Terence Zimwara
Bitcoin is an important innovation that has the potential to
end years of dominance by central bank issued currencies. However, in spite of
this potential, Bitcoin and other crypto currencies remain on the periphery, in
part because potential users are struggling to understand how this
sophisticated distributed ledger technology supported currency works.
Not only that, the technical language used within crypto
world might also be a big turn-off for potential users. Understandably, the
terms and phrases used when discussing Bitcoin are necessary to make the right
distinction and for clarity.
So with this in mind,
one might be compelled to conclude that the crypto entrepreneurs might not be doing
enough to educate or explain to potential users these terms or phrases. That ignorance
levels among the targeted audiences remain very high, some 10 years after
launch of Bitcoin, is a serious indictment against advocates of the currency.
While many crypto
news sites do carry contributions from the ‘nerds or geeks’, often these highly
intelligent individuals assume that their audiences comprehend issues as well
and quickly as they do. So these contributions are often laced incredibly
difficult lexicon and concepts.
Such assumptions ultimately act as barriers to effective
communication with those of lesser intellect who are in fact the majority. Matters
are compounded by the fact that important players like mainstream media are also
not capacitated to handle crypto issues or information very well. This
important bridge between users and developers remains shaky and ineffective.
For example, in the developing world it is plausible for
journalists, just like ordinary folks, to view crypto-currencies with
suspicion. Far too many complex get-rich-quickly scams have left thousands
counting losses and it is easy to see why crypto-currencies could be viewed
similarly.
In any case, it is not easy even for the smart non-IT folks to
follow the crypto-currency discourse when complex terms like Cryptographic hash,
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) or hard-fork chain split are
thrown about in a rather a cavalier fashion.
Such heavy phrases sometimes kill the conversation before it is even
starts.
As consequence, the crypto narrative or agenda get easily
distorted because media practitioners are either ignorant or find the jargon to
be unfriendly to their audiences.
More efforts need to be directed towards filtering the technical
language to ensure that anyone who is interested in the subject can follow
trends or the latest news. There has to be a way ordinary people can discuss
these complex parts of crypto-currencies without getting ‘bored’.
Furthermore, it is important to for the crypto world to
communicate directly with the masses. A situation sometimes exists where other
forces or non-crypto players seem to be controlling the narrative and this poses
many risks.
For example, the death of Quadriga CX CEO and the reports of
the subsequent loss of millions of dollars worth of cryptos generated a very
negative narrative about the entire crypto market.
After the issue was widely reported by some global media
outlets— by journalists who are not very knowledgeable about cryptos— the
debate that followed only reinforced the stereotype that cryptos are a scam, a
very risky investment or are used by criminals etc.
What do you get when you interview a Wall Street banker
about the risks of crypto-currencies? Chances are he will likely assail
crypto-currencies and point to the Quadriga CX fiasco as ‘evidence’ of crypto
businesses being scams. That is exactly what happened! Journalists covering
this story relied on regular financial experts who are just as ignorant to
unpack the Quadriga saga. The outcome was predictable.
There lessons here, crypto players must seize the initiative
from less the knowledgeable or opponents and control direction of the discourse.
Ideally, the debate should be about the utility of Blockchain or the proof of
work concept with the crypto players taking the lead in driving this narrative
home!
Part of this ‘control’ includes simplifying the complex
verbiage and terms as well as repeating the message enough times to make the
topic stick. The same way ‘mining’ of crypto coins is seen as critical for the
survival of Bitcoin, has to be the same way managing the debate about cryptos
should be seen.
The creation of crypto focused media outlets has helped in
countering negative storyline but it is perhaps time to invest in pages of
mainstream media. The quest to achieve mass adoption means reaching out to readers
who are non-crypto enthusiasts but open minded and who may not have the time or
interest to visit popular crypto websites but enjoy reading well researched
articles. Perhaps this group might listen or even start following the crypto discourse,
that is if the topic is regularly discussed in their favorite newspaper like
the New York Times or the Bild.
Journalists can only write good articles if they are well
capacitated or trained. Educating journalists about cryptos helps to make the
topic less difficult to understand as well as eradicating biased reporting.
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