Rethinking the "slogan"

[fluffypony]

Many moons ago we created a slogan for Monero: Secure. Private. Untraceable. It was during a conversation with mnstrcck, the lead developer for Feathercoin (remember that?) who, as someone who had been involved in the altcoin world for a while, was kindly advising us on some of the lessons he had learned. The conversation is below.

[2014-05-29T20:31:08] <davidlatapie> mnstcck: I just thought about a catchphase, which
                                     could appeal to constantly disappointed users
[2014-05-29T20:31:20] <davidlatapie> Like the very recent XC scam
[2014-05-29T20:31:38] <davidlatapie> The catchphrase is: "We deliver"
[2014-05-29T20:31:52] <davidlatapie> Short, true, appeal to scammed people
[2014-05-29T20:32:08] <fluffypony> but we haven't delivered anything yet
[2014-05-29T20:32:10] <mnstcck> I like it - but the problem is you use "we" - Monero isn't
                                about anyone as much as everyone
[2014-05-29T20:32:11] <fluffypony> :)
[2014-05-29T20:32:13] <davidlatapie> I don't work in marketing, so that may be a stupid
                                     thing
[2014-05-29T20:32:25] <davidlatapie> mnstcck: right
[2014-05-29T20:32:26] <fluffypony> and the point is that the coin would continue even if
                                   we all died tomorrow
[2014-05-29T20:32:39] <mnstcck> Exactly - we should focus on the technology
[2014-05-29T20:32:45] <davidlatapie> fluffypony: we did with ring signatures, fair launch,
                                     optimised miner
[2014-05-29T20:32:49] <mnstcck> Fast. Secure. Anonymous.
[2014-05-29T20:33:10] <fluffypony> mnstcck: yep
[2014-05-29T20:33:22] <davidlatapie> "Fast. Secure. Anonymous" isn't something every coin
                                     and his dog is claiming?
[2014-05-29T20:33:27] <fluffypony> anonymous
[2014-05-29T20:33:28] <fluffypony> maybe
[2014-05-29T20:33:31] <fluffypony> untraceable?
[2014-05-29T20:33:31] <mnstcck> We need to tell people, clearly, why XMR is different to
                                bitcoin - darkcoin
[2014-05-29T20:33:33] <fluffypony> private?
[2014-05-29T20:33:35] <davidlatapie> mnstcck: yes, the "we" is problematic
[2014-05-29T20:33:50] <mnstcck> Then we tell them why they need it
[2014-05-29T20:34:27] <fluffypony> also I'm unsure about fast
[2014-05-29T20:34:31] <fluffypony> it fails the Starbucks test
[2014-05-29T20:34:36] <mnstcck> 60 sec block time is quick, no?
[2014-05-29T20:34:37] <davidlatapie> "Untraceable" and "fungible" could appeal to clever
                                     crypto user
[2014-05-29T20:34:53] <fluffypony> mnstcck: for a secure transaction you'd still have to
                                   wait 10-20 minutes
[2014-05-29T20:35:07] <mnstcck> Oh, sorry, the words I used are just the words I would
                                think of when designing the phrase - if we go that far
[2014-05-29T20:35:10] <fluffypony> plus we're debating moving to 120 seconds
[2014-05-29T20:35:15] <davidlatapie> But just them - for less educated crypto people, let
                                     alone non crypto, this would too complex
[2014-05-29T20:35:29] <fluffypony> Secure. Private. Untraceable.
[2014-05-29T20:35:54] <mnstcck> I'm saving those three fluffy and I'm going to sleep on it
[2014-05-29T20:36:31] <mnstcck> I want to put myself in my own shoes a year ago when I
                                finally figure crypto out.
[2014-05-29T20:36:47] <davidlatapie> I like your last one, fluffypony . I think the
                                     tagline will have to change when we'll target a
                                     wider audience

David is sadly no longer with us, but the points he raised are correct: Monero has always been a strongly technical project. With more and more non-technical people being attracted to Monero, and with the project branching beyond just the privacy focus, I've been thinking a great deal about a new slogan. I'd like to use this thread to discuss my suggestion, and also to make alternate suggestions / refinements.

My suggestion for a new slogan is:

Monero: good Internet money

Some variations on that are:

• Monero: money for the Internet
• Monero: excellent Internet money

and so on. What we want to convey is not specific properties of Monero (untraceability, security), which are meaningless to most, but rather that Monero is good money to use on the Internet due to those properties.

[cryptoizzy]

Precious has negative connotations. Calling someone precious can be calling them self-absorbed and weak in constitution.

Plus association with the evil ring of Sauron ... not sure how that’s a good thing.

[cryptoizzy]

Seeing all the bank sponsors of the Australian open gives me another (only half serious) idea:

Monero: Proud Sponsor of Neither Bread Nor Circus

[felixakiragreen]

Monero: What Is Money

[AndreyIlyunin]

"Secure. Private. Untraceable" - that means that I'm the only owner of my money.

So, maybe "Be the only owner of your money" is a good point to start looking for a new slogan.

[mattcode55]

Monero: What Is Money

Baby don't spend me...

---

I think that "be the only owner of your money" is a really good idea, but it's a bit long.

