El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

New Life, Wondering about the right moves?

(25m) Used to work at a large retailer for 7yrs left because of stress and employee harassment that they weren't handling properly although I didn't document as well as I've seen on some revenge subreddits. I may have never had to work again so for that I kinda kick myself. Nothing I can change at this point though probably. I definitely don't regret leaving, even though the money and the benefits were good but there was really no room to grow aside from other issues. Mainly because nobody really left the company and there wasn't many management positions.

I made 25$/hr as a top'd out employee in potentially the best department there was in the store. As far as assets go. I have a leased F-150 on my last payment this month. So a new vehicle is in order of which I want to buy what I would personally like as it would fit my lifestyle and personally I had a Ford Fusion which i bought when i was 20 but turned it in for the lease with 4000$ loss I had to roll over to the truck so my payment was higher. But that's done, my new truck would be almost double the payment. But I wouldn't be buying another vehicle for a LONG time. As its heavy duty and I'm willing to spend extra for protection Ex: (125,000 bumper to bumper warranty.)

More on assets I have 45K in my retirement account well diversified makes me 13% a year according to charts apparently. I have no other debt, except nominal CC think less 500$ usually even way less as I hate CC I just went to my Cabin with some stuff. I have my phone payment of 40$. No Subscriptions or anything else coming out besides food. I have 3k cash in my Account with with 5.5k technically in Crypto which is down to 2.5 but I have to doubt it will recover as it is internally tied to Bitcoin which personally I believe isn't going anywhere (No I will not debate it). So I believe I can get that back at some time maybe no profit but it will return to it base level. I have 3k coming from my side gig at the end of next month plus 3k+ coming from UE at some time luckily probably soon as my family has a friend in the agency.

I am searching for another job as I like to be a productive member of society an not a trash pile like some and also obviously money. I'm paying to have a resume crafted as I haven't done one since school and am probably shit at it, so I'll guess its worth it, since I was with this company since I left high school and never went to college. Although I'm good at tech and keep up with a lot of current events and knowledge as it was my job before I left and it what I like to do as a hobby.

Luckily as far as jobs go I live with a family member who is a decently high level manager a large corporation that I wouldn't mind working at and could potentially secure a gig at, in the industry that I would like to be in and it would basically be the intro to a beginning of a life career. Not that I'm basing my future around this one potential job but I think I have a good chance at it. I'm open to other jobs also that pay less as I know that I would take a pay cut even with said potential job when leaving as I had seniority and had worked the time to get the pay raises as it was time investment based raises.

So I guess my question is, I need a another vehicle to get around thats obvious and I told the story. My account manager did the math telling me what I would get if I cashed out my 401K which is 32k cash. 5 of which would go to vehicle as it literally required as they won't order it without it. Still leave me with many months of emergency fund. I still have side gig say 500~ month not payed on it tho more in a rotating cycle large sums potentially more soon. Will start to recontribute to another 401k(Roth) as soon as I get another job to get back on the train. As I know it important to retire.

I also have large assets from family (Multiple people) that will be more than likely passed down to me for reasons that are too long to explain here. (Again not that I'm counting on that either just that I have no siblings an family that have no children that are godparents to me and such that from what I understand will be given to me at some point long in the future.) So I don't necessarily feel scared long term just want to make the most of my life and enjoy certain things while I can.

Can I make it work? What the potential best move?

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

El Salvador's "Bitcoin Day": The First of Many or the Only One of Its Kind?

Thanks to El Salvador's daring move, digital money is high on the radars of policymakers around the world.

On September 7, in a historic event, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.

The true significance of this day to the way people around the world exchange value and the meaning they attach to the concept of money will take some time to be fully reified and understood. However, what is already clear is that September 2021 will be next to January 2009 in the history books of the digitization of finance.

Surrounded by controversy, protests, a complicated deployment of infrastructures, what else? But also by the joy and optimism of millions of people around the world who see this great experiment with hope, "Bitcoin Day" marked the first case of a sovereign state that makes a decentralized digital asset its national currency. Was it a success, after all?

Politics behind the scenes

El Salvador, a nation of less than 7 million people, has long given up on claiming its monetary sovereignty . In 2001, it ditched the colón, its national currency in use for more than a century, in favor of the US dollar. The measure made a lot of sense from a practical point of view, since the share of remittances (a good part of them coming from Salvadorans living in the United States) in the country's gross domestic product exceeded 16% at peak times.

At that time, then-President Francisco Flores Pérez's move sparked protests and was condemned by detractors who claimed it was undemocratic and supposedly benefited the bankers and the wealthy.

Two decades later, President Nayib Bukele (a 40-year-old man who came to power at the head of a party called New Ideas) added another chapter to El Salvador's monetary novel, this time, complementing a foreign currency circulating in the country. with one without borders.

Like 20 years ago, there have been negative reactions in relation to the Bitcoin Law. However, the same surveys showing a lack of support for Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a new means of payment suggest that a large portion of Salvadorans have a limited understanding of what it is and how it will affect their lives.

Furthermore, in many cases, resentment towards Bitcoin may be related to resentment towards Bukele, who, despite his strong approval ratings, remains a divisive figure whose alleged autocratic tendencies concern some international observers.

