There are some great ideas in this thread!
On the marketing end I can reveal a little of what we have been up to.... it's important to note, in order to see the biggest growth in BitSharesX user base, and market cap, is to successfully bring in hundreds of thousands of new investors who have not yet made the leap to any crypto-currencies, Bitcoin included. For the non-technical, even Bitcoin is still difficult to purchase. Which remains a huge barrier to entry to getting newbies into the wonderful world of crypto, even when they already want to.
Solving this issue means hurdling some pretty large technical and communication issues. Which we've done and it's being built now. Tying the launch of this campaign to an event or BitSharesX announcement is a great idea, but (1) we're more interested in the larger pool of people currently OUTSIDE the crypto world and (2) we will most likely launch this as soon as we possibly can.
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Could you clarify your relations to bitsharesX and the team? are you with Brian?
From this month's newsletter:
Western Business Development and Marketing – by Brian Page
The Western Hemisphere business development and marketing team (Brian, Max, Michael, Susan, Julian and Gregory) has been in talks with a half dozen companies that offer fiat to crypto-currency services. Once a partnership is finalized, customers will have the ability to go from USD to BTSX as well as USD to bitUSD, directly. This new service will allow anyone to purchase using a debit card, credit card or wire transfer. There will no longer be any need to own any Bitcoin, go to an exchange, or jump through hoops. Getting involved in BitShares will be as simple as any other online purchase.
In addition, the marketing team is working to set up sms payments technology. Users will be able to buy BTSX or bitUSD directly from their cell phone, billed to their mobile provider. This new "on ramp" will completely bypass needing to go through Bitcoin and will greatly simplify what is today a complicated process of acquiring BTSX/bitUSD.
Marketing is also working along with our resident designer, Cass, to redesign the BitSharesX user interface. The goal is a more user friendly GUI which will make BitSharesX more intuitive for the average person [or even marketers]. When complete, the GUI will be more in line with leading online stock trading software programs. Our benchmark is no longer a "wallet" but the leading financial software of more traditional companies.
Sounds fantastic! Onramps are the best use of resources at this point. Where do you sign up for this newsletter?
http://bitshares.org/stay-tuned/I think this is the one he is referring to. I signed up for it before and received a few but this last one being referred to by Stan I never got so I re-signed up and the system said they had my addy so let's see how it goes.
As to the "B" thing. I for one have been very back and fourth as to how I feel about him, as a mrkt dir. In the beginning I was very out spoken about how I felt the team missed some obvious low cost marketing opportunities. I think that the fact that we get many users that come here and some that are here that still don't understand how pts,ags, DACs and how bitUSD ties together is evidence that we have some room to grow in this area.
With the above being said I feel I3 has a plan and they are keeping it under wraps for obvious reasons.
1. get the gui to work like it should (almost done when 1.0 comes around)
2. one on one partnerships with companies providing a variety of services (I am guessing but most seem to have taken place and it seems to be in the final phases)
3. mass blitz marketing, this will most likely combine with the timing of one and two for the biggest effect humanly possible I am hoping that this includes everything from banners on popular websites to a complete media frenzy of interviews with one or two high cost fresh marketing ideas.
Either way I think they deserve some rope, they look at CMC. They see other projects copying their ideas they know we got to get this right the first time and it must be quickly. I will also say that once 1.0 is launched their should be no real reason to hold back and I will be one of the first to raise them to the air in triumph or call for Brain to be burned at the stake(nothing personal you seem like a great guy
![Hi, apparently this text is editable. :)](http://bitsharestalk.org/Smileys/aaron/smiley.gif)
).
I think it will be triumph.