Bitcoin: A Proxy for Users | Hacker News Reader

Bitcoin: A Proxy for Users

ofnumbers.com

47 pointskushti22 comments

I can add one data point. we recently launched this app - http://burningmanapp.co/ - it converts your steps into bitcoins. the usage is really off the charts >1000 users logging around million steps everyday. >50% have provided their Bitcoin address.

Last I checked Bitcoin is servicing a little under a million bucks a day in retail transactions, Swanson always conveniently leaves out the dark market - which is the target demographic for bitcoin, and puts into question the honesty of his write-ups.

Is the dark market flat, growing linearly, or growing exponentially?

> the dark market - which is the target demographic for bitcoin

I missed that part of the white paper. There's a difference between a target demographic and a use case.

Local bitcoins volume is a good resource.

https://coin.dance/charts

"Hodl" indeed. I'm more or less in the demographic mentioned in the article. I buy some tech gear from time to time on newegg but then just replenish on one of the exchanges. Other than that I rarely buy things with btc. A donation here and there.

Are folks considering putting coins to work in a tumbler? Experience?

You know you're on a programmer's blog when this is the site hero image they choose: http://www.ofnumbers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cropped-...

I don't get it. What do you mean

Just a guess, but the default image for a Wordpress template that's popular with coders?

Blame Bootstrap - they called the big top third of the screen image a "hero" block from start of their docs. It was the first I had heard of it, but it made enough sense that it stuck.

One assumes the history goes back further - one suspects a comic strip somewhere. But I don't know

Weird - this was not one I expected to defend.

Let me re-phrase:

The first time I Heard of a hero block was in the Bootstrap Docs, and it was soon after that it became a phrase amount my colleagues.

As to where Bootstrap got the idea from - one would assume it's a phrase from serialised graphic novel production

I think the issue might be that you replied to the wrong comment, so it didn't quite make sense in context.

When did we start calling that "hero image" and why?

Googling "hero image" yields the answer in less time than writing a comment on HN.

I was asking for etymology, not for the meaning (which I know).

This google search: `"hero image" etymology ` provides results with a second link containing a thorough discussion on the origin of the word.

https://www.designernews.co/stories/47337-why-is-the-hero-im...

Thanks! As you guessed, I missed it because lack of "" in search string. I've learned to assume Google is pretty much ignoring quotes nowadays. Apparently they're not.

I don't think that's true. Did you try googling that? It wouldn't have taken very long.

I can't find a satisfactory answer. Wikipedia doesn't say. [1] says it comes from the print industry, but I can't find any indication that that's true (all the search results seem to be related to online, "hero image print industry" doesn't turn up anything useful). "Hero image etymology" isn't helpful either.

[1] http://line25.com/articles/30-web-designs-that-fully-embrace...

Yes, I did try googling that. I am not sure why you missed the result from the etymology search, perhaps you should have used "" for strict matching of the term.

Anyway, "In theater and film, a hero prop (sometimes just "hero") is a prop that is intended to be seen close up so it's a lot more detailed than others. That's the oldest definition I know.". The source is in the reply to the sibling comment.

Tim's a wonderful guy all around and is quite smart, but he is, in fact, not a programmer.

It's a photo of the great wall of china, referencing the blog title "great wall of numbers".

I'm not sure what it has to do with programming? By default, I think I'd expect a blog with that hero image to be a travel blog.

Because it's the most blurry, fuzzy, poorly framed and honestly ugly photo of the great wall of china you could ever pick for the huge prominent header image of your blog. It has to do with programming because most programmers have a terrible eye for design, although in this case I stand corrected because apparently he's not a programmer.

And also, I said my original comment somewhat facetiously, it's not like it matters at all anyway, it was just a funny observation.

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