In summary, there are good reasons to believe that there is no powerful ideological opposition to the concept of decentralized finance in El Salvador, and any resistance that currently exists will likely dissipate further down the adoption curve (if the implementation turns out to be a resounding success).

The uproar in the country

Meanwhile, the somewhat hasty launch of the payments infrastructure was, unsurprisingly, far from perfect. The government-run Chivo wallet was down for several hours, and some retail workers didn't know how to process BTC payments. Shortly after launch, the president himself took on the customer support role, tweeting updates on the status of the wallet's service.

Overall, however, based on feedback from those who were there to witness El Salvador's first steps as a "Bitcoin nation", things started to calm down soon after a turbulent start. Bart Mol, founder, and host of the " Satoshi Radio " podcast tweeted his experience from Chivo's ATMs not working to successful Lightning transactions to pay for pizza and coffee at different points of sale.

The general feeling, Mol concluded, was to "witness history."

International response

The institutions of the global financial system seem less enthusiastic. The International Monetary Fund has been passive-aggressive regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin Law since it was passed earlier this summer. Perhaps, if this experiment yields favorable results, the IMF and other global financial organizations will jump on the bandwagon?

Some legal professionals are skeptical of this prospect. During an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Discord with Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers last week, Cointelegraph General Counsel Zachary Kelman opined that global financial institutions are unlikely to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon as National currency:

"The cited reasons (environment and transparency) for opposing the adoption of BTC by El Salvador are not the real reasons, which is the threat that the development of cryptocurrency poses to the established global political order and the banking system. Therefore I don't think these international bodies are widely supporting Bitcoin. "

However, other nation-states are watching closely. It is true that El Salvador's position as the leader in remittances in the region, combined with its previous experience in outsourcing the national monetary function to a foreign currency, constitutes a rare combination. Most other countries have to rise to a higher bar, even if they could muster the political momentum to make a decentralized token recognized as legal tender.

Still, the possible favorable effects of El Salvador's move could prompt other countries to consider Bitcoin more seriously as a means of payment. Amanda Wick, head of legal affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency development is an ideal technology for remittances and is therefore well-positioned to serve economies that handle many remittances:

"Many citizens [in El Salvador] do not have access to traditional financial services, and this could drive financial inclusion. These drivers can give us an idea of ​​which countries can follow suit. In our research, we have found that these use cases are already popular in countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in particular. "

The acceleration of the digital currency research programs of the central banks of other countries, the push to define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the discussions to make cryptocurrencies a legal alternative payment method in Panama can be seen as carryover effects of El Salvador's daring initiative.

Obviously, not all states are in a position to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency. But on September 7, virtually everyone was driven to rethink their position on the world's digital money map.

Regardless of the outcome of El Salvador's experiment, the pioneering example of the Central American nation has already brought cryptocurrency to the mainstream political agenda more than it could achieve without the recognition of a sovereign state.

New Life, Wondering about the right moves?

(25m) Used to work at a large retailer for 7yrs left because of stress and employee harassment that they weren't handling properly although I didn't document as well as I've seen on some revenge subreddits. I may have never had to work again so for that I kinda kick myself. Nothing I can change at this point though probably. I definitely don't regret leaving, even though the money and the benefits were good but there was really no room to grow aside from other issues. Mainly because nobody really left the company and there wasn't many management positions.

I made 25$/hr as a top'd out employee in potentially the best department there was in the store. As far as assets go. I have a leased F-150 on my last payment this month. So a new vehicle is in order of which I want to buy what I would personally like as it would fit my lifestyle and personally I had a Ford Fusion which i bought when i was 20 but turned it in for the lease with 4000$ loss I had to roll over to the truck so my payment was higher. But that's done, my new truck would be almost double the payment. But I wouldn't be buying another vehicle for a LONG time. As its heavy duty and I'm willing to spend extra for protection Ex: (125,000 bumper to bumper warranty.)

More on assets I have 45K in my retirement account well diversified makes me 13% a year according to charts apparently. I have no other debt, except nominal CC think less 500$ usually even way less as I hate CC I just went to my Cabin with some stuff. I have my phone payment of 40$. No Subscriptions or anything else coming out besides food. I have 3k cash in my Account with with 5.5k technically in Crypto which is down to 2.5 but I have to doubt it will recover as it is internally tied to Bitcoin which personally I believe isn't going anywhere (No I will not debate it). So I believe I can get that back at some time maybe no profit but it will return to it base level. I have 3k coming from my side gig at the end of next month plus 3k+ coming from UE at some time luckily probably soon as my family has a friend in the agency.

I am searching for another job as I like to be a productive member of society an not a trash pile like some and also obviously money. I'm paying to have a resume crafted as I haven't done one since school and am probably shit at it, so I'll guess its worth it, since I was with this company since I left high school and never went to college. Although I'm good at tech and keep up with a lot of current events and knowledge as it was my job before I left and it what I like to do as a hobby.

Luckily as far as jobs go I live with a family member who is a decently high level manager a large corporation that I wouldn't mind working at and could potentially secure a gig at, in the industry that I would like to be in and it would basically be the intro to a beginning of a life career. Not that I'm basing my future around this one potential job but I think I have a good chance at it. I'm open to other jobs also that pay less as I know that I would take a pay cut even with said potential job when leaving as I had seniority and had worked the time to get the pay raises as it was time investment based raises.

