2008

Before mining started in january 2009, who knew about btc in 2008? Were computer scientists, cryptography enthusiasts, and cypherpunks the ONLY EXCLUSIVE people who got notification via satoshi's mail list like in october 2008? Apart from the mailing list, what other methods were employed to let people know about btc? How could the average joe know about btc before january 2009 debut online then in the u.s.?