Meerkat Star Suzanne Nguyen: Dreams of Bitcoin and Fried Chicken

Suzanne Nguyen is a bright and off-the-cuff young woman who makes videos of herself several times per week. She streams using an app called Meerkat on her smartphone, and her streams are so popular that she’s been dubbed a “power user.” Streaming was just a fun hobby for Suzanne until she received monetary profit in the form of a Bitcoin tip. Now, Suzanne regularly tells her audience about why she “loves” Bitcoin.

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Suzanne’s website, StringStory, states that she’s a “future geek.” Bitcoin.com caught up with the young futurist to figure out exactly how she came to Bitcoin, and how she thinks it can help make her digital ventures more profitable.

Bitcoin.com (BC): What is Meerkat?

Suzanne Nguyen (SN): The Meerkat app is a [sic] an emerging smartphone app for video live streaming. The best way to describe the experience: it’s like Twitter with a face that records in real time, anywhere, anytime.

BC: You say you’re a Meerkat “power user.” What does that mean?

SN: A Meerkat power user is streamer who is on the top 100 Meerkat leaderboard and regularly uses the platform to build-up their brand or TV show. I’m a power user because I experiment (like doing a Meerkat stream to respond to these questions). I’m Number 25 on the leaderboard and likely am the number one user in Pacific-Asia region. I know I’m the only Aussie on there.

BC: When and why did you start broadcasting on Meerkat?

SN: In April this year, the Meerkat app was launched at the SxSW. I was really excited because I’ve been waiting for this streaming app for a long time and Meerkat happens to be the first one to launch for smartphones. Technology and data are finally caught up to make streaming on the phone possible. There’s quite a lot of them around now, the most famous being Twitter’s Periscope.

I jumped on because I am a geek of the future. I also believe that streaming or video consumption will be an on-going trend.

BC: What’s the weirdest, best, and worst thing you’ve ever broadcast?

SN: I don’t think I’m the type to broadcast anything weird, but I am known to be the Bitcoin geek in the Meerkat community. One of my earlier streams was a silent one; I was streaming a Sydney train ride and I remember having 100 watchers from around world coming along with my train ride. It was cool.

BC: You say you love Bitcoin. Why?

SN: Ha, I say I love Bitcoin because my journey started in April and the community has been rather giving to me. Plus, I’m a curious geek of the future. I see a lot of possibilities that can be used for wider impact. Imagine a world you can buy fried chicken with it. More than that, the deeper I go, the more value I see.

BC: How did you find Bitcoin?

“Bitcoin found me while I was streaming on Meerkat and someone tipped me using a third party platform called ChangeTip. When I realised what it was, my mind was blown away.”

BC: Is Bitcoin incorporated with your Meerkat work?

SN: The Meerkat app is built on top of Twitter, which allows platforms like Changetip to collect Bitcoin and send it to your ChangeTip wallet.

With the Meerkat and Changetip combo, you can hold art auctions and sell small artworks and buy it with Bitcoin, or raise funds for charities. I did a campaign for the tragic Nepal Earthquake and I raised over a Bitcoin and gave it to Red Cross.

BC: What is your vision of the future in 10 years?



SN: I like this question, a lot.



“In the future, I believe it will be possible for us to buy fried chicken with bitcoin.”

We will live in a cashless society and Bitcoin will be a social norm.

BC: Where are you from, and what can we expect to see from you next?

SN: I live in the future called Sydney, Australia. Saying that is true — I am at least 18 hours ahead of San Francisco. I’m organising a free online digital conference called Micro Bitcoin — register on my website. Otherwise follow me on Meerkat or Twitter.

Suzanne’s Micro Bitcoin conference will take place online on Saturday, December 5. Registration is free and all interested participants are welcome.

Suzanne initially answered Bitcoin.com’s questions in an impromptu stream here:

Do you think we will be able to buy fried chicken with Bitcoin in the future? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Suzanne Nguyen