So I guess my question is, I need a another vehicle to get around thats obvious and I told the story. My account manager did the math telling me what I would get if I cashed out my 401K which is 32k cash. 5 of which would go to vehicle as it literally required as they won't order it without it. Still leave me with many months of emergency fund. I still have side gig say 500~ month not payed on it tho more in a rotating cycle large sums potentially more soon. Will start to recontribute to another 401k(Roth) as soon as I get another job to get back on the train. As I know it important to retire.

I also have large assets from family (Multiple people) that will be more than likely passed down to me for reasons that are too long to explain here. (Again not that I'm counting on that either just that I have no siblings an family that have no children that are godparents to me and such that from what I understand will be given to me at some point long in the future.) So I don't necessarily feel scared long term just want to make the most of my life and enjoy certain things while I can.

Can I make it work? What the potential best move?

A closer look at how shitty the top 20 is!

The top 10 post

LUNA: This coin couldn't decide whether to go by moon or earth, so its name is earth and its short is moon. Lame! Luna is a coin based on fiat pegged stablecoin that are stabilised by Luna itself. Dynamically stable through circularity! Yeah, I have no clue either.

UNI: As is typical for dex coins, it has an awful name, only outshone by its awful icon. Uniswap is a governance coin. Its main fame comes from making its airdrop owners very happy after price pump.

BUSD: A stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USD. Created by the largest exchange company. Despite being a Binance product it doesn't see as much hate as Tether. Then again BUSD doesn't see talk at all.

AVAX: Another awful name that gets its awful name status ignored cause there's many more awful names. The coin is... An umbrella platform for defi, applications, financial assets, trading and more. Turned on yet? Just wait till you read about the "cutting-edge technologies" It appears to be a solid coin whose description makes your brain hurt and/or put you to sleep.

LINK:...... "Chainlink is a blockchain abstraction layer that enables universally connected smart contracts. Through a decentralized oracle network, Chainlink allows blockchains to securely interact with external data feeds, events and payment methods, providing the critical off-chain information needed by complex smart contracts to become the dominant form of digital agreement."
In other words, chain link is buzzword central!

LTC: Litecoin is an offshoot of Bitcoin, created to be faster, cheaper to use and have more coins. Other than that it offers nothing. The silver to Bitcoin gold status, Litecoin is degrading fast. Too many newer coins that do better what litecoin never did well in the first place. Only legacy keeps it propped up.

BCH: Bitcoin cash is a fork of Bitcoin. Attempting to give it upgrades that the main bitcoin community never wanted so they there a temper tantrum to get their wishes. It has since survived only based on the bitcoin name. Just like with litecoin, many others do much better what BCH never did well in the first place.

ALGO: Algorand is a PoS cryptocurrency with a byzantine agreement protocol. Which, I'll admit, sound pretty epic. Be right back, fomoing in! Algo is meant to be a fast and efficient smart contract platform that seems largely unused (like pretty much all smart contract platforms).

WBTC: Bitcoin in a wrapper so it can be exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain. Like... Basically Robin Hood tech! Pay and not have the real deal!

ICP: Internet Computer. A name so awful it makes you want to throw up your intestines, eat them and throw them up again. This highly centralised cryptocurrency needs you to own a data center to become a validator

100 free ideas for your next blog post

Hey everyone. Here's a list of free ideas for blog posts I made based on a file in my Dropbox called inspiration.txt.

I've added stuff to the file over the past 10 years, some of which I used for the different blogs I've run in that period, but most of it just there in case I needed inspiration.

I published the list on my latest blogging venture, but I thought I'd repost it here as it may be of interest/benefit to the r/Blogging community. Let me know if you find errors or stuff that doesn't work and I'll update it. Cheers.

1. Getting to know you

1. Childhood lessons: Think back to your childhood. Of all the lessons you received from parents, teachers, friends etc, which ones marked you the most? Which lessons are still relevant to you today?

2. Passion: Inspire your readers by describing your passion and how you use it to motivate you in your work.

3. Personal possessions: Walk around your house/apartment/room and look at the different objects around you. Choose the 5 most meaningful things to you. Take a picture of each one. Tell your readers why these things matter. Ask another blogger to share their 5 things.

4. Throwback photos: Open up Windows Explorer or Mac Finder, type “.jpg” in the search box. Peruse the images on your hard drive. Choose 5 pictures to share with your audience. What’s the story behind each pic?

5. Memory tag: Start your blog post with the following sentence. “My first true memory is of…” Ask another blogger to take part in the “tag” and link to their post at the end of yours. Get them to link back to the original post and to their chosen tag.

6. A day in the life: Write a 24-hour timeline post describing key events in your blogging life.

7. Deserted island: Imagine you are being sent to a deserted island and you are only allowed to take 3 objects. What would you take and why? Tag another blogger into your post.

8. Places you’ve been: Use the AmCharts site to make a free visual map of places you’ve been to in the world. Write about some of the most memorable experiences you had on your travels.

