Bitcoin's Cultural Impact Outpaces Walkman's in Half the Time

Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, built upon the innovations of previous technologies, including the World Wide Web and the microprocessor. These technologies, in turn, were influenced by the telegraph. Another significant innovation that paved the way for Bitcoin is the Sony Walkman, a portable cassette player released in 1979. The Walkman allowed users to listen to music privately and on the go, changing social behavior and making personal music consumption a norm.

The Walkman was developed by a team of engineers at Sony, led by Kozo Ohsone. They modified the existing Pressman, a portable cassette recorder, to create a prototype that could play stereo sound through headphones. Despite initial skepticism within Sony, the Walkman became an instant hit, selling out its first batch of 30,000 units in just eight weeks. By the end of 1980, two million units had been shipped worldwide, and the Walkman became a cultural phenomenon, used by people from all walks of life.

Before the Walkman, the idea of having a personal soundscape while moving around was not feasible. The Walkman changed this by allowing users to isolate themselves with headphones in public spaces. Similarly, Bitcoin has changed economic behavior by providing an alternative to traditional financial systems. Both innovations faced pushback from society, with critics labeling the Walkman as self-indulgent and anti-social, and Bitcoin as associated with criminals and fraudsters.

Through a certain lens, the Walkman may have primed the culture for the arrival of Bitcoin, 30 years later, having warmed us up to the idea that we can be our own anything, no matter where we are. The Walkman made it possible to be your own DJ, while Bitcoin made it possible to be your own bank. Both innovations have had a significant impact on society and have changed the way people behave in their respective domains.

However, Bitcoin beat the Walkman in terms of cultural acceptance. It took nine years for the Oxford English dictionary to include "Walkman" as a mainstream English term, while Bitcoin made it in half that time, alongside "twerk" and "emoji." This shows that Bitcoin has had a faster and more widespread impact on society than the Walkman, despite facing similar pushback and criticism.