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.

[skifree-snowmonster]

Branding (design) is not a whim, its a strategy to solve a problem. The proper process is not to try and find something that "sounds good", and instead design something that solves the problem.

What is Monero's problem that needs fixing?

Monero is confused with Dash constantly, relatively unknown (and misunderstood) to Bitcoiners, and probably the most private coin on the market by default.

With that in mind, the story of Monero isn't that it's private, it's what the privacy allows. Fungibility.

Since that word itself is more or less foreign to the masses, ferretinjapan's suggestion of the more general term "sound money" would be a good place to start.

[darentuzi]

"Private money"

[bitlamas]

Although Monero runs throughout the internet, maybe we could think about using the word digital instead of internet? I can imagine transactions and exchanges of Monero occurring in an offline fashion.

[QuinnMallorry]

While I appreciate the effort and the intent, I don't identify with any of these new slogans. It may not mean much, but as joe-casual-observer these sound like something an intern would put into the <p class="lead">Monerum Ipsum</p> field of a bootstrap template they hadn't finished yet.

Let's start with the core ideas we want to communicate to the uninitiated user, and go from there, whilst not forgetting the body of content that's out there already. We don't want to appear as if this is a shift away from what it is, a form of money for your eyes only.

[anonimal]

I like the keywords "Private" and "Untraceable". "Secure" is probably implied and may be too subjective.

How about something like:

Monero: the untraceable digital currency

[danrmiller]

I don't like "Untraceable", its too bold a claim. Even more so at the time it was adopted. Its too easy to lose creditability and trust and then have to backtrack to "Hard to trace if you use it right and they aren't looking too hard", etc. Remember how Oracle's slogan "Unbreakable" became an ironic joke?

[serhack]

Monero: Your own private bank

[naveenspark]

Here is something I wrote up for a FAQ: What is Monero?

Your privacy matters. No matter where you live in the world, it is your right. Monero is trusted private, secure, and untraceable internet money. You can use Monero to send money to friends, or family, or buy things online. Monero puts you in control of your money. There is no need for a bank. With Monero, you are the bank. Monero was developed by a community of world class developers, cryptographers, economists, designers, and researchers who care deeply about your right to privacy. Monero is open-source and accessible to all. Want to learn more about Monero or contribute to the project? Visit GetMonero.org.

[brenmcma]

Great FAQ @naveenspark

Something like "good Internet money" or "money for the Internet" are a bit too generic IMO - most won't take the time to go to explore "what makes it good and why. Some of the aspects of Monero which have already been noted here are privacy, security, untraceability - all of which lead to Monero being sound, fungible, good. And are the properties we want to communicate to the next generation of Monero users as adoption increases?

I almost like something like: Monero: Secure. Private. Sound.
Untraceable has a bit of a negative connotation to it, but Sound is much more positive.

[stoffu]

@naveenspark

Monero is trusted

Maybe better to avoid using the word "trusted"? Because the whole point of cryptocurrency is to trust no one but yourself (and the mathematics). Not sure what would be the best way to convey this idea to ordinary people, though.

[SamsungGalaxyPlayer]

I like using the word safe. In my opinion, the term safe includes many people's concerns of privacy, fungibility, security, etc. Safety means something positive for everyone, without any possible negative associations with privacy.

So I propose:

Safe internet money
or
Safe money for everyone

People should feel safe using Monero in any circumstance.

[bitlamas]

I like using the word safe. In my opinion, the term safe includes many people's concerns of privacy, fungibility, security, etc. Safety means something positive for everyone, without any possible negative associations with privacy.

I like the idea of using the word safe or synonyms. I would probably still drop internet for digital.

Secure digital money.

Safe digital money.
Shielded digital money.
Et al.

[4matter]

Monero: E-cash

(Credit to Milton Friedman for saying "E-cash" during an interview back in 1999.)

[miziel]

Monero, your digital cash

[ghost]

Monero: The Money Only You Control

[jwinterm]

What's Bitcoin's slogan?

[bitlamas]

What's Bitcoin's slogan?

Bitcoin.org has as title: Bitcoin - Open source P2P money.

[mardarfar]

Monero, Encrypted digital money.

[paulshapiro]

How about "sound money" instead of "good money"?

[snirp]

I had to come up with a Monero slogan recently for a Facebook campaign. The audience wouldn't be into the technical details, so I had to present it in a way that would present Monero in a way that matters to them. Here is what I came up with.

Monero keeps your private finances private.

Rather than introducing some novel concept, it focuses on something you have and may be at risk of losing. It seems to be in line with @naveenspark 's FAQ entry. And it repeats "privacy": it's that important :)

Something that contains "internet money" should be avoided IMHO. It puts it firmly in the world of hackers and appears to give it a limited use / domain, while are making a currency. Just my 2 cents.