9. I’m unique tag: What’s one thing that’s unique about you? Describe it and tag another blogger into the post.

10. Future you: Write a letter to the future you in 5 years time. Tell your future self some of the things you hope you’ve achieved or overcome by that time.
    Variation: Write a letter to your former self 10 years ago and tell him/her what you would do differently in life and why.

2. Creativity

1. Top 5 records: Inspired by the Stephen Frears movie, High Fidelity, what are your top 5 records of all time? Think about where and when you first heard the songs and what they mean to you. Pass the challenge on to another blogger.

2. Poetry in motion: Even if your blog is not remotely connected to literature, try introducing a poem that has marked you in life. What are its key lines? How do you understand the poem?

3. Free Association: Go to designinspiration.net and type the word “random” in the search box. Scroll through the images and stop when one catches your attention. Look at in more detail. What does it remind you of? Find an image of what it reminds you of. Look at that image and repeat the process. Put the images and your commentary together into a blog post.

4. Automatic writing: Open your text editor. Set a timer to 5 minutes. Go! Write whatever comes to mind. Don’t stop until the clock runs out. Don’t “force” your thoughts, let them come to you. Go wherever your mind takes you. Re-read your writing and use whatever you find interesting in it as the basis for a new blog post.

5. Word tree: go to the Visuwords and type a word that is meaningful to your blog's overall subject matter in the search box. Read the associated words and click one that you find interesting. Read the next batch of associated words and choose another word of interest. Keep going as far as you can. Note down each new word as you go. Finally, put these words, their definitions and what you associate with them into a list on your blog.

6. Camera time: Go for a walk around your neighbourhood. Take your smartphone with you. While you walk, explore your neighbourhood as though you were discovering it for the first time. Look at details, up high, down low. Stop, look and look again. Whenever something jumps out at you, take a picture of it. When you get home, review your photos and select the most interesting. Present them in a post with some commentary.

7. Hitrecord.org: HitRecord is an online collaborative production company founded and owned by actor and director Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Go to the community section of the site, find a collaborative project that interests you and take part. Then blog about your participation.

8. Quotations: Go to BrainyQuotes and peruse the popular author page. Click on an author that you’ve never heard of before. Read some of his/her quotes. Once you find a quote that has meaning for you, copy and paste it into google search and/or google book search to see if you can find which book, article or speech it was taken from. Next, find out more about the author. Present the quote, its context and what it means to you in a blog post.

9. Music Mix: Go to the Soundation free music studio, create a new account then mix up a hot new track. Save it and upload it your blog.

10. Impactful books: Think of a book you’ve read that in some way had an impact on your life. Maybe take some time to go back over it, find out about its background etc. Then present the book and its impact to your readers?

3. Productivity

1. Motivation: Introduce some videos or speeches that motivate you when you’re feeling low on energy. Who and what gets you fired up?

2. Work space: Everyone has their own tricks and idiosyncrasies when it comes to places that help them do their best work. Where is your favourite work space and what is special about it?

3. Work flow: Introduce the tools (online or off) that make your workflow more efficient.

4. Keeping time: What sort of calendar/diary system do you use to manage your time? What are its strong points? What would you do to improve it?

5. Self-discipline: What tips and advice can you give on maintaining self-discipline in your work?

6. Collaboration: Describe a project you worked on which involved collaboration. What challenges did you face? What would you have done differently in hindsight?

7. “Smart” phones: Which smartphone apps help you with productivity? But be self-critical here. If you were to reduce it to a list of 5 apps, which apps are vital to your work and why?
   Variation: Which apps first seemed to be productive, but turned out to be a drag?

8. Mentors: Who are your mentors when it comes to effective work regimens? Share some of the key lessons you have learnt from them with your readers.

9. Break down: In 2001, British artist Michael Landy famously destroyed all his personal possessions in an art installation called “Break Down.” Drawing on this idea, make a list of all the actions/operations you perform in your work (even things that seem insignificant). Which items on that list can you “break down”? Share the results with your readers.

10. Dreams to reality: First, let’s imagine time and money are no object and you can do anything you want. What would you do to improve productivity in your working life? Make a list of the things you would change. Ok, second, look at that list again, and for each item think about a realistic alternative. What could you actually do to achieve those dreams?

4. Entrepreneurship

1. Startup: You know that idea you’ve had in the back of your mind for a startup? Well, it’s time to put it into action. Sketch out a simple business plan. Include the name of your startup; describe the service/product it will provide; explain what differentiates it from the competition; describe the revenue model it would operate on; outline the major overheads and costs involved and any other barriers to entry.

2. Elevator pitch: First complete challenge #31, then write an elevator pitch in 100 words or less describing your startup. Send your pitch to 50 key entrepreneurs, investors or mentors in the field and ask for their expert feedback on your pitch. Don’t forget to link to your start-up post too.

3. Take stock!: Stop what you’re doing! Put your tools down! Ok, it’s time to take stock and assess the current status of whatever enterprise you’re involved in. Take a piece of paper, split it in two. On the left side write a list of all the positive aspects of your current work/project/enterprise. On the right side, write a list of the negative aspects. For each negative aspect, what can you do to change it? Share this insight with your audience.

