Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Dogecoin: you may have heard about it by now. In fact, the debate and hype around this latest innovation has rocketed out of control in the last 12 months, with supporters boasting of untold wealth, and critics drawing analogies to the dot-com craze. Firms only need to include the name “blockchain” into their titles to ride the wave to promising corporate valuations.
At the same time, the need for education and clever promotion has never been more pertinent, with emerging cryptocurrency firms demanding nuanced communications strategies in a way traditional technology firms and products have never had to do. As a result, cybercurrency PR professionals must be on the lookout: creative thinking is essential to help clients stand out amid the noise.
Cryptocurrency is an evolving language
As a disruptive technology, cryptocurrency firms are adopting fewer formal methods of communicating with clients, seeking out more casual, more authentic, means of engagement. Content, then, can be produced in a variety of forms, not least in relation to clients’ visions and expectations of valuation and growth. Those investing in this ever-changing sector are along for the ride. At the same time, the language of this new form of finance is an alternate universe, and rapidly evolving. PR professionals must be switched on this new vocabulary, where “mining”, “proof of work”, “whale”, “FOMO” and “Gwei” are part and parcel of how cryptocurrency firms communicate within themselves- and their clients. It is up to communications specialists to wade through the jargon, and clarify the point.Management teams are typically atypical
The teams behind burgeoning cryptocurrency firms have a taste for the unusual, with unconventional leaders and titles- Dogecoin Developers, for example, appears to exist within a world within a world of internet memes. At the same time, many business leaders have little management experience, in business or any other sphere. Some have never worked for a company before. This often lays additional responsibility on agencies to educate clients, and keep them in the loop. Agencies must also be prepared to pitch to sceptical or cynical CEO’s, or those willing to take larger risks than in other industries. Read your audience.The time is now
In the past, start-ups have been able to take it easy: there was a procedure for creating business models, including prototyping, bootstrapping, securing angel funding, before (hopefully) a market roll-out. With time, additional funds would be sought, often in the form of an initial public offering (IPO). Now, this process is condensed, occurring in a fraction of the time taken to establish a conventional business. From a PR perspective, immediate and sustained results are essential; a failure to build faith and rapport with investors has instant consequences. For now, cryptocurrency is still the wild west of financing. With regulation comes governance responsibilities, and PR professionals will need to keep abreast of the changing landscape of this industry. In the meantime, it is the early birds that catch the coin, and those in PR would be remiss to be too risk averse.Teenager Starts Own Online Business with Bitcoin Fortune
Some people sneer at the notion of succeeding on the Internet through technology, but others have already learned that, as 15-year-old entrepreneur Erik Finman asserts, “You can create anything you want with no barrier to entry on the Internet.”
Finman is not just boasting emptily, however; the Idaho teen invested the $1,000 that was a gift from his grandmother into the then-new Internet currency of bitcoin, which he later sold for $100,000 a year and a half later - creating terrific Technology Public Relations for the crypto-currency community. The traction bitcoin has gained and Finman’s actions serve as good public relations for technological advancement over the Internet.
The Future of Bitcoin and the Cyptocurrency Industry
Education via the Internet is hardly a new concept, but Finman has started up a business called Botangle with his $100,000 that he wants to use to help people get educated entirely through the Internet.
Finman felt that his own education had been inadequate, so he has been supplementing his education with Internet classes. The idea of the online diploma or online education has long been a joke to many people, but the actions of people like Erik Finman have served to make the idea of an online education more respectable.
Another public relations boom for online technology has been the emergence of bitcoin, which is an online currency that has moved from the shadowy domains of Internet message boards and forums to the public eye.
Finman had the vision to anticipate how big bitcoin would become; he even pays his employees in bitcoin because he believes that this online currency is only going to get more popular and viable in the future.
Where people would have once scoffed at the notion of being paid in such currency, stories like Finman’s help validate the idea of strictly online currency in the public’s perception.
Finman believes in his educational model to the degree that he does not even want to attend college. He has a deal with his parents that he will not have to attend college if he makes a million dollars, and he is well on his way to doing so.
Whether or not education will ever be completely available over the Internet, Finman’s achievements and company are great public relations accomplishments for technology.
If a 15-year-old can amass six figures from investing in bitcoin and can then start his own online company, then anyone with the drive and vision could do so as well.
