YOCRYPTO had the chance to sit down with Josh Baldwin, the co founder of the Don't Tread On Us Blog, and 'The Dogesonian' this afternoon. As of recent, a number of blogs and e-commerce retail outlets have been surfacing, bringing attention to the crypto communities. If you haven’t heard about the Don’t Tread On Us Blog, they have been around since the early days of crypto, reporting news from OUTSIDE the mainstream bubble. The Dogesonian has been active in covering everything the Dogecoin culture has to offer.
So, let’s get started! Time to meet Josh Baldwin and learn a little bit about the Don't Tread On Us Blog.
So, let’s get started! Time to meet Josh Baldwin and learn a little bit about the Don't Tread On Us Blog.
We wanted to find out a little bit more about Joshes involvement with the blog and how everything came together.
“I'm the co-founder of DTOUBlog, and more or less in charge of managing everything on the site. I have a partner on the site, but he's been more on the "business" side of things, helping with funding and things like that. I do just about all of the article updates plus rants that appear on the site, and that keeps me pretty busy! We started the site back in Feb. 2013, and honestly it's crazy how fast time has flown by. I also do everything with our Dogecoin site, 'The Dogesonian'.
The idea came from @LittleShibe on Twitter, to have a "Smithsonian for Dogecoin,” so I said okay, that sounds like fun! The site is still a work in progress, always looking for new things to put up on there, but a lot of my time is focused on the main news site. But I do my best to keep it updated with Doge related news. And as for how long I've been in the crypto world, I'd say around Nov. 2012. Didn't get SERIOUSLY into them until Feb. 2013ish though.”
YOCRYPTO asked Josh a little bit about his background with crypto currencies and what initially sparked his interest in the communities.
“The first time I can remember hearing about Bitcoin was from Adam Kokesh. At first, I didn't necessarily take them seriously. I didn't have an understanding of the underlying technology and I simply thought "ehh, just numbers on a computer who cares? But after digging into it a little more, as an anarcho-capitalist, the idea of a decentralized currency was amazing. An absolute game changer. And then the more I dug, the more I realized this can change more than just our monetary systems. There's amazing technologies that are continually coming out based on the block chain...and it's AWESOME to be a part of it."
“I'm the co-founder of DTOUBlog, and more or less in charge of managing everything on the site. I have a partner on the site, but he's been more on the "business" side of things, helping with funding and things like that. I do just about all of the article updates plus rants that appear on the site, and that keeps me pretty busy! We started the site back in Feb. 2013, and honestly it's crazy how fast time has flown by. I also do everything with our Dogecoin site, 'The Dogesonian'.
The idea came from @LittleShibe on Twitter, to have a "Smithsonian for Dogecoin,” so I said okay, that sounds like fun! The site is still a work in progress, always looking for new things to put up on there, but a lot of my time is focused on the main news site. But I do my best to keep it updated with Doge related news. And as for how long I've been in the crypto world, I'd say around Nov. 2012. Didn't get SERIOUSLY into them until Feb. 2013ish though.”
YOCRYPTO asked Josh a little bit about his background with crypto currencies and what initially sparked his interest in the communities.
“The first time I can remember hearing about Bitcoin was from Adam Kokesh. At first, I didn't necessarily take them seriously. I didn't have an understanding of the underlying technology and I simply thought "ehh, just numbers on a computer who cares? But after digging into it a little more, as an anarcho-capitalist, the idea of a decentralized currency was amazing. An absolute game changer. And then the more I dug, the more I realized this can change more than just our monetary systems. There's amazing technologies that are continually coming out based on the block chain...and it's AWESOME to be a part of it."
Curious to see how crypto currencies have influenced The Don’t Tread On Us Blog as an organization... we asked!
“I'd say the first thing we did was simply start covering crypto-news. Shared as much stuff as I could to try and spread awareness... just like I do with any other news I think is important. From there, we've been able to link up and be affiliates with some companies that are accepting cryptocurrencies like Amagi Metals and TigerDirect, as well as putting up the option to donate cryptocurrencies to help us out. I'm also pretty active within the cryptocurrency communities on Twitter. Have been able to get a lot of new readers for the site that way, as well as meeting some pretty awesome people.”
Digging a little deeper, we inquired about his customer base and their response to crypto currencies .
“While we don't have customers, aside from our merchandise store *which unfortunately does not accept crypto yet, been trying to convince Zazzle to do this however* I can say our site has definitely generate more views from the crypto world, as well as other readers who may not have heard about this stuff before reaching out asking for more info.
I'd say quite a few have probably ended up looking into crypto currencies from this. With some of the Dogecoin giveaways I did on Twitter, I made sure to try and give as many to new Shibes as possible. I've also had some success in convincing some small businesses into accepting cryptocurrencies.
Most notably, have a friend out in Cali who hand roasts some pretty amazing coffee and ships it to you fresh to start accepting Bitcoin. West Coast Roasting Company if you're interested in checking them out. As a small business owner, I think it's a great tool for him to start reaching a whole new client base.”
The growth in the crypto currencies have definately come with an increased media presence. We wanted to ask Josh if the blog had experienced any of the extra coverage.
“ I personally haven't received much media attention, but I'm not exactly seeking it either =p As a member of the media, I'm usually looking to be the one giving people attention, which is why I've done interviews with companies like Malwarebytes and Xidax PC's when they've made announcements to start accepting cryptocurrencies.
Although, I was lucky enough to go on The Racin Nation radio show to talk about Dogecoin and Josh Wise, so that was pretty awesome. And yes, I will deff. continue to be a member of the crypto-world. The cats out of the bag, and cryptocurrencies aren't going anywhere. I believe in one way or another, cryptocurrencies will be a part of our monetary system as long as we're alive. And I hope if my site gets to the point where we can sell our own products, I will 100% be accepting crypto!”
Final words for the YOCRYPTO readers?
“When it comes to any business these days, the best way to sum it up; A company in 2014 without a cryptocurrency strategy is like a company in 1999 without an internet strategy. “