NEWSLETTER
The threat of online censorship is real and a growing threat to our freedom of expression and association. Before the creation of the Internet, the way most people connected was through their community. Places like elk lodges, Rotary clubs, unions, automobile clubs, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts were the primary ways that people in the same community could come together and organize around a shared sense of principles and purpose.
Those days seem quaint and from our very distant past. Meeting people this way was the norm until the early 1990s, which isn’t that long ago if you think about it. With the creation of the Internet, people have become less reliant on in-person social networking and have opted to start networking online.
Not that you can blame people for adopting a new tool that makes life easier. As a kid in the ’90s, I remember using America Online (AOL) and the terrible 56K modem to connect to the Internet. Back then, you could literally hear your computer connecting to the Internet. If you’re a millennial or older, you’ll know what I’m talking about. 
I remember the first chat rooms where all you needed was a username and a chat you wanted to access. Completely unfiltered, raw and new. No one knew what this technology would become, but we knew it was interesting and exciting. There were no online censors filtering out “hateful” content or powerful algorithms designed to keep you hooked on chat rooms. It was just a tool to have fun and connect.
Although the Internet has been clearly positive for the world and society, it has also had some drawbacks. It has taken away the sense of community we had before the Internet. You can look around and see everyone looking at their phones. There are no organic conversations around you. Everyone is happy living in a digital prison of their own creation.
If you want to know why everyone feels disconnected from each other even though we live in the most hyperconnected time in history, the Internet and smartphones are at the root of the problem.
Loneliness epidemic
Believe it or not, the United States is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Nearly 50 percent of Americans have reported experiences of loneliness.. Did you know that the impact of loneliness on mortality is similar to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day?
Within this 50 percent of Americans who say they feel alone are countless Bitcoiners. As early adopters of bitcoin, it may seem like you are alone on an island with no one to talk to about bitcoin and how it will change the world, even though you are surrounded by people you know and love.
bitcoin changes you and the way you see the world to the point that it’s hard to relate to pop culture or the water cooler nonsense about last night’s game. You realize how fucked up the world is and you understand what the government is doing to money and society in general. Talking about sports or the latest show seems trivial now, right?
No one outside the bitcoin community can really identify with this worldview. It becomes very isolating if you don’t have a friend who can vibe with you on that level.
That’s why many of us look for an online community to connect with. Finding people who can relate to you on bitcoin Twitter is much easier than finding someone in your local community. bitcoin Twitter is great and fun to interact with people on there, but it’s not the same as sitting in the same room with a fellow Bitcoiner, drinking a beer, and talking about bitcoin for a couple of hours. You CANNOT replace that in real life experience with digital.
We need that in a real-life sense of community if bitcoin is to succeed in the long term. Being strictly an online-only community makes the movement easier to control, divide, police, and conquer. As the value of the dollar continues to hyperinflate into oblivion, the last thing the powers that be want is for strong communities of Bitcoiners to come together to show people how bitcoin is a better money and a better monetary system for organizing society.
When the government feels threatened by bitcoin and the central bank digital currency comes to fruition, having the ability to transact locally with Bitcoiners will be incredibly important to you and your family. In addition to monetary tyranny, digital censorship will fall like a hammer on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, etc., to control the narrative that society follows. The only thing that cannot be censored is face-to-face interactions. They cannot stop you from sharing your knowledge with others in your local communities.
Developing the social layer of bitcoin is incredibly important and a mission that the Orange Pill app has taken seriously.
The social layer is resistant to censorship
The social layer of bitcoin is what makes bitcoin, bitcoin, if you think about it. Without the social layer, bitcoin is nothing more than a protocol, but when you layer the social layer on top of bitcoin, the true power of bitcoin is to change the way we interact with the world and each other.
While centralized platforms like X (Twitter) have gotten us this far, it is time to embrace the true technology of freedom to avoid the widespread censorship that continues to infiltrate our lives. Nostr is a freedom technology that I urge Bitcoiners to use instead of centralized platforms like X, but accessing the Orange Pill app is the best way to build the social layer in your local community, thus strengthening bitcoin.
The government can’t stop you from talking to your friends, family, neighbors, and strangers about bitcoin. When you meet people in real life, friendships tend to form, new business partnerships are created, and everything gets better. When the going gets tough, this is the social network you can really rely on. Sign up today; It is super simple and easy to use. You can even organize your own events! You will see that you are not the only Bitcoiner in your area and you will start to make friends and new connections.
An orange pill a day keeps loneliness away!
You can find me at: npub1cl4deuxsxk2ldqgq85q9xfn898253qjyfcrcnkqd2wdks7ppu43qn0gu8k
This is a guest post by Robert Hall. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.