The unique property of Monero right now is fungibility. Something I can reason about passionately and I truly believe in. But for the world, I cannot see how to incorporate that word into a slogan for a broad audience.

[snirp]

Another thought: Monero is really community driven. A word that captures that in a positive manner is grassroots. We truly have a grassroots coin, so that could be something to use.

[peanutsformonkeys]

"Private Banking"

[emesik]

Monero: Your money is safe

[zexanana]

I think "Monero: safe digital money" sounds simple and appropriate. "Internet money" sounds a little bit like you are talking to someone completely unfamiliar with the internet, like you're talking to a 80 year old person. In my opinion, the word "safe" encompasses the consequences of the (to be) old slogan. Private, untraceable, decentralized, trustless, they all contribute to being "safe money".
In the future, with the massive adoption of smartphone money transactions (and crypto to a wider extent) and cash being used less and less, I think even the "digital" part could be dropped. "Monero: safe money".

[CamilleScholtz]

I really like the "safe money" slogan, it's quick, it's friendly to the ears, anyone can understand it.

Some critiques to the various slogans I've read:

• Use "safe" over "secure", "safe" sounds more friendly and I think this helps in getting rid of the "criminal stigma" of Monero. Also like @zexanana said, secure implies safe.

• Don't use "cash" in the slogan, again I think it has some "criminal" connections.

• Don't use words such as "grassroots" or "fungible", people who aren't native English speakers won't know the meaning.

[peanutsformonkeys]

Using the word “safe” could imply that you can’t lose your money. If you don’t manage the mnemonic or private spend key properly, your money is gone, so I would avoid the word “safe”.

I have seen the slogan “Be your own private bank.” pop-up somewhere over the last few days. I kinda like it as it stresses that owning Monero is something which you actively do. Letting someone else be your private bank (IOUs) isn’t what we stand for.

[zexanana]

I understand the concern. But in that sense, no money is ever safe. If you store cash in a secure vault, your moneys' safety is dependent on your ability to keep the combination safe.
I agree people less tech savvy and less privacy minded would bring hell to monero after they'd create a wallet in a compromised device, but that does not make monero unsafe, it makes safety dependent on you alone, and not on a bank.
I think "Be your own private bank" might be too aggressive. For the general public, crypto adoption will be made slowly, with someone handling more and more money in crypto over a large period of time, as they build up trust and familiarity on the technology. Something like be your own private bank might scare people away.
This whole thing is assuming we want monero to be general use money and not just the swiss bank 2.0, as I have seen.
What can we replace the word "safe" with that will not be misleading and still gather many of the properties of Monero?

[serhack]

In this sense, nothing is safe.

[codingbrian]

The problem Monero solves is privacy. Once there is wide adoption, with Bitcoin (and most alt's), you can find out how much people make/have and where people spend their money. We may have "nothing to hide," but that doesn't mean that we want everybody to have access to all of our financial transactions.
I don't think you'll find a person alive who trusts every person and every government. There's always going to be somebody who wants to oppress you. Having a historical record of every transaction is just a horrible idea.
So how do we summarize this? Do we remind people to not trust the government(s)? Do we remind them to not trust criminals? Do we remind them to not trust those around them? The answer seems simple:
Monero: Trust No One.

[bitlamas]

"Trust No One" sounds too aggressive. I completely understand what @zexanana meant for using a slogan that appeals for the masses and not only the tech-savvy users.

We can come to the conclusion that nothing is ever safe, but I don't agree that we shouldn't use the word only because it may imply that the user can't lose its money. This is part of the education that we, as a community, should be responsible for: teaching people to take care of their own money now that they have all the control.

Anyway. I like how "safe" sounds, but I'm sure we can come up with something else that sounds good and represents Monero.

[ztnark]

Monero: Straight Cash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07G23zMGa4g

[CameronRuggles]

Lots of good suggestions here, but why don't we actually go about this in a fairly scientific way? I don't see that we have really defined a philosophy on how we're going to decide what the slogan is.
My thoughts:
First, we should define the goal of what the slogan is supposed to achieve, and then we should do various A/B marketing tests to see which of the selected slogans work the best for the desired results.

We could setup many different add campaigns and see which ones get the most positive results, and have everything the same except for slogans.

The one that gets the most sign ups, clicks, or positive interaction could be the winner.

This would be a good FFS project, as it is both simultaneously marketing research, and marketing for Monero.

I would be happy to help run these tests. I wouldn't call myself an expert, and it may be better to hire a marketing firm for this, but I think I'd be reasonably capable of executing this task in a fairly scientific way.

