Trying to teach people the concept of decentralized social media and crypto can be very difficult. These are the kind of things that looks like it is very easy to tell when you are just talking about it, but once you try to actually do it, you realize that it is much more difficult than you thought. People only hear freedom and ownership, but in my opinion, they are not mentally prepared to relinquish what they are accustomed to.
I have been dealing with this problem since the time I wanted to get some of my friends to join InLeo with me. To be honest, I was not at all prepared for the amount of the resistance I experienced. I was only thinking that it would be just as easy as explanation, but it turned out differently. It has surprised me that the resistance is coming from the people that I expected would understand faster.
Any time I try to explain what blockchain social networks mean, most people just don’t get it. Of course, there are some that just pretend to understand, but you can tell from their body language that they don’t know what you’re talking about. Some appear to be confused, while a select few already have their minds made up that this is not what they want even when I haven't finished my explanation. “They’re very comfortable with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and while they complain daily about what’s going on with these sites, they still have resistance to something new.
Just as soon as crypto enter the discussion, things tend to deteriorate further. Rates of interest move lower instantly. Some sees it as something too risky, while others think it’s too technical. A few refuse to even hear about it at all. Sometimes, it feels as if just uttering the word “crypto” is enough to stop all communication in its tracks.
One thing which I have realized in the process is the fact that people from a less educated background are often eager to listen. They ask lots of questions to understand what you are trying to tell them. On the contrary, people from a highly educated background usually feel they already know enough. They quickly discard the thought and are not very eager to learn something new.
What I have learned from this experience is that this is not really all about the technology. It is all about convenience or comfort. People are comfortable with these centralized systems, even if these systems are selling their information, restricting their freedoms, or censoring what they publish.
Decentralized systems mean people have to think differently, be responsible for themselves, for their accounts, for their keys, and for their content. Most people sees that as a stressful thing.
Sometimes, I think people think of freedom in a manner that presents them with no inconveniences. The moment they grasp that they need to learn something new or change the way they used to do things, they change their minds. This is the biggest issue you will face when trying to promotion decentralized platforms.
Currently, all I do is try in my humble way. I try to communicate things in slowly without using much technical jargon. Primarily, I try to focus on its actual applications with regards to things like ownership, control, and freedom of speech. Despite the slow feedback rate, I somehow think that small talk still counts.
The promotion of decentralized platforms does not end in technology. Talking about mindset, this also deals with opening the eyes of people by explaining that being at ease does not always spell freedom. This is especially true in wanting to establish decentralized platforms in a world already in love with control.