4. Finger on the pulse: Go to AppAnnie's iTunes top 100 paid and free apps chart and browse the different apps. Pay close attention to the top 30 and single out any apps that a) you’ve never heard of and b) are connected (even loosely) to your business. Reduce the selection to 2 or 3 apps. Take some time out to research each one. What does the app do? How do people use it? Can it be used to engage with your customer base? If so how? Write the findings of your research in a blog post. That post will be part 1 in a series of posts tracking your use of the apps (see #35).

35: (App)date: Idea #34 encouraged you to explore some new apps that might help boost engagement between your company/brand and your users. The next step is to devote time to 1 app in particular and track results of your usage. To do this, you are going to set up a campaign. You will need to set a time frame, campaign goals (e.g. achieve x number of conversions, get x number of followers, record x number of engagements with some content etc.) and mobilize the necessary tools to track and analyse your data (google analytics is usually a good go-to service in that regard). You will also need to outline the strategies you will use to reach your campaign goals. Draft this action plan and post it on your blog. Monitor your progress over your allocated time period and write further update posts detailing your results.

36: New niches: Humans are creatures of habit. Habits and routines tend to limit our vision and time constraints tend to limit our capacity to implement new ideas. So let’s try a quick experiment. Think about one new niche you would like to be involved in if you had more time. It has to be something that really gets you excited! Next, brainstorm the different tasks / functions involved in getting into that new territory. What would you need in order to do it? Edit that brainstorm into a paragraph, a proposal for a new venture. Now, think about your schedule, what time can you free up to work on that new project? Finally, set the project in motion and use this thought experiment as the basis for the first blog post on your new venture.

37: Twitterati: Write a post of the top 10 people you admire (doesn’t have to be the most famous or influential) in your field. Explain why you admire them. Link to their sites. Send an email, tweet, facebook message or tiktok to each person and let them know why you admire their work.

38: Book reviews: Go to the Amazon.com website and search for “entrepreneurs” in the Books section. Determine which books you would like to review and then check the author’s website. Many authors will be willing to send you a review copy free of charge provided you have a credible blog that you are writing for.

1. Creative response: If you’re looking to engage with industry leaders, but don’t feel you have the standing to approach them personally, why not try catching their attention (and the attention of their followers) with a creative response to one of their works? You could for example, write a response to one of their blog posts; make a video response

2. Conference Coverage: Thousand of conferences take place everyday around the world. Why not write about a conference related to your niche. Even if you cannot afford to attend the conference in person (although often times you can find grants if you look closely), most conferences stream their keynote and panel talks online. Live blogging or reblogging a conference is a) a great way to learn from industry peers b) bring value to your readership by breaking down the conference proceedings into bite-size chunks and c) a potential way into conference attendance the following year. It can also open doors to online connections with conference speakers. To find out when and where the next conference is, check out the excellent 10times.com website.

5. Goods and Shopping

1. Exploring the Amazon: Go to amazon.com and type the word “bizarre” in the search box for “all departments.” Spend a few minutes browsing the various wares…create a list of the “top 10 most bizarre items on Amazon” and for each item explain what qualifies it as “bizarre”.
   Variation: Replace the word “bizarre” with any word you like.

2. Ebay time: Ebay is a fascinating site to browse for weird and wonderful goods. Take a look at Ebay's complete category page and pay attention to the "popular topics" segments for categories you're interested in. Not only do these automated lists give you free insight into trending items, but it could be a way to write a round-up post on popular goods of the hour.

3. Groceries show and tell: On the surface, grocery shopping is just a mundane activity that most of us try to complete as quickly as possible. So why should we care about other people’s shopping habits? More than the grocery items themselves, people are intrigued by other people’s lifestyle choices. By looking at how others live their lives, we gain insight into our own behaviour. It also broadens our perspective on how consumer culture functions in other places. So here’s something to try: next time you go to the supermarket, take your camera with you and document the process. Take pictures or video of the shopping process. When you get home, put your photos and/or video together into a post. Include prices for each item and commentary on product choices. See what happens.

4. Prize possessions: Introduce 5 things you’ve bought that have been most worthwhile to you. What are your top 5 prize consumer possessions and why?

5. If I had $1,000,000: Start a new blog post with the title: “If I had a million dollars…” and start the first sentence with, "If I had a million dollars, I would:", then list the things you would spend your money on. It could be goods, services, business, charity etc etc. Make sure you tag another blogger into the post.

6. Trending Globally: One of the most popular topics in the shopping space is trends, particularly innovative products that are on the cusp of going mainstream. For trends in Asia (particularly China) check out Global Sources and their analysts’ trends page and industry trends page too. For developments in North America, see Product of the Year USA for insight into booming household goods, see also the Edison Awards for the low down on product innovation. For a global perspective, check out the Alibaba innovative goods page. Using the data on innovation and trends you find through these websites, write a post outlining what you see as some of the most exciting new products on the market.

7. Prize Giveaway: A great way of generating buzz on your blog is to run a giveaway prize campaign. First of all, you need to offer a prize that is both relevant to your content and of value to your readers. Next, you need to determine what you want to get out of the campaign. Newsletter subscribers? Social media followers? Content creation / input? Once you have decided those 2 factors, you can use one of the following plugins to set up the giveaway campaign on your WordPress powered blog: Pick Giveaway Winner, ContestFriend, Contests by Reward Fuel.