[miziel]

Monero: own your own money

[cybermuffin]

Monero = Privacy

[robby-d]

In-line with the thinking of many in this thread, I proposed a revision to the headline paragraph on the getmonero.org website. Comments welcome: https://github.com/monero-project/monero-site/issues/570

[ghost]

Personally I don't think the slogan needs to be changed, it's easy to remember and to the point but here are my contributions.

Monero: Financial Sovereignty Monero equald sovereignty to me.

Monero: Value Privacy
Value being wordplay for currency, it's a statement and adjectives for Monero.

Value. Privacy. Monero As in (If you) Value (your) Privacy (use) Monero. Not so subtly subconsciously linking not just three words but concepts into one.

Monero: Treasure Privacy Another play on words here.

[Datiswatzijzei]

I don't see Monero as realistically ever becoming a mass market currency, because of the size of its transactions, confirmation times and fee structure. Plenty of other cryptocurrencies have a better claim to that title, and in time will garner enough network effects to probably build an insurmountable lead over Monero in that regard. Optional privacy, which will be possible even for huge coins like ETH, will be sufficient for 99%+ of use cases.

And that's OK - everyday purchases don't necessarily have to be 100% private. I'm pretty privacy-conscious (more than 99% of the population) and I pay my groceries with debit card, which is traceable, just for the convenience factor.

I got into Monero because of its privacy features, and I think that is true for a majority of us. Privacy is Monero's identity and selling point. Monero is a coin that inhabits a niche perfectly, in my mind better than any other coin. It's easier to explain to someone why they might want to buy Monero than why they might want to buy any other cryptocurrency. We cannot water its identity down. The reasons for Monero being "true money" (the highest upvoted suggested slogan) are too esoteric for the average user to understand (through a slogan, at least).

The current slogan, especially the "untraceable", might have some negative/criminal connotations. Having gone through all comments, I strongly support the second most upvoted slogan:

Monero. Keep your private finances private.

I also love the repetition of the word "private" here - the first use implies that finances are supposed to be private (which they are). It implies that Monero is the only logical tool to manage/store your wealth.

[Datiswatzijzei]

Alternatively, I'm also partial to:

Be free. Be Monero.

It would require some explanation for most users, but it certainly speaks to the imagination. (Inspired on the following poster: https://www.themonera.art/2017/09/07/be-free-be-monero/)

[monerorus]

In Monero We Trust

[apertamono]

Here's another vote for "Monero: Privacy Is Precious". You can't expect much more from a slogan than a two-letter alliteration, a good rhythm and a short text mentioning two core concepts without explaining too much.

Variant if you want to play up the Gollum association: "Monero: My Precious Privacy". But that shouldn't be the main slogan, because the association is too negative.

My own idea is to convey the mysterious feeling of mixing and hiding, but in a social way. Something like: "Monero: Be Anyone. Do Anything."

[cjhille]

Monero: privacy is liberty

or other variations that may make a bit more sense

Monero: privacy means liberty

Monero: liberty needs privacy

Reasoning: Liberty <- what cryptocurrencies are all about Privacy <- what Monero is all about (ignoring fungibility for a second here)

[lh1008]

Hey guys,

Read all comments. Precious sounds horrible, sorry for those who upvoted it.

I have been working in the Monero Outreach workgroup and we basically are trying to find ways on how to educate people about Monero. I was working on a document and got an idea. We might just "keep it simple and stupid" in some way, but give the whole message.

Monero: Use safely, spend safely.

[anonimal]

Monero: Use safely, spend safely.

/me reads "Use monero safely" instead of "You'll get safety by using monero".

[lh1008]

@anonimal why would you want it to say "You'll get safety by using monero"?

*Giving more ideas. Maybe taking out untraceable might give a better option. The word "private" already stands for untraceable in a clear definition that no one will be able to "see", it's private. Untraceable will also break itself when finally, we never know when, someone breaks encryption (this might never happen). _Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead_ might be out of "context", considering the cryptocurrencies descentralizations values, but in the document the European Union are considering, "Virtual currencies are a contemporary form of private money. ", Private money!!** at last.

Monero: secure, private

Money is a medium of exchange, cryptocurrencies(digital money, digital cash, p2p electronic, bla bla bla etc.) are a way of exchange. People will forget it's digital, like we did with paper or metals(gold, silver), we know it's paper, we know it's metals, we only need them to exchange and have value for it. What must money have to be considered money or what characteristics should money fulfil?

• Security(people must accept it as a medium of exchange, have the certainty that it can be used, and gives security not only for exchanging it, but to store it and use it whenever you consider using it; example: gold, dollar, pound, euro, peso, yuan, tabaco, etc., they were (are) al mediums of exchange).
• Private(you own your money, so it must be private). Monero stands for this type of money as we want it to be today, and what we are looking for. Money(fiat) has lost those values, so we have to bring them back and keep them secure.

I like it the way it is. Why? Because we will have to do everything as possible to keep it, secure, private and untraceable, why untraceable? Because, yes, it's digital, and digital stuff are traceable.

Monero: Secure, private, untraceable. ++1 :+1: :).

[SamsungGalaxyPlayer]

Closing this since the initial goal seems to have been met. Open a new issue and refer to this one if further discussion is needed.