I’ve watched nearly every video put out over the last few years from Loren Feldman, the famous tech commentator, comedian and founder of 1938 Media. The man’s unapologetic candor can be refreshingly hilarious, if not occasionally offensive and out of touch.
He recently posted a video rant – the medium he is best known for – declaring bitcoin a scam. The video sheds light on how a large portion of the population still thinks about bitcoin, even those deeply involved with cutting edge technology. Despite demonstrating his sheer lack of comprehension, I still found myself laughing out loud as a result of Mr. Feldman’s trademark cynicism and aggressive tone.
“Like every good American, I don’t like what I don’t understand and I definitely don’t understand what a bitcoin is.”
Bitcoin’s complexity remains a hurdle that has proven too difficult to overcome for most. We can choose to scoff at those who dismiss bitcoin for lack of understanding, or we can recognize it as a clear signal that there is still much work to be done developing the tools and messaging necessary to make bitcoin accessible for everyone.
Loren Feldman has been drastically incorrect about new technologies in the past. Here’s a few choice snippets of him inaccurately, albeit hilariously, lambasting some of the most revolutionary new tech companies over the past few years when they were first gaining attention.
Airbnb – 2011
“On a financial level, it’s never going to scale to match the valuation.”
Airbnb, the site that enables users to rent homes or rooms in lieu of hotels, has made nearly $2 billion in sales so far with 10 million room nights booked as of June 2012 and 400% customer growth last year.
Spotify – 2009
“There’s a big deal being made about Spotify. It’s another one of these idiotic music streaming services that are going to fail.”
Spotify reached and estimated $500 million in revenue in 2012, their paying subscriber rate has grown 20% to 6 million people in the last few months alone, and they’re on track to see operating profits in 2013.
The guy is pretty funny but he just seems like a jerk
my impression is that this is just trolling/sarcasm. he could as well denounce the internet for being “not real”.
Obviously, the poor man has serious issues.
Not understanding bitcoin is one of them
No one will ever use a mouse ~ John C Dvorak
“when the big world war comes.. or something like that…”…. I’d rather have food, weapons, comrades, etc than a gold bar, bitcoins, or dollars. If this guy is concerned about prepping for the apocalypse, he may want to invest in something with use value rather than exchange value. Putz.
It’s so satisfying that jerks like this are by default cutting themselves out of any possible profit. Let’s hope he is the kind of guy that stands by his word forever!