8. Book or Film of the month: Set up a new feature on your blog that covers your favourite book or movie of the month. Write a short review of the book or film. Search Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for other people who read the book or saw the film. Ask them for their opinion. You could even write other people’s views into your post to give a more diverse range of opinions.

9. My Wardrobe: This next entry in the free ideas list is for a series of blog posts. The premise is simple: each time you purchase a new wardrobe item, blog about it. Take multiple photos, tell your readers what you like about it, why you chose it, where you bought it, how much you paid. Insert an opinion poll and get your reader’s feedback on your fashion choice.

10. Best brands: Email 20 – 30 bloggers you follow and admire with a request for participation in some research. Ask them to name their favourite brand and explain why they are loyal to it. Compile your blog post as a list with the name of the blogger and their blog as a title, the brand logo as a left-aligned thumbnail and their explanation text as the content for each list item.

6. Content / Affiliate Marketing

1. Field research: Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re new to content marketing, but you’re eager to learn the ropes. Why not use your newbie status to your advantage and share your learning process with your readers? You have to have some sort of strategy to your research and you should make that clear in your first post. So for example, say that you are going to survey the 10 most successful money blogs and write a detailed appraisal of each blogger’s strategy. What practical steps did they take to reach success? What pitfalls did they encounter? At the end of the research phase, why not trying applying one of the strategies to your own site and document it (see idea #52 below)?

2. Practice makes perfect: One of the best ways to build an audience in field is to put words into action and demonstrate a process – become a practitioner. In this case, let’s say you want to try a particular content marketing or affiliate strategy such as A/B testing a sales page. Instead of describing a hypothesis or theory, begin a series of blog posts that showcase your experiment as it takes shape. Set up a real case study and share the results with your readers openly.

3. Disclaim it!: There as been a lot of controversy over the years surrounding online affiliate marketing and lack of disclosure. Some affiliate programs bind their users legally to producing a clear disclosure policy, some don’t. Why not use this “delicate” topic as an opportunity for an open discussion about affiliate marketing with your readers? Discuss the negative and positive aspects of this business in terms of transparency and fairness. Use some of the major affiliate programs (Amazon, Shareasale, Ebay etc.) as case studies. Compare and contrast their user policies. Use this discussion as the basis to lay out your own policy with regards to affiliate marketing.

4. Deep end: Here is a tough, but hopefully rewarding challenge: try learning about a form of money making that you have absolutely no grasp on. For example, let’s say you know nothing about Bitcoin, but you’re interested in investing in Bitcoin. As with the three previous ideas, you can use this lack of knowledge to your advantage. Start by collecting information about how Bitcoin works; what do you need on a practical level to open a Bitcoin investment portfolio? What investment strategies exist and which ones do you feel comfortable putting into action? The more you learn and experiment, the more you can teach fellow newcomers the tricks of the trade. To be sure, ideas #51, #52, #53 and #54 are “long tail” processes that require time, effort and patience. Stick at and your audience, skill set and revenue will grow.

5. Killer Ads: Effective advertising is a dark art, particular in an online culture where much of the audience has learned to “tune out” of banner ads, pre-rolls, link ads etc. So here is a challenge: choose a specific medium (text, video, audio) and a particular platform (blog, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat TikTok, YouTube, animated gif etc.) and find out what the main types of advertising for that medium and platform are. List them, describe them, give examples of them in action and try to find data on how effective they are. Now comes the challenge: invent a new way of advertising for that medium and platform. By “new” I mean hack existing practices and find ways of disrupting them to your advantage. Test your new ads and share your results.

6. Sell me this pen!: “You have 1 minute to sell me this pen, go!” This is a cliche job interview question, well known in entrepreneur and marketing spheres. It may be cliche, but it’s a good exercise in honing your sales skills. It demands quick thinking, creativity and confidence. Let’s try a variation on that theme. How about writing a blog post in which your aim is to convince your audience to purchase a non-distinct pen? To do this successfully, you are going to have to read about effective copy writing techniques. Write a strong opening, develop suspense and intrigue and make the pen feel indispensable to your readers. At the end of your post, include a poll that asks readers whether or not they would buy the product based on your pitch. Ask them for feedback in the comments. Contact established copywriters, entrepreneurs and marketers and ask them for professional advice. Based on the feedback, write a new post with a new sales pitch and a new poll. What, if at all, improved in the second pitch? What lessons did you learn from this experiment?

7. Meet the mentors: Name your content marketing mentors? What did you learn from those people? How have they inspired your own work? Write a post that gives insight into their professional practices. Then follow this up with idea #58 below.

8. Speak to the mentors: Contact the people you wrote about in idea #57, explain the post you wrote in praise of their work and then ask them for 5 minutes of their time for a quick interview (email, Skype or whatever works). Transcribe and edit the interview material into a new post.

9. Manifesto: In 1965, avant garde American dancer, Yvonne Rainer, wrote her famous “No Manifesto.” It was a way of stripping dance to its bare essentials. Read the manifesto. It is a master class in copywriting. Negative repetition has affirmative power. Logical contradictions trigger conscious thoughts. She rails against radical trends that she would have been expected to be part of. It is the search for a new condition of dance. In a tongue-in-cheek version of this, check out hip-hop artist, Eminem's "Stuff to never rhyme" video. Here’s the challenge: write a “no manifesto” for your field.

