Skepticism in Moments of Hype
Blockchain is a buzz word, an interesting technology, and is being experimented with in a big way nowadays. With the community coming off of the highs of the ICOs in 2017, we area beginning to see the first phases of the dust settling from that dazzling era.
On the podcasts I am listening to, there is more emphasis on the legality of the tokens that have sold last year, what the government is going to do, and insights and opinions on how far the potential repercussions are going to go. It’s all very interesting and grown up sounding, but it’s the step in the right direction.
Even the markets are reacting — there has been huge pullback in the prices these last few months. Bitcoin keeps hovering around $8–10K, though there is always volatility so that’s not saying much. These are some of the external signs that people might be leaving the space, that they might have less faith in the system.
These are sobering moments, but these moments are also really important and pivotal for the industry and space.
Stay Grounded
I think these phases are part of natural growing pains as the technology matures. Obviously, I am not an expert and I am too young to take from the lessons learned from the internet era. But the shiny new coins and blockchains are beginning their slowly journey merging into the greater fabric of society.
These times remind me of my hobby of trading, and how I lost money. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype when the times are good. You may be making money or benefiting from the technology in secondary ways — life is good. Don’t worry — the pendulum loves to swing back.
So stay grounded. These may be the key moments where people start to get sifted out, the technology gets stress tested, and we will really see who are the ‘believers’ and ‘early-adopters’ are.
Is society ready?
When thinking about how this space is evolving so rapidly, you should ask this question. You should also ask yourself this question if you are wanting to get more involved. Like with trading, or any sort of hobby where you might risk something, whether it time or money, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I ready to devote time to this weird, interesting technology?
- What are my intentions for getting involved?
- What are my expectations with getting involved?
These are really just to gauge your position and to be truthful with yourself. If you decide you want to give it a few months or years before things cool off, watch from the sidelines — cause there are going to be some rises and falls.
We have all seen the graphic for the famous Hype Cycle, so I won’t paste it again for you to see. I just want to remind myself and everyone that reads this that there is a such thing as hype and virality. Your job as part of this space, if you choose to be, is to educate yourself as much as possible and then to go out and educate your friends and family on the benefits and risks of something that could transform our world.
Thanks for reading.
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