just like, 'cause this is the way it's always been.
Sarah:And anything I can do to help create an accessible on-ramp
Sarah:educationally for people so that they feel confident about it...
Sarah:like, I don't want anyone to like, not feel confident when they make
Sarah:a decision about their money.
Sarah:You know?
Sarah:Because it's very, very important.
Sarah:Same thing with like time.
Sarah:I don't want people to waste their time like, so I want them
Sarah:to think through that so that they don't regret decisions they make.
Sarah:So, yeah, but it is about, I think, making clear that there is an on-ramp,
Sarah:it's not a cliff you jump off of.
Sarah:It, it can be a, a growing educational on-ramp.
Tali:Yeah.
Tali:Let's jump right into, uh, what we talked about before.
Tali:You are wanting to start a group to onboard new Bitcoiners.
Sarah:Yeah, so like I said, we live in Cincinnati and at this point
Sarah:I do not believe that there's, we have yet to find a merchant that
Sarah:accepts Bitcoin here in Cincinnati.
Sarah:And I mean, just last week I was talking to my neighbor about Bitcoin, came up in
Sarah:the context of a cartoon that the Tuttle twins cartoon that my girls had watched.
Sarah:And she was like, what?
Sarah:What is Bitcoin?
Sarah:And I was just like, you know, I was like, what do you mean, what is Bitcoin?
Sarah:And she's like, I mean, I've heard it, but...
Sarah:I've heard the term, but I don't really know.
Sarah:Is that one of those like cryptocurrencies?
Sarah:And I was like, well, kind of, it's, it's like a foundational
Sarah:technology that you know, and I just realized I had to dial back.
Sarah:I was like, let's talk about money.
Sarah:You know?
Sarah:So I keep having these conversations with people who maybe have heard
Sarah:about of Bitcoin or they haven't they, they're like, what is that?
Sarah:And I want to start a group.
Sarah:I want to give people an opportunity to come together kind of for a Bitcoin
Sarah:basics educational opportunity, you know, meet people, other people who are at
Sarah:different levels of interest in education and learn the absolute basics of Bitcoin
Sarah:from Why did this even need, why did somebody perceive the need for Bitcoin?
Sarah:Like, what's the problem that this fixes?
Sarah:How does this fix it in super, like, you know, general terms, like the
Sarah:difference between like hard money that is hard to make versus soft
Sarah:money that can get printed and then has the, this huge risk of inflation.
Sarah:Like very simple terms, economic macroeconomic terms, and, and then kind
Sarah:of how, so how does this apply to you?
Sarah:Is, is your level of perceived need a store of value?
Sarah:Do you see your savings account, not, not increasing because of
Sarah:inflation and adjusted measurements?
Sarah:Or are you a merchant who's paying ridiculous credit card fees and you're
Sarah:like, wait a minute, if I can create a core of customers who are willing
Sarah:to pay in Bitcoin, I won't be paying credit card fees for them anymore.
Sarah:You know?
Sarah:Like that kind of, where does this fit in my life?
Sarah:And then, yeah, like there are people in our community here who are deep
Sarah:divers who went down the rabbit holes of the hardware and the security of
Sarah:the network and, like, all that stuff.
Sarah:And like, connecting people who are interested in...
Sarah:with those folks.
Sarah:Like there are people who are particularly concerned about privacy
Sarah:and there are tools and resources and educational materials available for that.
Sarah:There are people who are interested in how Bitcoin applies to, like, investing
Sarah:and financial services and stuff, and, like, there are people that are interested
Sarah:in that and can give more information.
Sarah:But I want to just create a space where the basic information can be answered and
Sarah:applied to people where they're at now.
Sarah:So our trajectories we're, we're, we're hoping we're gonna host a Meetup, we're
Sarah:gonna use the Meetup platform to just kind of put out a general invitation
Sarah:to folks to come and hear Bitcoin basics: what is it and what's it for?
Sarah:You know, that, that level of engagement.
Sarah:And you know, come buy a beer.
Sarah:We're gonna meet at a local brewery.
Sarah:Buy a beer and get some questions answered.
Sarah:Or just, you know, come and hang out and even passively take in
Sarah:information about this new technology.
Sarah:And hopefully that'll turn into a regular thing, a monthly even opportunity.
Sarah:And we could, we would eventually partner with some of the more technologically
Sarah:advanced people to say, oh, and if you're interested in this, you know there's
Sarah:this happening or, and then within the greater community, connect people with
Sarah:resources for their particular interests.
Tali:Thanks for joining us today and learning with us today.
Tali:If the discussion with our guest resonated with you and you would
Tali:like to dive deeper into the world of Bitcoin, don't miss out on joining the
Tali:Orange Hatter Women's Reading Club.
Tali:The Meetup link is in the show notes.
Tali:Also, if there are women in your life whom you think will both enjoy and
Tali:benefit from learning more about Bitcoin, please share Orange Hatter with them.