10. “Disruption”: is an overused term in the tech/marketing space. Etymologically, the word comes from 15th century Latin, disrumpere, meaning “break apart, split, shatter, break to pieces.” It means radical change. Your challenge, if you are to accept it, is to take one aspect of the content marketing field that you feel has been done to death; explain why it is tired and ready for change; then brainstorm ways of truly disrupting it.
    Variation: Apply this task to any field. An interesting challenge for example would be to break apart Twitter which is frequently criticized for its inability to reduce noise.

7. WordPress

1. Wishlist: write a list of 5 things you wish you could do with WordPress, but currently can’t. Share it with the WordPress community via the forums.

2. Revolutionize the WordPress theme list!: There are so many WordPress theme list posts it’s beyond absurd. Most of them are riddled with shady themes and affiliate links. Your task is to reinvent the theme list. I don’t how you will do this, but I do know that it starts with something genuine. A love of design perhaps? Maybe a flaming heart for WordPress. Which themes really fire you up? What can you do with them that hasn’t been done?

3. Gratitude: write an open letter of gratitude to the developer, designer or community member who helped you directly or indirectly with making the most of WordPress. Explain exactly what their contribution has done to your work. Track them down and let them know about your letter.

4. Theme Off: You need at least 2 people for a theme-off. Find a WordPress theme (or plugin) you both want to review. Your review could be in text, video or audio form, but you need to set up some parameters such as word/time length. Something to make it a challenge. Post the reviews and get your readers to vote on the best review.

5. WordCamp: is the name for worldwide WordPress conferences. I’ve never attended one in person, but I follow quite a few of the panels via WordCamp.TV. Here’s an idea: go to that site and watch the presentations from a recent WordCamp conference. Blog about what you learned from the presentations.

6. All that Jazz: Go read the WordPress release history, but specifically the code name column. Now go and listen to songs by each musician. If this is your first time listening to Jazz, write about the songs that moved you, irked you, bored you, haunted you. If you’re an aficionado, then tell Matt Mullenweg which 5 artists he should consider for the next five code names.

7. Code is poetry: discuss.

8. Million Short: is a search engine that removes the top 1 million results from the usual search engine listings leaving you with the “dark” and “forgotten” dregs of the web. Search for “WordPress” and explore the murky depths. Blog about any nuggets of gold you dig up. **Be careful though, some sites may present security risks. So browse with caution**

9. Analogies: WordPress is to xxx as yyy is to zzz. Write 10 analogies that best describe the way you feel about this platform. If you need some examples, try this PDF out for size.

10. Love / Hate: Find 20 people who use WordPress and ask them to name one thing they love and one thing they loathe about it.

8. Human Behaviour

1. Idiosyncrasies: are modes of behaviour particular to an individual. Disclose some of the idiosyncrasies that help you to be more effective in your work. Could some of your routines and habits benefit others?

2. Daily observations: pull up a seat in a safe space overlooking a public thoroughfare or some similar vantage point that allows you to observe people. Take a pen and paper with you. Observe the passers by and for the next 10 – 20 minutes note down all the behavioural traits that stand out to you. When you get back home, go over your list and look for patterns. Organize the data and present it in a blog post entitled “The Things People Do in [Month] [Year].”

\*For a COVID-19 safe variation of this, use the* EarthCam website to find cams of city spaces around the world.

1. Fun Theory: Watch this video of “piano stairs” in a subway station in Sweden. Now it’s your turn. Brainstorm examples of clunky human behaviour. Devise a fun way of altering that behaviour. Showcase your idea to the world.

2. Force quit…: Take a piece of paper and a pencil. For the next 5 minutes write down all the web related processes that are going on in your mind. For example, “I must reply to an email” ; “I need to reply to so and so on Twitter” etc. etc. Look at your list and think about ways of reducing the processes that occupy your mind. Change your behaviour pattern for a less stressful life 🙂

3. Trending: Read Trend Watching’s 2020 / 2021 trend report on consumer behaviour. Now think about trends you observe in your own experience of the web. What are the most important consumer trends in your field right now?

4. Google Analytics Flow Reports: Learn how to use the Google Analytics flow report to analyze user behaviour on your site. Present the results of your analysis to your users as a case study or “how-to” guide.

5. Desire paths: this is a term used in architecture and urban planning to describe the actual path people take to best navigate a given route. The term has become popular in web and UX design as a way of describing how users overcome the limitations of an app or piece of software. Here’s the challenge: first read this article on how desire paths can lead to better design. Next, review your own website or blog (or better yet conduct a survey with your site users) and list all the points of resistance and friction you find. Think through those and devise solutions that offer users a better experience. Finally, implement the desire paths.

6. Phone / Life balance: If you feel that your smartphone use is overwhelming and underproductive, it might be an idea to take stock of your usage behaviour. The “Space” app enables you to do this. Go give it a try. Track your data and see which behaviour patterns are beneficial and which need changing. Share your findings with your readers.

7. “Smart cities are real, it’s happening now. Huge amounts of data are collected and managed every day in our modern cities, and this data is available to anyone.” This is the premise of WatchDogs We Are Data. Go check out the website and select a city of your choice. Move around the city and see what sort of data is available. Report back on your experience with a review of this project for your readers. Think about how you use data in your city too.