[cryptoizzy]

@cameron great idea to formalize the process. Only caveat is that these things tend to be harder to get right than appears at first look. A good friend of mine does focus-groups and user testing (largely UX related) which while different, share some common themes. and when I suggested this to her she rattled off a laundry list of structural issues that I dare say even someone with a really high intelligence could easily miss and/or fall short on execution.
Not meant as any negative reflection on you, but I think professional or semi-pro involvementt on this is pretty important.

[paulshapiro]

Sounds like "open money" is already taken by Bitcoin… though I'm not sure I'm sold on it anyway

[emesik]

Statements are powerful. And @bhabba 's Privacy Is Precious sounds great.

[CameronRuggles]

"Monero: because privacy is precious" has the most appeal to me so far. I wonder if there's some permutations of that that are even better? Monero: because when you need privacy, nothing is more valuable. @Cryptotizzy, I agree. I am sure I wouldn't be the best person for it, but it seems like someone experienced could help to more objectively find a good performing slogan. Tbh, I don't think slogans sell anyone on anything though. I didn't join Monero because of a slogan, but rather trusting the tech. If I didn't have so much free time, I'd spend it on something else, like trying to figure out how to make multisig really really easy.

…

On Jan 15, 2018 6:04 PM, "Michał Sałaban" ***@***.***> wrote: Statements are powerful. And @bhabba <https://github.com/bhabba> 's *Privacy Is Precious* sounds great. — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#146 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABTRGWQRTdG4dMLco6I3F-lDz7dA8rapks5tK_WTgaJpZM4Q02v3> .

[bhabba]

Statements are powerful. And @bhabba 's Privacy Is Precious sounds great.

"Monero: because privacy is precious" has the most appeal to me so far.

Nice to hear the reception. To add some of my thoughts:

• I'd make it just "Monero: Privacy Is Precious" without the "because". The conjunction is not needed to understand the second part nor to connect it to the first part "Monero". Instead it just makes the slogan longer which should be avoided if possible.
• IMHO this slogan really gets to the point without being clumsy or too blatant. Of course one could always object that those three words are cheesy marketing speech and practically say nothing – or everything. But that's mostly true for every slogan. As I see it, the slogan is not for the experts, nor the devs or the traders. It's for the average people who most probably have never heard of monero.
• "Precious" bears only positive connotations and frames "privacy" in a way that indicates how monero contributes to one's personal protection / the society / ... / you name it. At the same time it still conveys how monero stands out from its competitors.
• The slogan happens to be very short and rhetorically / soundwise appealing because of the similar sound of "privacy" and "precious". This greatly helps it being memorizable.
• The word "precious" offers some kind of equivocalness: On the one hand privacy obviously is something worth protecting and fighting for. On the other hand the successful integration of privacy in a currency makes the currency precious (fungible) in the first place.
• "Precious" might not be the most common word for non-native speakers (incl. myself). But I think that's secondary. A slogan can always be translated / adjusted / rephrased in another language if necessary. Finding an English allrounder that fits the whole world population is a physical impossibility I fear.

Tbh, I don't think slogans sell anyone on anything though. I didn't join Monero because of a slogan, but rather trusting the tech.

I guess that's the whole point of changing the slogan: To be appealing to an audience outside people like you (the crypto cult and tech enthusiasm folks). To quote davidlatapie from the IRC log in the initial post:

(...) I think the tagline will have to change when we'll target a wider audience

😉

[cryptoizzy]

Is it safe to assume that we are all primarily focused ultimately on facilitating adoption (based upon the awareness of moneros merits)? (This might not be so!)

If it is though, I think it’s worth being cautious about being too specific in the tag line. Ultimately, I kind of want to be like a really good kids movie... appealing and graspable for the kids (general public who don’t understand or even know about Things like fungibility and the technical necessity of privacy for sound money) but also with a message for the ‘parents’ in the theatre with jokes that might be lost on kids, but speak to the adults (those interested in the details and drivers.)
I love the idea of privacy being emphasized personally, but I can’t help like feeling that’s a second order level of detail and we’ll “lose some kids” who don’t get it. Plus there’s the insidious demonization of privacy. Of course not valid logically, but people’s immediate visceral reactions don’t care about logic.

[wkvasnikoff]

Monero: magic dinero
Monero: private public ledger

Actually I like: Monero: Privacy Is Precious

[miziel]

"Monero: Privacy Is Precious" for me has one more connotation:
it reffers to Gollum's "my precioussss" - a ring, that makes person invisible!
But seriously - I really like this one, it goes against the "telling what monero is" path (digital cash, true money etc.) and just makes a strong, valid statement. And a nice slogan.

[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: monero-project/monero-site#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 👍 :).

[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.