BITCOINS! BITCOINS!!! BITCOINS!!!!!!!!!

[ElGuapo]

I'm listening to the podcast right now - pulled the ear buds out for a while though because you guys can't stop yammering on about bitcoins.

I understand; it's a cool idea - I've even got a couple of bitcoin wallets and I trade with bitcoins from time to time. It may even be an important medium of trade in the future - I trade with mine because I want the medium to succeed, but I really don't think that it will seeing as how most bitcoin owners just sit on their bitcoins, limiting the usefulness of a currency  that has a value based on it’s perceived usefulness. Interesting strategy

Bitcoin is not an interesting topic of conversation and the stuff you have to say about it is the same crap every time. A 30-second commercial is tolerable, even if you play it a few times, but yammering on about buying them repeatedly in every show is boring and tacky. It’s tacky because your incentives for doing so are clear – there is nothing wrong with it – it’s just tacky…and as I said before: boring.

[Dalebert]

They prolly won't see this post. Call in.

[freeAgent]

I'm listening to the podcast right now - pulled the ear buds out for a while though because you guys can't stop yammering on about bitcoins.

I understand; it's a cool idea - I've even got a couple of bitcoin wallets and I trade with bitcoins from time to time. It may even be an important medium of trade in the future - I trade with mine because I want the medium to succeed, but I really don't think that it will seeing as how most bitcoin owners just sit on their bitcoins, limiting the usefulness of a currency  that has a value based on it’s perceived usefulness. Interesting strategy

Bitcoin is not an interesting topic of conversation and the stuff you have to say about it is the same crap every time. A 30-second commercial is tolerable, even if you play it a few times, but yammering on about buying them repeatedly in every show is boring and tacky. It’s tacky because your incentives for doing so are clear – there is nothing wrong with it – it’s just tacky…and as I said before: boring.

I agree on a lot of points.  Ad spots are ad spots, but it does get old and a bit lame when you hear the same stories over and over (which may or may not be paid-for ads in and of themselves).  With that said, it seems like recently the show should be called Secession Talk Live.

[ElGuapo]

They prolly won't see this post. Call in.

I'll never call in about this, or any other topic - I listen to the show for entertainment and I find it enlightening from time to time as well, but I don't call talk shows - it's just not my thing.

I'll include "Mark Edge" in this reply so that Mark will find it when he goes ego surfing.  You totally rock Mark!

[david]

They make money with the ads. That's why we get to hear the show for free. If you don't want to hear about bitcoins, buy some ad time on the show and play somethings else.

[cvramen]

150 years from now FreeTalkLive will be in a history book as being a big advocate for the currency that shook the world.

[ElGuapo]

They make money with the ads. That's why we get to hear the show for free. If you don't want to hear about bitcoins, buy some ad time on the show and play somethings else.

That's a little silly - if I wanted to prevent bitcoins from ever reaching my ears; I could stop listening to the show. Instead - I would like to make the show better (as I see it); if people feel like a bitcoin commercial is more interesting to listen to than an open-lines issues-oriented talk show, the show will become that over time and the listeners will be happy. If listeners find it tiresome to hear the same uninteresting facts and opinions about bitcoins in nearly every show, that may affect listenership as well and the show will adapt or perish (I believe the show will continue). Perhaps my way of looking at things is incorrect, but my intent is to provide market feedback, and that feedback is that bitcoins = boring talk radio – I’m happy I have heard about them – I have some & I trade with them, but droning on about them is boring. I want the show to continue, so I want it to be profitable and that’s why I shop at Amazon frequently and I use the FTL link so FTL gets a portion of the profits – I also buy from many of FTL’s advertisers, not necessarily because the advertisers are the greatest purveyors of their respective wares, but because I want advertising with FTL to be effective and worthwhile, and these are the little things I can to contribute to a show that I really enjoy. If I am wrong – I believe I will eventually understand this and my heart will change, but for now; bitcoin talk = dull, boring sleepy time.

Props to Ian for indirectly referencing this thread in Monday’s (03 December 2012) show.  I never said “infomercial” and haven’t seen it elsewhere in the BBS in relation to Bitcoins, so that must have come from conversations Ian and Mark have had – I wonder who said “infomercial” first?
 
(I found the infomercial comment):

How much did BitInstant pay for this infomercial?

I hope it was not only lodging and travel.

[freeAgent]

Bitcoin discussions seem to have died down recently, but I haven't been paying attention too closely to the show.  I only listen when I can, which is not often.

[ElGuapo]

I was listening to the show from 11 March 2013 in which Mark states that Bitcoin and Litecoin are the exact same technology and therefore equally hackable - this is untrue and here's a little blurb from github which explains why;

The purpose of Litecoin is to function as silver to Bitcoin's gold, in the sense of being a relatively less valuable coin that is easier to obtain and transact with. The properties that make Litecoin fit to accomplish this objective can be summarized as follows:

    Transactions are 4 times faster than with Bitcoin, in exchange for somewhat weaker security guarantees.
    CPU mining means that the barriers to entry into the Litecoin mining market are cheap relative to Bitcoin mining.
    The total amount of litecoins is 4 times higher than the total amount of bitcoins.

From https://github.com/litecoin-project/litecoin/wiki/Comparison-between-Bitcoin-and-Litecoin 13 March 2013

Ultimately, the bitcoin is Mark & Ian's favorite investment - the commercials remind me of those secret stock tip emails. As I've said - I have bitcoins & I trade with them occasionally, but I don't find them to be particularly useful.

Both bitcoin and litecoin are "hackable" to varying degrees, depending on your understanding of what "hacking" is. Hacking doesn't mean that someone breaks into the bitcoin system and steals coins. Hacking of bitcoin might be accomplished by exploiting an observed flaw in the system (I don't currently know of any) or re-purposing an existing feature of the software or transaction process in such a way as to alter the way the system works or prevent it or some feature of it from functioning properly or within normal parameters - these are often very simple and extremely devastating hacks because the system or process must be changed in order to recover from it. I don't know of any Hackers who have put forth any significant effort in testing bitcoin - it would be like taking down the monetary system of Second Life or Eve Online - sure you'd piss some people off, but what would be the point? I don't doubt that the bitcoin system will eventually be razed to the ground - but I don't want to see that happen because I like alternative currencies.

It still makes for boring radio & I still change the channel whenever Mark, Ian or one of the other hosts start yammering on about bitcoin.

[paulie]

I wonder at what point and to what severity that one has to "drink the koolaid" to believe bitcoin software, or ANY software, is non-hackable.  LOL  Will there be an "eat crow" moment?  Should a "fantasy bitcoin pot" be started to guess when the whole thing will implode?

[Diogenes The Cynic]

I wonder at what point and to what severity that one has to "drink the koolaid" to believe bitcoin software, or ANY software, is non-hackable.  LOL  Will there be an "eat crow" moment?  Should a "fantasy bitcoin pot" be started to guess when the whole thing will implode?

Maybe the bitcoin mining that drove up their prices in the beginning was already that.

But physical currency is known to be hackable. If anything, you have to compare it to that.