8. Seances: First of all go and watch this incredible interactive film. You will only have one chance to see it. Review the film and your experience and think about the notion of “disappearance” or “ephemerality” as a characteristic of the current Web. If so much of the data that flows through our minds leaves little trace, what are we retaining? Marketers often say that “attention” is the main currency online, but how does that work in a world of pop-ups and notifications?

9. Social Media

1. Tiktok: is one of the fastest growing apps on the market right now. If you're not a tiktoker, download the app and experiment with it. Try using the app in unusual ways. See what you’re able to produce. Share your work in a blog post.

2. Instagram on your doorstep: Install the Instagram app and go take a series of photos. What are some of the cool places around your neighbourhood? Snap them, write over them and decorate them. Showcase your corner of the world on your blog. Get people interested in your Instagram account.

3. Instagram Quotes: Check out the pablo.buffer free Instagram quote maker web app.Finds some quotes that inspire you. Post them on Twitter or Facebook. Link to one of your blog posts that connects with the sentiment in the quote.

4. Anchor: is an awesome podcasting app. Download the app. Next brainstorm ideas for a story. Let’s make is a true story. Something that happened to you and that marked your life in some way. Sketch out the basic story plot points on a piece of paper. Decide roughly how long it will take to tell your story then break it into 2 min segments. Begin recording this segments as “waves” (recordings) on Anchor and make sure you add info on the story series. Embed these anchor posts in a blog post once the story is done. Don’t forget to share them on Twitter. Add an accompanying cover image and post the segments on Facebook.

5. Blog with Twitter: Here is a challenge. Write a blog post entirely composed of tweets. In other words, each sentence in your post should function as a standalone tweet. Post your blog post first and then “drip feed” your Twitter stream line by line. Include a hashtag and if possible a short url to your post.

6. Top apps in your niche: Showcase 5 apps related to your niche that you find useful. Showcase them in a blog post.

7. YouTube mining: Choose a keyword from one of the popular viral content sites such as OMG, #fail etc. Type your chosen keyword in the YouTube search box. Next apply one of the following search filters to your results list: “Last Hour” or “Today.” Browse through the videos and start to add videos you think have viral potential to a new playlist. Next, embed each video in a new blog post. Include some copy that describes the video and what makes it exciting and great. Start sharing your “gold” across your social media accounts and see how much traction you can get.

8. Tiktok picking: Follow the process described in idea #87, but apply it to tiktok.

9. Crowdsourcing: Set up a blog campaign. Get your social media followers to send suggestions for a new blog post. Select the top 3 suggestions and reward the users with prizes. Write the posts and publish them in sequence. Get your Facebook followers to share them with the world.

10. Social history: Think back to the arrival or Twitter and Facebook – the dawn of the social web. Write a post about the social media experiences that have marked you most.

10. I’m Feeling Lucky

1. Beg, steal and borrow: Check out this blog post by Robert Bruce for Copyblogger. His premise is simple: there are no original ideas. Everything has already been said. What you do instead is “borrow” other people’s ideas and put your spin on them. Do you agree with this or not? If you do, find 5 ideas that have been done before and put your spin on them. If you don’t, then write a response post in defense of originality.

2. Walk the walk: Walking is one of the oldest forms of thought stimulation that we know. Go for a walk. Be open to the unexpected. Let thoughts come to you. Pick one that feels right. Explore it in your mind’s eye. On the way back use a camera to record photos and footage of your walk. At home, mix your thoughts with your material into a post. Combine the video, photos and text in your post.
   Variation: Use the idea to generate pieces of “micro content” across your various social media outlets (YouTube, medium, snapchat, Twitter, Facebook etc.)

3. Demotivate yourself: Go to demotivators.com and take a look at their demotivation collection. Now it’s time to write your own demotivation quotes. Use pablo.buffer to do this. Remember, the whole idea behind “demotivation” quotes is to add a dose of realism to the whole motivational quote genre. It’s not negativity for negativity’s sake.

4. Quiet place: Sometimes the Internet can be overwhelming. That’s when it’s time to switch everything off and head to the quiet place.

5. Deep web / Dark web: so you’ve had enough of the shiny happy social web and you feel like taking a break from the Truman Show. Step off the edge and into the "dark web". Read this guide by Norton security on how to safely navigate these spaces. Report back on your return. Let us know what you found…nothing illegal of course.

6. The art of everything: Go to ArtNet.com. Lose yourself in the galleries and share the art works that struck you most with your readers.

7. Bookshelf: Go to your bookshelf, photograph it and now begin writing a list of books that you would recommend to your readers. For each book explain why you recommend it.

8. Lyrics with meaning: Take a piece of paper and a pencil. Think about songs that have marked you in some way. Think about the specific lyrics that affected you. Write those lyrics down in a blog post. Explain the significance of the lyrics. Add the video (if available) of the song for reference.

9. Sherlock: Try building a “mind palace” using this wikihow guide. Share your creation with your readers. It could be interesting to include images of the places you choose to enhance visualizations.

10. From the heart: If this was your final chance to write a blog post, not a farewell post, but the last content piece, what would you write? Think about it. Write it. Now write like that for all your posts!